Polygon Guess Who

How it works

Polygon Guess Who is a 2 player game. It's similar to the game Guess Who, but with polygons instead of people. In Polygon Guess Who:

  • One player chooses one polygon from a specific set to be their "secret polygon".

  • The other player then gets to ask yes or no questions about the shape (for example, about the number of sides, whether it has mirror symmetry, whether all the sides are the same length, whether it has a right angle, etc.).

  • The guesser only gets to ask a certain number of questions. After they have finished asking their questions, they have to say which polygon they think is the secret polygon.

If you are the guesser, can you choose questions that allow you to guarantee that you guess the secret polygon correctly (regardless of which polygon is the secret polygon)?

In this activity, students work together to figure out how to correctly guess a facilitator's secret polygon every time. They explore how to do this with a range of different features and different sets of polygons.

Polygons handout

Why we like this activity

  • It's fun! Students enjoy playing the game and figuring out how to beat the facilitator.

  • It helps to develop algorithmic, numerical, and geometric reasoning.

  • It requires students to engage in mathematical habits of mind:

    • Using logic and finding and using strategies to guess the secret polygon without getting lucky.

  • It has a low floor and a high ceiling: Students can start playing by trial and error, but figuring out how to ask questions in a way that guarantees you guess the secret polygon correctly is more challenging!