Black Magic (game)

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Black Magic is a trick game whose object is to try and guess patterns in sequences of words, numbers or objects. It is most commonly played with a few people who know the pattern and a group of people who don't, and are trying to guess it.

[edit] Variations

Black Magic has many variations that are all based on the original idea of trying to guess a pattern or connection between objects.

[edit] Examples

1. Guess the relationship between the following objects:

   There is a tree, but no flowers. There is a deer, but no mountain lion. There is a moon, but no sun. There is coffee, but no cups. There is a book, but no pens.

   (This is also known as Bobby's World, Fannee Doolee or The Green Glass Door)

2. What is the rule that allows me to reach the number four, given any number?

   • 10 → 3 → 5 → 4
   • 15 → 7 → 5 → 4
   • 23 → 11 → 6 → 3 → 5 → 4
   • 20 → 6 → 3 → 5 → 4

3. The player claps their hands 3 times, and asks, "How many flies are there?" In this case, the answer is 5. The player claps his hands 7 times, and asks, "How about now?" This time the answer is 3. What is the pattern?

4. Tell the following story: "I once went on a camping trip and I brought a cat. After that, I packed an apricot. Following that, I put matches in my bag, then peaches, then ice, then nunchucks, then a gorilla, then a tree, then a rooster, then an ice-cream, then a pony." What is the pattern?

[edit] Solutions

1. Solution: In the first thing, the word has a double vowel; while the next word has no double vowel.

2. Solution: Count the number of letters in the number. For example, fifteen has 7 letters, so the next number in the sequence will be 7.

3. Solution: The number of flies is not dependent on how many times the player claps their hands. It depends on the number of words in the question. For example, if the player asks, "How about now?" the answer is 3. If they ask nothing, it is zero.

4. Solution: Each item in the list should begin with a corresponding letter in the words camping trip. For example, C could correspond with cat or clothing, and A could correspond with apricot or apple. This continues until the all the letters in camping trip have been used.