If there are children in your life, you’ve undoubtedly experienced the following scenario: you’re sitting on the couch scrolling on your phone when all of a sudden, one of your precious charges comes up to you with those puppy-dog eyes and sweetly asks, “Will you play [insert annoying game here] with me?” You internally groan, thinking Does it have to be this one? However, you catch yourself and hold in the sigh. Instead, you oblige the sweet little one who is as happy as a lark to have your full attention.

Kids’ games. What makes a good one? For me, a quality children’s game is tailored to grab the attention of a little, but it’s still enjoyable for mom or dad, too. We’ve found some real winners that I hope to review/recommend in the future.

Today, we’re talking about Guess Who? – by all means a classic. I never actually owned this game growing up. It wasn’t until after I had kids of my own that we were gifted this cute and simple deduction game.

Guess Who? isn’t one that we’ve just played constantly. That doesn’t mean it’s not enjoyable; it can just get pushed to the back of the closet. We usually bring it out when we’ve gotten in a rut or when smaller kiddos are over to visit. At 13 and 12, my older kids are on the cusp of outgrowing it, but they still want in on the action when they see their little sis having fun playing.

As a teacher, I’ve gotten some good use out of Guess Who? in my classroom. I’ve taught English to second-language English speakers, and this game is helpful to practice using adjectives/expanding vocabulary. Or, just put it in a center and have your students write down sentences containing 3 adjectives to describe their character.

For me, there’s one small con. With the version we own, I sometimes get annoyed with the “pieces.” They can get a little twisted on the tiny metal rod they swing on, and I get low-key frustrated trying to flip the people back up when I start a new game. However, it’s not enough to make me quit playing. Plus, there are a ton of other versions available out there – each one appears to be designed a bit differently. (Perhaps I’ll do a Guess Who? round-up in the future!)

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Number of players: 2

Game length: 10 minutes/round

Age: 6+

Object: Try to guess your opponent’s mystery person before he or she guesses your mystery person.

Rules Rundown: Here’s an online PDF of the rules. Choose a person from the stack of cards and keep it hidden from your opponent. Take turns asking “yes” and “no” questions in order to eliminate “suspects.” (i.e., “Does your person have brown eyes?” or “Is your person wearing a hat?”) Flip down any characters who do not hold the correct physical characteristic mentioned. The first person to guess correctly wins the round.

Ratings:
Cal – 10/10.
Leyton – 8/10.
Noah – 7/10.
Ang – 7/10.
Overall, I think it’s a solid add to your collection.