This or That? (indoor game)

Players: 3 or more
Materials: none

This ESP (extrasensory perception) game will have your friends puzzled and perplexed, but you’ll need a secret partner to share the trick of the game. This is how it works: Gather your friends together for a demonstration of mind-reading. Choose one person (your secret partner) to leave the room. Ask any one of the others to choose an object in the room that you’ll communicate telepathically. After the object is chosen, call your partner back in the room.

Now for the demonstration. Point to any of the unchosen objects in the room and ask your partner, “Is it this?” She’ll answer no. In fact, she’ll answer “No” to anything you point out unless you ask her “Is it that?” By using the word that instead of this, you secretly identify the correct object to your partner.

One way to really impress the others it to continue for some time asking your partner “Is it this?” so that the others get used to the question. Then allow someone else in the room to ask a question or two. Chances are, they’ll continue to point out incorrect objects with the question “Is it this?” Then you can take back the questioning and continue as before.

Collected from The Little Giant Book of Kids’ Games by Glen Vecchione