Sunday, February 15, 2009

20q - Pocket Mind Reader plays 20 questions


Give the gift that reads people's minds! A game that can tell what you are thinking in 20 questions or less, and which provides hours of fun as you try to stump the machine. Can it be done? Of course it can! Is it easy to do? Try for yourself and find out if you can stump this handheld version of the 20 questions game.

The online network that hosts one version of the game is immense, with each game played adding to the sophistication of the AI that guesses. The handheld version doesn't, unfortunately, get these frequent updates, but it does provide hours of stimulating fun as you try to stump the pocket sized device with new items to guess.

Answer honestly, and you will find that the 20 questions handheld game guesses what you've got on your mind more times than not. This machine is not un-stumpable, but there are few items, it seems, that are not hidden away in that computer brain just waiting to be guessed.

The game was created by Robin Burgener, who started work on the project in 1988. The game works like the human brain, forming a neural network that is built from connections like our synapses, helping the game determine what to ask next and what to guess at the end. Play for yourself and see how a string of seemingly unrelated questions can come together in a way that allows the game to guess what was on your mind.

If you love the game of 20 questions, and have played it until your family and friends are fed up with it, then the handheld version is for you. Take it just about anywhere, simply slipping it into your pocket and pulling it out whenever you are ready for a new round. The game can usually guess what's on your mind in 20 minutes or so, leaving you baffled and determined to stump it.

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