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
- 8
- Outcome
- Solved
- Format errors
- No errors
- Duration
- 2m 5s
- Round cost
- $0.1082 All 9 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":"video_game_character","event":"BEGIN","variation_token":"BKXG3AZI"}Valid replies are shown in the required format. Rejected replies are shown separately, without provider or call IDs.
Did this character first appear in a video game developed by a Japanese studio?
Recorded Guesser outputRequired JSON format
{"result":{"action":"ASK","description":null,"name":null,"question":"Did this character first appear in a video game developed by a Japanese studio?"}}Oracle evidence2 model-reported sources
The Oracle reported these excerpts and URLs. They are not independently checked.
Donkey Kong, originally released in 1981 by the Japanese Nintendo Company Ltd., marked the first appearance of Jumpman, better known as Mario.Open britannica.com (opens in a new tab)
Donkey Kong is a 1981 platform game developed and published by Nintendo; it is Mario's first appearance in a video game.Open en.wikipedia.org (opens in a new tab)
Did this character first appear in a video game published by Nintendo?
Recorded Guesser outputRequired JSON format
{"result":{"action":"ASK","description":null,"name":null,"question":"Did this character first appear in a video game published by Nintendo?"}}Oracle evidence2 model-reported sources
The Oracle reported these excerpts and URLs. They are not independently checked.
Donkey Kong was originally released in 1981 by the Japanese Nintendo Company Ltd.; the arcade machine marked the first appearance of Jumpman, better known as Mario.Open britannica.com (opens in a new tab)
“DONKEY KONG” is an action game released in 1981 by Nintendo.Open nintendo.com (opens in a new tab)
Did this character make their first appearance in a video game released before the year 2000?
Recorded Guesser outputRequired JSON format
{"result":{"action":"ASK","description":null,"name":null,"question":"Did this character make their first appearance in a video game released before the year 2000?"}}Oracle evidence2 model-reported sources
The Oracle reported these excerpts and URLs. They are not independently checked.
Mario debuted as the player character of Donkey Kong, a 1981 platform game.Open en.wikipedia.org (opens in a new tab)
Originally a second banana character in 'Donkey Kong' in 1981, Mario went on to conquer the video game world.Open history.com (opens in a new tab)
Did this character make their first appearance before the year 1990?
Recorded Guesser outputRequired JSON format
{"result":{"action":"ASK","description":null,"name":null,"question":"Did this character make their first appearance before the year 1990?"}}Oracle evidence2 model-reported sources
The Oracle reported these excerpts and URLs. They are not independently checked.
Mario debuted as the player character of Donkey Kong, a 1981 platform game.Open en.wikipedia.org (opens in a new tab)
Super Mario ... made his inauspicious debut in 1981.Open history.com (opens in a new tab)
Does this character originate from the Mario or Donkey Kong franchise?
Recorded Guesser outputRequired JSON format
{"result":{"action":"ASK","description":null,"name":null,"question":"Does this character originate from the Mario or Donkey Kong franchise?"}}Oracle evidence2 model-reported sources
The Oracle reported these excerpts and URLs. They are not independently checked.
First game: Donkey KongOpen en.wikipedia.org (opens in a new tab)
The official home of Super Mario — Mario through the yearsOpen mario.nintendo.com (opens in a new tab)
Did this character make their first appearance in an arcade video game?
Recorded Guesser outputRequired JSON format
{"result":{"action":"ASK","description":null,"name":null,"question":"Did this character make their first appearance in an arcade video game?"}}Oracle evidence2 model-reported sources
The Oracle reported these excerpts and URLs. They are not independently checked.
Mario debuted as the player character of Donkey Kong, a 1981 platform game; the character first appeared on arcade hardware.Open en.wikipedia.org (opens in a new tab)
Super Mario made his debut in 1981 in Donkey Kong.Open history.com (opens in a new tab)
Did this character make their debut in the 1981 arcade game Donkey Kong?
Recorded Guesser outputRequired JSON format
{"result":{"action":"ASK","description":null,"name":null,"question":"Did this character make their debut in the 1981 arcade game Donkey Kong?"}}Oracle evidence2 model-reported sources
The Oracle reported these excerpts and URLs. They are not independently checked.
Mario debuted as the player character of Donkey Kong, a 1981 platform game.Open en.wikipedia.org (opens in a new tab)
Super Mario ... made his inauspicious debut in 1981.Open history.com (opens in a new tab)
Was this character playable in the 1981 arcade game Donkey Kong?
Recorded Guesser outputRequired JSON format
{"result":{"action":"ASK","description":null,"name":null,"question":"Was this character playable in the 1981 arcade game Donkey Kong?"}}Oracle evidence2 model-reported sources
The Oracle reported these excerpts and URLs. They are not independently checked.
In the original game, players control Jumpman, who is later known as Mario, to save Pauline from Donkey Kong.Open britannica.com (opens in a new tab)
'Donkey Kong' was a popular arcade game released in 1981. In it, the player guided a heroic carpenter called Jumpman (who later became the heroic plumber Mario).Open collections.vam.ac.uk (opens in a new tab)
Mario
The Italian plumber protagonist of Nintendo's Mario franchise who debuted as Jumpman in the 1981 arcade game Donkey Kong
Validator rationale The proposal identifies Mario, matching the trusted subject and its identifying aliases and description.
Recorded Guesser outputRequired JSON format
{"result":{"action":"GUESS","description":"The Italian plumber protagonist of Nintendo's Mario franchise who debuted as Jumpman in the 1981 arcade game Donkey Kong","name":"Mario","question":null}}