How To Play the "I Know Telepathy" Game

I know telepathy" is an excellent game of trick that a pair of children can play to show off and impress other children in a get-together.

It is a game suited for children of age group 6 to 12, and even elders too can join just for fun.

In this game, player A and B team up together and play their trick on player C. A and B could be brothers and sisters or close friends who have good understanding between them.

The game involves guessing the name of a flower, or a vegetable, or a food item, or the name of a country that player C secretly conveys to B. Then B loudly lists out a batch of similar items (for example, if what C said is a flower, then B lists out names of several flowers) and the list includes the flower name that C said.

Out of the entire list, A immediately identifies the item that C had said secretly to B and announces it! That's the telepathy between A and B!

When the game is played for the first time, C and any other children nearby will immediately accuse that B had given some secret body signal to A! Nothing of that kind! A and B can then offer to stand invisible to each other by standing behind a curtain or a door, and play the game aloud. A can still identify what C said.

Once young children see that there is no signalling taking place, they will naturally get very surprised at this fantastic feat!

How does it work?

1. Have a secret identifier: A and B should clearly discuss beforehand and fix "secret identifiers" before proceeding to play their trick on C. They should have one "secret identifier" in each possible list: for example "Jasmine" among flowers, "Banana" among fruits, "New York" among cities, "Turnip" among vegetables and so on.
2. Seek the item name from C and then list it out with your Identifier: Now B seeks and gets the name of say, a flower, from C. Let us say C said "daffodil". Now, when B starts listing out, he will always say C's flower AFTER "Jasmine" (the secret identifier) -- Like this: Rose, Lily, Lavender, Lotus, JASMINE, DAFFODIL, camomile, oleander, sunflower and so on. Once the list is over, A can announce "daffodil" in a jiffy!
3. What will you do if what C says is same as your identifier? This is normally a foreseeable problem. In such case, A and B should decide beforehand some secretive way to indicate this situation. One way is to pretend a pause to think for more items in the list. In this method B lists out like this: Rose, Lily, Lavender, Lotus, JASMINE, hmmmm....then oleander, sunflower, daffodil...

   Here the pause "..hmmmm," is the secret signal to indicate that the identifier itself is the one C said!

4. Keep several lists handy: It is always best if A and B have thought out and understood their identifiers across numerous possible listings.

   Here are some more lists: cereals and pulses, boys' names, girls' names, toiletries, names of cars, names of popular sports personalities, popular games and sports, names of past Presidents/ great leaders and so on.

   If you can offer listing of items under 6 to 10 categories, then no one in the gathering will be able to find out the secret. If the game is repeated under the same category several times, a smart one in the gathering may decipher the secret. That's why playing across several lists is recommended.

Come on children! You have learnt the secret now. Go and show off your prowess on telepathy to your friends!