Conversational Game – Guess Three About Me
A conversational game that let's you show off what you know about each other – and perhaps find out some surprises!
We were getting dinner started and my 9 year old son hung out at the counter messing around with a little Lego creation. I could see that this was perfect chance to connect and I wanted to start a conversation with him, but felt a blank when I tried to think of what would spark his interest.
I realized maybe making it a game would get things rolling, and that's how ‘Guess Three About Me' came about. It turned out to be a successful and fun way to get conversation started.
How to play the Guess Three Conversation Game
Sometimes you notice you have an opening to chat with your child, but just blurting out a question may feel a bit like an interrogation. You want to keep the moment open and ready for connecting and you want to start a conversation that gets past the one word answers. Guess Three About Me is a game for those moments.
It's a simple game to play: you take turns asking each person to guess three things about you, then trade and name the three things you think they would answer. The conversation deepens as you continue asking, “What did you think my guesses would be?”
First an example and then I'll give you a list of prompts for guessing.
I started our conversation game with, “Can you guess three things that annoy me?”
Immediately, and humorously my son said, “When people sing Christmas songs and it's not December!”
Haha – so true, and yet I never would have thought of it at the top of my list. Apparently I have made a strong impression on my kids with this one.
When it was his turn I could tell he was curious to see if I would mention things that actually annoy him. His body seemed to relax when I mentioned that he's annoyed when he does something we don't like and his dad and I don't give him a chance to explain himself. It gave me a chance to acknowledge that I did see this, and I think he appreciated that.
After I guessed what his three answers would be I asked, “What did you think I would say?”
He tested my ability to hold my tongue when he said, “My brother!” and grinned. I kept the conversational door “open” by stopping myself from making a face or saying something that said I disapproved of the answer. Instead I came back with, “You get really annoyed when your brother doesn't stop when you ask him to?” and got a heartfelt yes.
We moved onto some lighter topics from there and his brother and sister joined us too. This game gives us all a chance to show what we know about each other and to crack open topics that might be tricky to approach head on.
Basic Format:
- Can you guess three things I would answer this question with?
- Follow up by asking about and talking about what you expected the person to say.
- Take turns back and forth.
- In a group you could do this by going around the circle and allowing one person to be the guesser of the person next to them, then passing along the “guessing” duty, or everyone could give one guess about the person who's “it” (CEveryone gets one guess about what Mommy did at, etc.)
A few Guess Three prompts to get you started:
Guess three things…
- That annoy me
- That I think are pretty
- I love to eat
- That make me sad
- That I get excited about
- Places I love visiting
- My favorite parts of our day
- My favorite school subjects
- Where I would go on vacation
- People I'd like to invite to dinner
- That I did today while we were apart
Enjoy getting to know your family, and finding out what they know about you! Can you think of ways you could use this conversation game?
More Fun ways to Connect through Conversation:
- ABC About Your Day (great for the after school)
- 5 Classic Conversation Games
- Questions Game – summer edition
- Get To Know Your Kids Conversation Starters
Alissa Zorn is an author, and founder of the website Overthought This. She's a coach and cartoonist passionate about helping people overcome perfectionism and shame to build authentic, joyful lives. Alissa is certified through the International Coach Federation and got her Trauma-Informed Coaching certification from Moving the Human Spirit. She wrote Bounceback Parenting: A Field Guide for Creating Connection, Not Perfection, and is always following curiosity to find her next creative endeavor.