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Entertainment

Guess Who

What is guess who?

· Emily Grant

Key facts

Type Two-player board game[1]
Original name Wie is het?[1]
First release 1979[1]
Creators Ora Coster and Theo Coster[1]
U.S. release 1982[1]
Current owner Hasbro[1]

Guess Who? is a two-player board game where each player asks yes-or-no questions to identify the other player’s chosen character. It was first released in Dutch in 1979 as Wie is het?, created by Ora and Theo Coster, and brought to the U.S. in 1982.

Context

Guess Who? is a classic two-player board game where each player secretly picks a character and then asks yes-or-no questions to deduce the other player’s choice [1]. The game was first released in Dutch in 1979 as Wie is het?, created by Ora and Theo Coster of Theora Design [1]. Milton Bradley distributed it in the U.K. and later brought it to the U.S. in 1982 [1]. The design moved from playing cards to a board with vertical tiles after earlier versions were not accepted by companies [2]. The game is now owned by Hasbro [1].

Documented claims

  • Players eliminate characters by asking yes-or-no questions that narrow the possibilities. [1]
  • The game grew from earlier ideas including a verbal game and a 1971 game called Wanted. [2]

Questions and answers

When was Guess Who? first released?

Guess Who? was first released in 1979 as Wie is het? [1].

Who invented Guess Who?

The game was created by Ora and Theo Coster [1].

Who distributes Guess Who? today?

The game is now owned by Hasbro [1].

Sources

  1. History of Guess Who?: Timeline of the Changes to the Classic Board Game - Geeky Hobbies — geekyhobbies.com (retrieved August 3, 2026)
  2. Classic Board Game Guess Who | The Gamers Guides — thegamersguides.com (retrieved August 3, 2026)

Sources last checked August 3, 2026. · More in Entertainment