You are the Guesser being evaluated in a Twenty Questions benchmark. One subject is hidden. The initial BEGIN message provides its broad category as trusted game metadata. Identify the subject using as few counted questions as possible. ASK is only for learning a property that helps distinguish possible candidates. Never use ASK to confirm a named candidate or ask whether the subject is a specific identity. When you are ready to name a candidate, use GUESS immediately. A correct GUESS costs zero counted questions; an incorrect GUESS costs exactly one, the same as ASK. A GUESS must provide both a name and a short identifying description. The engine replies only YES, NO, or UNKNOWN; UNKNOWN is a valid answer meaning the factual adjudication system could not determine the proposition under its evidence policy. Questions requiring proof of absence, exclusivity, completeness, exact counts, or subjective classification are more likely to return UNKNOWN. Prefer direct, positively verifiable properties when possible. The initial BEGIN event includes an opaque variation_token that contains no information about the hidden subject. Do not interpret, repeat, mention, or derive meaning from it. After BEGIN, each user reply is either one adjudicated YES, NO, or UNKNOWN token or a fixed FORMAT_ERROR event. FORMAT_ERROR means your immediately preceding response did not match the required structured-action contract, was not semantically adjudicated, and consumed one counted turn. Use the formats in that event and try again. Never infer that the attempted question or guess was right or wrong. At most 50 questions or rejected guesses are counted. After that limit you receive one final guess-only opportunity. Format errors also consume counted turns. The provider wire response is an object with exactly one `result` action. On the final opportunity ASK is forbidden. Return only the required structured response. Do not include analysis, hidden reasoning, or additional fields.
- Questions
- 11
- Outcome
- Solved
- Format errors
- No errors
- Duration
- 3m 44s
- Round cost
- $0.2598 All 12 turns
Transcript
Questions and answers.
Turns are shown in the order they happened. Each shows the Guesser's question or guess, then the final checked answer.
Exact Guesser setupSystem message and BEGIN event
The Guesser received these messages at the start of the round. The BEGIN message holds the broad category and a code made from the base seed and round number, which reveals nothing about the subject.
{"category":"person","event":"BEGIN","variation_token":"XSZW5TRZ"}Valid replies are shown in the required format. Rejected replies are shown separately, without provider or call IDs.
Is the person currently alive?
Recorded Guesser outputRequired JSON format
{"result":{"action":"ASK","description":null,"name":null,"question":"Is the person currently alive?"}}Oracle evidence2 model-reported sources
The Oracle reported these excerpts and URLs. They are not independently checked.
Latest News... Exclusive First Look at OTHER WORLDS Art. Posted: July 13th, 2026... OTHER WORLDS THAN THESE features...Open stephenking.com (opens in a new tab)
Which is why we're giving you plenty of time to get in your questions as King prepares to take the reader interview chair...Open theguardian.com (opens in a new tab)
Is the person primarily known for work in politics or government?
Recorded Guesser outputRequired JSON format
{"result":{"action":"ASK","description":null,"name":null,"question":"Is the person primarily known for work in politics or government?"}}Oracle evidence2 model-reported sources
The Oracle reported these excerpts and URLs. They are not independently checked.
King is recognized as one of the most famous and successful horror writers of all time.Open biography.com (opens in a new tab)
Stephen King is a prolific American novelist known for blending horror, fantasy, science fiction, and the macabre.Open britannica.com (opens in a new tab)
Is the person primarily known for work in entertainment (acting, music, film, or television)?
Recorded Guesser outputRequired JSON format
{"result":{"action":"ASK","description":null,"name":null,"question":"Is the person primarily known for work in entertainment (acting, music, film, or television)?"}}Oracle evidence2 model-reported sources
The Oracle reported these excerpts and URLs. They are not independently checked.
Stephen King is a prolific American novelist known for blending horror, fantasy, science fiction, and the macabre.Open britannica.com (opens in a new tab)
Stephen Edwin King ... is an American author. Dubbed the “King of Horror,” he is widely known for his horror fiction.Open en.wikipedia.org (opens in a new tab)
Is the person primarily known as an athlete or for sports?
Recorded Guesser outputRequired JSON format
{"result":{"action":"ASK","description":null,"name":null,"question":"Is the person primarily known as an athlete or for sports?"}}Oracle evidence2 model-reported sources
The Oracle reported these excerpts and URLs. They are not independently checked.
Stephen (Edwin) King ... U.S. writer of horror stories.Open britannica.com (opens in a new tab)
Stephen Edwin King ... is an American author ... widely known for his horror fiction.Open en.wikipedia.org (opens in a new tab)
Is the person primarily known for work in business or technology (e.g., as an entrepreneur or executive)?
Recorded Guesser outputRequired JSON format
{"result":{"action":"ASK","description":null,"name":null,"question":"Is the person primarily known for work in business or technology (e.g., as an entrepreneur or executive)?"}}Oracle evidence2 model-reported sources
The Oracle reported these excerpts and URLs. They are not independently checked.
Best-selling author Stephen King rose to fame in the 1970s with his debut novel Carrie and has since become known as the “King of Horror.”Open biography.com (opens in a new tab)
Now known worldwide for his horror creations in best-selling books and popular film adaptations.Open bloomsbury.com (opens in a new tab)
Is the person primarily known as a writer or author?
Recorded Guesser outputRequired JSON format
{"result":{"action":"ASK","description":null,"name":null,"question":"Is the person primarily known as a writer or author?"}}Oracle evidence2 model-reported sources
The Oracle reported these excerpts and URLs. They are not independently checked.
Stephen King is a prolific, best-selling, internationally famous author who is known primarily as a writer of horror fiction.Open encyclopedia.com (opens in a new tab)
American novelistOpen britannica.com (opens in a new tab)
Is the person primarily known for writing fiction (novels or short stories)?
Recorded Guesser outputRequired JSON format
{"result":{"action":"ASK","description":null,"name":null,"question":"Is the person primarily known for writing fiction (novels or short stories)?"}}Oracle evidence2 model-reported sources
The Oracle reported these excerpts and URLs. They are not independently checked.
Stephen King is a prolific American novelist known for blending horror, fantasy, science fiction, and the macabre.Open britannica.com (opens in a new tab)
Stephen (Edwin) King ... U.S. writer of horror stories.Open britannica.com (opens in a new tab)
Does the person write primarily in English?
Recorded Guesser outputRequired JSON format
{"result":{"action":"ASK","description":null,"name":null,"question":"Does the person write primarily in English?"}}Oracle evidence2 model-reported sources
The Oracle reported these excerpts and URLs. They are not independently checked.
Stephen King is an American novelist, short story writer, novella writer, scriptwriter, nonfiction writer, autobiographer, and author of children's books.Open encyclopedia.com (opens in a new tab)
He graduated from the University of Maine at Orono in 1970, with a B.A. in English and qualified to teach on the high school level.Open stephenking.com (opens in a new tab)
Is the person a citizen of the United States?
Recorded Guesser outputRequired JSON format
{"result":{"action":"ASK","description":null,"name":null,"question":"Is the person a citizen of the United States?"}}Oracle evidence2 model-reported sources
The Oracle reported these excerpts and URLs. They are not independently checked.
Stephen King was born in Portland, Maine in 1947.Open stephenking.com (opens in a new tab)
Stephen King is a prolific American author... Born on September 21, 1947, in Portland, Maine.Open ebsco.com (opens in a new tab)
Is the person a man?
Recorded Guesser outputRequired JSON format
{"result":{"action":"ASK","description":null,"name":null,"question":"Is the person a man?"}}Oracle evidence1 model-reported source
The Oracle reported these excerpts and URLs. They are not independently checked.
Stephen King was born in Portland, Maine in 1947, the second son of Donald and Nellie Ruth Pillsbury King.Open stephenking.com (opens in a new tab)
Is the person primarily known for writing in the horror or supernatural genre?
Recorded Guesser outputRequired JSON format
{"result":{"action":"ASK","description":null,"name":null,"question":"Is the person primarily known for writing in the horror or supernatural genre?"}}Oracle evidence2 model-reported sources
The Oracle reported these excerpts and URLs. They are not independently checked.
Dubbed the "King of Horror", he is widely known for his horror fiction.Open en.wikipedia.org (opens in a new tab)
King is recognized as one of the most famous and successful horror writers of all time.Open biography.com (opens in a new tab)
Stephen King
American author of horror novels such as It, The Shining, and Carrie
Validator rationale The proposed identity names Stephen King and matches the trusted subject's identifying description.
Recorded Guesser outputRequired JSON format
{"result":{"action":"GUESS","description":"American author of horror novels such as It, The Shining, and Carrie","name":"Stephen King","question":null}}