Guides – PlayWhydunit

The yes/no games: from 20 questions to lateral thinking puzzles

Yes or no question games, and lateral thinking puzzles

Two words, "yes" and "no", are enough to build an entire game on. No cards, no board: just someone who knows a secret and others hunting it down with questions. It's the…

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The AI narrator: the game master that never sleeps or slips

How an AI became the perfect mystery narrator

Every lateral thinking puzzle carries the same thorn: someone has to know the solution. That someone (the "narrator") doesn't get to play, must judge every borderline question, and needs a stock of…

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Adult party games: 8 ideas: no cards, no props, no apps

Party games for adults: 8 ideas with no props or apps

The party has settled in, the conversation is flowing, and someone says "should we play something?". Nobody brought a board game; nobody wants to download an app. No need: the 8 games…

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Logic or lateral? Two kinds of riddles, and when to pick each

Logic or lateral puzzles? The differences and 5 classics

"Logic puzzles", "brain teasers", "lateral thinking puzzles", "mystery riddles": most of us call them all "riddles" and move on. Yet these are two very different families that exercise different muscles of the…

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Ten more classic riddles: the next 10 lateral thinking legends, solved

10 more classic lateral thinking puzzles + answers

The first batch of 10 classic lateral thinking puzzles runs out fast; that's how good mysteries are. So here are ten more "legends" of the lateral-thinking puzzle genre, also known as situation…

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Games made of talk: 7 party games, nothing needed at all

7 party games that need nothing at all, just conversation

A road trip, a long wait at a taverna, a power cut, a beach with no signal: there are moments when the group wants a game and there's no deck of cards,…

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An escape room at home: no locks needed, just good questions

An escape room at home, no locks: try lateral thinking puzzles

If you love escape rooms, you know the feeling: a puzzle of a door, clues that make no sense, and that moment when something clicks in your head and everything unlocks. The…

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Classic riddles, solved: 10 famous lateral thinking mysteries

10 lateral thinking puzzles with answers

The puzzles below are the legends of the genre: the ten most famous lateral-thinking puzzles, also known as situation puzzles or mystery riddles, the ones played for decades at tables, campfires and…

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A mystery night in: lateral thinking puzzles with friends, at home

Mystery night: how to play lateral thinking puzzles at home

Lateral thinking puzzles are one of the very few games that need no board, no cards and no preparation: just a story, a group of friends and an appetite for interrogation. Here's…

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Smarter questions: 6 techniques for mystery riddles

How to ask smarter questions in a mystery: 6 techniques

In mystery stories and every lateral-thinking puzzle, the difference between 30 aimless questions and 10 sharp ones isn't luck; it's method. Six techniques good solvers use. 1. Map before you hunt Before…

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What are lateral thinking puzzles? Mystery riddles, one logical solution

What are lateral thinking puzzles and how do you play?

Lateral thinking puzzles (also known as "mystery stories" or "situation puzzles") are a question game. You hear a strange, half-told story (usually a dark one) and you try to work out what…

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