Twenty Questions Game 500 - Multiball Madness!

[miminena]

RULES
0. The purpose of this game is for the Question Master (QM) to select an entity to be guessed, and for the contestants to deduce the identity of this entity by asking a series of questions.

1. Only binary (yes/no) questions may be asked. Conditional questions are allowed, but conditional guesses are NOT allowed.

2. If the QM cannot determine with reasonable certainty whether the answer to a particular question is "Yes." or "No.", they will simply reply with "Pass". Questions that are answered in this way will not count towards the twenty-question limit, but all other binary questions will count towards the limit. Re-asking passed questions verbatim is not allowed, but contestants are welcome to rephrase passed questions and ask those. The QM is permitted to use discretion to pass certain questions on principle, but must be transparent about this.

3. Before the twentieth question is answered, one free guess per contestant does not count against the total twenty questions, but additional guesses by the same contestant do.

4. After all twenty questions are answered, there are no more free guesses, and five total guesses (combined among the contestants) shall be allowed.

5. No player shall ask more than two consecutive questions, where a guess (free or unfree) counts as a question. EG: If Player A asks a question; and Player B makes a guess; Player A may go next with up to two questions. This means you cannot ask 2 questions and then follow it up with a guess.

6. The Question Master may choose entities real or fictional that are not horribly obscure, so long as they are not repeats.

7. Whoever guesses correctly takes over from the previous question master; if they do not want to do it, they may choose someone else provided they are willing.

8. In the unlikely event the question master remains undefeated three times in a row they must choose someone else to be the next QM (provided they are willing).

9. If terminology in a question is undefined, the QM defines it however they think is most reasonable (or may ask the questioner to clarify or re-phrase the question). Questions regarding the methodology used do not count towards the 20 questions and best come with an example figure.

10. A contestant can "scratch" their own question or guess before it is answered. Scratched questions and guesses do not count as questions or guesses for the purposes of the total count, or the two consecutive questions/guesses rule.

11. If someone guesses a character who has already been a correct answer in 20 Questions before, that guess will not be counted as a guess.

12. The use of artificial intelligence in the solving process, aside from the AI answers that automatically come up on search results, is not permitted.

For game history, see here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1uXCl7ynaYyUH86zL98dIx8Bbo9WEJCqFnFFsfGg8vz4/edit?usp=sharing

rules specific to multiball will be in the next post

[miminena]

***MULTIBALL RULES (mostly copied from previous multiball round)***

There are EIGHT persons to guess this round: Persons A, B, C, D, E, F, G, and H. (In this context, "persons" does not necessarily mean human beings, but merely "beings" or "characters", as following our traditions.) Your job, as the guessers, is to deduce the identities of these seven persons by asking a series of binary (yes/no) questions.

For each person, the guesser who first correctly guesses him/her/them/it will receive a point. The highest score at the end of the game will win. In case of a tie, all guessers who tied for the highest score will be declared winners, and the winning guesser who is currently on the longest drought will be invited to run the next game.

None of these persons are repeats from a previous round.

Each guesser is entitled to eight free guesses (combined over all eight targets to guess). These may be used at any time (before or after the twentieth question is answered for each person). Correct guesses result in the guess being refunded (so that a guesser who has made one correct guess and three incorrect guesses still has five guesses remaining). The QM is entitled to unilaterally award additional guesses to all guessers.

Asking questions: Up to 20 questions are allowed per person to guess. Guessers are allowed to make a guess that applies to all persons, or just to one or some of them. Example: "Persons A, B, E: Is this person born in the USA?". We will keep track of the number of questions used for each person separately. Posts may contain questions concerning more than one person. Example: "Person B: Is this person born before 1800? Person C: Is this person real?".

Consecutive questions and guesses: No guesser shall make more than two consecutive posts containing questions or guesses (or combination thereof). It is not allowed for a single guesser to ask two consecutive questions and then make a guess (without other contestants asking or guessing any intervening questions). A guesser who makes a correct guess is not permitted to make a subsequent guess until another guesser either asks a question or makes a guess. Posts are not permitted to contain multiple guesses.

There will be a one week time limit on this game (to avoid having it drag on if it becomes boring). The QM is permitted to modify the rules as above if necessary to improve the enjoyment of the game.

There is a connection between all 8 targets, and I imagine the game will end rather quickly once you get it.

Warning in advance: One of these entities is more obscure than most if not all other 20Q choices, but it should be gettable through the connection

Have fun!

[Spartaculous]

Everyone: Is this a real human being born after Kaiser Wilhelm I of Germany? (So, after 22 March 1797.)

[miminena]

Everyone: Is this a real human being born after Kaiser Wilhelm I of Germany? (So, after 22 March 1797.)

A: No
B: No
C: No
D: No
E: Yes
F: No
G: No
H: No

[Spartaculous]

Everyone: Is this a real human being born after Kaiser Wilhelm I of Germany? (So, after 22 March 1797.)

A: No
B: No
C: No
D: No
E: Yes
F: No
G: No
H: No

Whoa. A success rate of 1/8 on that question is... not what I was expecting.

[DreamTrawler]

All targets except for E: Real human?

E - Born after Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany?

[miminena]

All targets except for E: Real human?

A: Yes
B: No
C: No
D: No
F: Yes
G: Pass
H: No

E - Born after Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany?

E: No

[Aristocrat]

Congrats on getting to QM 500, your gamble paid off.

A-H: Has a Magyar language Wikipedia page?

[miminena]

Congrats on getting to QM 500, your gamble paid off.

A-H: Has a Magyar language Wikipedia page?

A: Yes
B: Yes
C: No
D: No
E: No
F: Yes
G: Yes
H: No

[Aristocrat]

A-H: Male?

[miminena]

A-H: Male?

A: Yes
B: Yes
C: Yes
D: I don't think so
E: Yes
F: Yes
G: No
H: Yes

[DarthPorg36]

A and F: Politician, Government Official, Military Person, Explorer, Merchant, or Astronaut?

[miminena]

A and F: Politician, Government Official, Military Person, Explorer, Merchant, or Astronaut?

A: Yes
F: Yes

note that this doesn't not ask 'primarily famous', just if they fall into any of those categories

[miminena]

*doesn't ask

[DarthPorg36]

A and F: Politician, Government Official, Military Person, Explorer, Merchant, or Astronaut?

A: Yes
F: Yes

note that this doesn't not ask 'primarily famous', just if they fall into any of those categories

Hopefully this does not stab me in the back

[Spartaculous]

D: Is this a real animal?

[Hominidae]

B,C,D,H: Do or did they have the ability to fly, breathe underwater, shapeshift, or teleport?
A,E,F: Born in Eurasia?
G: Mentioned in the Bible?

[miminena]

D: Is this a real animal?

No

B,C,D,H: Do or did they have the ability to fly, breathe underwater, shapeshift, or teleport?

B: No
C: I don't think so
D: Yes, I think
H: I'll say yes, but this one is hard to answer

A,E,F: Born in Eurasia?
G: Mentioned in the Bible?

A: Yes
E: Yes
F: Yes
G: No

sorry about all the hesitant answers :p

[miminena]

B,C,D,H: Do or did they have the ability to fly, breathe underwater, shapeshift, or teleport?

H: I'll say yes, but this one is hard to answer

did a bit more research and changing this to a no

[Aristocrat]

ABCDFGH: Born, first introduced, hatched, etc. after the publication of the Ninety-five Theses?

E: Born after Frederick III, German Emperor?