# Defeat the Akinator! **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [October 5, 2011, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defeat-the-akinator/598724 "2011-10-05T20:50:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Mosier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ea924/32.png) [@Mosier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mosier)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2011, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defeat-the-akinator/598724/21 "2011-10-06T04:07:38Z")
It guessed Skeletor from Masters of the Universe in 18 questions, exactly as many as it took to get Pluto, Mickey Mouse’s dog. ---
**Author:** ![VanillaGorilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/f9ae1b/32.png) [@VanillaGorilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VanillaGorilla)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2011, 9:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defeat-the-akinator/598724/22 "2011-10-06T09:03:28Z")
I stumped it with N.U. Unruh, he wasn’t in there at all. He is now, though. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Duke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Duke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2011, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defeat-the-akinator/598724/23 "2011-10-06T14:23:19Z")
It took all 40 questions to get Elmore Leonard, but James Ellroy stumped it. ---
**Author:** ![kushiel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bbce88/32.png) [@kushiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kushiel)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2011, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defeat-the-akinator/598724/24 "2011-10-07T00:40:01Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > And it didn’t even have Gurthang in its database, but it did guess Stormbringer and Frostmourne, which are both pretty close. It amazed me with how quickly it got Illidan. I then proceeded to stump it with Ariabart Tytania from the Japanese space opera Tytania. ---
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2011, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defeat-the-akinator/598724/25 "2011-10-07T02:18:42Z")
I stumped him on the first try with Tyler Clutts, FB for the Chicago Bears. I suppose in the game’s defense, there’s not going to be a lot of people thinking of him. So he’s in the database now, so I guess it’ll get it next time. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2011, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defeat-the-akinator/598724/26 "2011-10-07T13:38:35Z")
I stumped him with Cecil. He had him in the database, but my answers didn’t make it. And, unfortunately, when you go that far, you can’t look at your answers and see if I got some “wrong.” ---
**Author:** ![sohvan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/96bed5/32.png) [@sohvan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sohvan)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2011, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defeat-the-akinator/598724/27 "2011-10-07T14:02:10Z")
It got planet jupiter in 20 questions, and its not even a real character. ---
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2011, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defeat-the-akinator/598724/28 "2011-10-07T14:03:46Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > That game has been linked here several times in the past. Always fun to play. I beat it on my first attempt today with Rickey Jackson, HoF LB for the Saints. I bet it didn’t get him, because it explicitly states that its target is real or fictional characters, not actual people. Had there been a movie made about Rickey Jackson it would have had you, just like it got me with Rudy Ruettiger, complete with Sean Astin picture. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2011, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defeat-the-akinator/598724/29 "2011-10-07T15:09:39Z")
Surprised me by getting Roy Greenhilt. The questions seemed like random guesses; “Is your character from Hong Kong?” “Is your character from a TV series?” “Has your character been to outer space?” The only question that seemed to target Roy Greenhilt was “Does your character use a sword?”. But there was no question about my character being in a webcomic or a fantasy setting or on a quest to avenge his father or even shaving his head. ---
**Author:** ![Telperion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telperion/32/509_2.png) [@Telperion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telperion)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2011, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defeat-the-akinator/598724/30 "2011-10-07T18:14:17Z")
I stumped it well and good with _Mielikki_, which is a Finnish nature goddess from the Kalevala. Apparently the Aesir are in the database however, because that’s what the guesses were based on. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2011, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defeat-the-akinator/598724/31 "2011-10-07T19:09:18Z")
I’ve only beaten it once, with sci-fi writer Gene Wolfe. It guessed Orson Scott Card and Dan Simmons. Some of my answers may have been wrong though. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2011, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defeat-the-akinator/598724/32 "2011-10-07T19:39:24Z")
Beat it again with English philosopher of science William Whewell ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2011, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defeat-the-akinator/598724/33 "2011-10-07T20:30:01Z")
> [@](#): > > Surprised me by getting Roy Greenhilt. The questions seemed like random guesses; “Is your character from Hong Kong?” “Is your character from a TV series?” “Has your character been to outer space?” The only question that seemed to target Roy Greenhilt was “Does your character use a sword?”. But there was no question about my character being in a webcomic or a fantasy setting or on a quest to avenge his father or even shaving his head. Order of the Stick is pretty well-covered there, though. There’s also a psychological effect, here, in that the computer is playing the game better than we do. Humans playing 20 questions tend to ask questions for which we think the answer is probably “yes”, and so getting a lot of “yes” answers seems like a good thing to us. But the optimal strategy, which the computer is pretty close to, is to find questions that always cut your search space in half. With a good question, a yes or a no either one give you the same amount of information. To use your example, a lot of characters who use swords _are_ from Hong Kong. So by determining that whomever-it-is isn’t from Hong Kong, Akinator has narrowed down the field significantly. ---
**Author:** ![Raza](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/raza/32/213_2.png) [@Raza](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raza)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2011, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defeat-the-akinator/598724/34 "2011-10-07T20:33:22Z")
I stumped it with Marjorie Merriweather Post. I even let it have several additional rounds (the “continue” option), and it still didn’t get it. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2011, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defeat-the-akinator/598724/35 "2011-10-07T20:39:05Z")
I beat it the very first time! Al Pratt, the Golden Age Atom of the Justice Society of America. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2011, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defeat-the-akinator/598724/36 "2011-10-07T21:02:57Z")
OK, this is a funny one-- Akinator correctly guessed the Golem of Prague (after about 30 questions), but he expected the answer “yes” to “is your character a dinosaur”. Methinks someone clicked the wrong button, somewhere there. ---
**Author:** ![Telperion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telperion/32/509_2.png) [@Telperion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telperion)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2011, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defeat-the-akinator/598724/37 "2011-10-07T21:41:00Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > To use your example, a lot of characters who use swords _are_ from Hong Kong. To be honest, I can’t think of a single one. From China as a whole, possibly, but not specifically from Hong Kong. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2011, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defeat-the-akinator/598724/38 "2011-10-07T22:45:17Z")
> [@Telperion](#): > > I stumped it well and good with _Mielikki_, which is a Finnish nature goddess from the Kalevala. Apparently the Aesir are in the database however, because that’s what the guesses were based on. Huh. Learned something today - to me Mielikki is a hunting/nature goddess and patron of rangers in D&D’s _Forgotten Realms_. Then again, considering the amount of myth plundering that goes on in there, I suppose it’s not exactly surprising 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2011, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defeat-the-akinator/598724/39 "2011-10-07T23:24:10Z")
It seems a bit US-oriented. It has not even heard of Lloyd Mangram. I had to add Lloyd Mangram to the database, like he was some schmuck. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Q](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/898d66/32.png) [@Johnny\_Q](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Q)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2011, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defeat-the-akinator/598724/40 "2011-10-07T23:29:23Z")
Stumped it with [Wallace Greenslade](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wallace_Greenslade) the announcer for _The Goon Show_ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defeat-the-akinator/598724.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defeat-the-akinator/598724.md?page=3)