Chairman of the Board: I could be anybody

‘Whosit’ board game review

By Ed Appleby, Illustrator

Parlour games are a great way to break the ice at your next laidback chill-fest. But what if you really want something with a little more substance? Something that would prevent your guests from getting distracted by the latest episode of Happy Days? Well, this board game combines the deduction aspect of Clue with the classic elements of 20 questions.

Whosit is a deduction game for 2–6 players published by Parker Brothers this year. In the game, players draw cards and ask questions to identify which of the 20 characters the other players are. A “yes” answer allows the player to draw another card and continue with the questioning, while a “no” answer ends the player’s turn but allows a guess to be made as to the identity of other players.

Even if the player guesses right, they must guess all of the characters in order to win the game. Questions relate to basic queries about the colour of the room, whether they are old or young, black or oriental, or if they are doing commonplace actions like wearing a hat or smoking. Some characters act oddly: the spy and gangster always lie, the censor always says “no,” the director answers “yes” then “no” regardless of the question. These characters really elevate the gameplay and pull it away from its 20 questions roots.

This game is a great! The contemporary photography and deductive game style has the staying power to last for decades to come.