# 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:** 6
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2015, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defeat-the-akinator/598724/101 "2015-06-23T23:53:53Z")
I also stumped him with Girmar, the girl martian played by Pia Zadora in “Santa Claus Conquers the Martians”. ---
**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:** [June 24, 2015, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defeat-the-akinator/598724/102 "2015-06-24T04:03:22Z")
Oddly, David Mikkelson from Snopes beat him. He had his wife Barbara in there twice, but no David. I also beat him with Keith Moore, head librarian at the Royal Society, but he’s relatively new to YouTube (in Brady Haran’s Objectivity Channel). I also beat him with SF Debris’s evil Janeway, but I’m not sure that one was fair. Also, I found it odd that Yahtzee Croshaw was listed as not a console gamer when he’s reviewed console games. Made it take a really long time. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2015, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defeat-the-akinator/598724/103 "2015-06-24T04:55:48Z")
I stumped him with Joey Smallwood, Prince Rupert of the Rhine, and Walter Scott, first Premier of Saskatchewan. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2015, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defeat-the-akinator/598724/104 "2015-06-24T17:12:37Z")
He recognized Eleanor from _Eleanor and Park_. Failed to get Jaelle n’ha Melora from _The Shattered Chain_ etc Darkover books. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2015, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defeat-the-akinator/598724/105 "2015-06-24T18:37:27Z")
I’ve just defeated it with Lilith from the Gaia webcomic. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2015, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defeat-the-akinator/598724/106 "2015-06-24T19:51:24Z")
> [@Ximenean](#): > > 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. I haven’t found this. When I’ve played it seems to guess a huge number of rugby and cricket players. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2015, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defeat-the-akinator/598724/107 "2015-06-24T19:54:11Z")
It won’t load on either browser I’ve tried but back when I last did successfully load it a few years ago, it did quite often ask pretty early if I was thinking of a cricket player (and I couldn’t even name you one actual cricket player.) ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2015, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defeat-the-akinator/598724/108 "2015-06-24T20:27:56Z")
I beat it with Eddie Stanky, Jesse Barfield, and any number of other baseball players. For fun I tried a Stephen King character; Peter McVries from “The Long Walk.” Fail (77 questions in, it was actually getting further, which I find surprising.) Really, it’s easy to beat; just pick a famous person or character who is NOT part of something Internet folks are likely to be into. I am sure the Akinator knows every single character on Game of Thrones, The Simpsons, The Big Bang Theory, or a video game. I’ve said this before but if anything I find the Akinator is one of the WORST 20-questions simulators I’ve ever played with, I’d assume because it’s now just guessing based on the repeated popularity of pop culture guesses and its owner isn’t bothering to improve it. Its algorithm is nonsensical. I started it up just now and the first question was “Is your character in Mission Impossible?” That’s not a very clever starting point. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2015, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defeat-the-akinator/598724/109 "2015-06-30T22:12:03Z")
He got me the first time with Betty White. But I stumped him with Mark Spitz. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2015, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defeat-the-akinator/598724/110 "2015-07-01T00:51:13Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > …Aki asked twice each, “from Earth?” and “has tattoos?”…The very freakin’ first question was, “Connected to SpongeBob SquarePants?” Asked me twice each if he was fictional and was an adult man… Twice asked if he was from a videogame, and also asked “Is your character orange?” and “Is your character still in his band?” WTF? …Asked if the character was from a novel, TV, movie, song, comics or anime, but never asked if he was from a short story (come to think of it, Aki never asked me if any of these characters were from short stories). Also asked, “Is your character a penguin?” and “Is your character linked with the color orange?” WTF x2? > [@RickJay](#): > > …I’ve said this before but if anything I find the Akinator is one of the WORST 20-questions simulators I’ve ever played with, I’d assume because it’s now just guessing based on the repeated popularity of pop culture guesses and its owner isn’t bothering to improve it. Its algorithm is nonsensical. I started it up just now and the first question was “Is your character in Mission Impossible?” That’s not a very clever starting point. Preach it! ---
**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:** [July 1, 2015, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defeat-the-akinator/598724/111 "2015-07-01T01:40:38Z")
The problem is not a lack of maintenance. The problem is continual maintenance, performed by every Tom, Dick, and Harry with an internet connection. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2015, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defeat-the-akinator/598724/112 "2015-07-01T12:29:10Z")
I got him with Evil Ash from Army of Darkness, probably because it asked me if he sings, and, he did (Oh Susanna), but only in the director’s cut. ---
**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:** [July 7, 2015, 9:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defeat-the-akinator/598724/113 "2015-07-07T09:04:01Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > I started it up just now and the first question was “Is your character in Mission Impossible?” That’s not a very clever starting point. He likes to ask me if my character is from SpongeBob Squarepants. I think it must be using other data, like maybe my age and IP address location. He did seem a lot better in the past. He seemed to always pick questions that narrowed down the field by half, like a good 20Q simulator should do. ---
**Author:** ![xdasher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/a9a28c/32.png) [@xdasher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xdasher)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2015, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defeat-the-akinator/598724/114 "2015-11-17T20:37:31Z")
I stumped him with Flaccus Terentius from The Emperors Guide to Tamriel ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2015, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defeat-the-akinator/598724/115 "2015-11-17T21:43:47Z")
The last several times I’ve used it, it’s started out asking if the person I was thinking of became famous on YouTube. ---
**Author:** ![Thing\_Fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecb155/32.png) [@Thing\_Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing_Fish)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2015, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defeat-the-akinator/598724/116 "2015-11-17T22:58:46Z")
25 questions to get Jake Chambers from Stephen King’s Dark Tower series. That’s kind of a lot, but I was gobsmacked when it IDed him, because I didn’t think he was anywhere close. ---
**Author:** ![Thing\_Fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecb155/32.png) [@Thing\_Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing_Fish)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2015, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defeat-the-akinator/598724/117 "2015-11-17T23:06:29Z")
Stumped it on the second try with Zilpah (concubine of Jacob, Book of Genesis). It was repeating itself on a few questions, and around question 60, after it had been long established that my character was Biblical, it asked “Was your character known for his/her emo hair at one point?”, which I found pretty funny. ---
**Author:** ![Thing\_Fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecb155/32.png) [@Thing\_Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing_Fish)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2015, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defeat-the-akinator/598724/118 "2015-11-17T23:09:41Z")
And now it’s not letting me play any more! Sore loser. ---
**Author:** ![Thing\_Fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecb155/32.png) [@Thing\_Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing_Fish)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2015, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defeat-the-akinator/598724/119 "2015-11-17T23:25:52Z")
OK, it relented. Stumped it with another Dark Tower character: Brown, the hermit who Roland meets at the very beginning (or, well, you know…) About 50 questions in, it guessed another minor DT character, Sheemie Ruiz, but then fell off the Path of the Beam, I guess. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2015, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defeat-the-akinator/598724/120 "2015-11-17T23:51:53Z")
I stumped it again (at first) with [Oderus Urungus](https://www.google.com/search?q=oderus+urungus&biw=1600&bih=799&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&sqi=2&ved=0CAYQ_AUoAWoVChMI3qXAudOYyQIVhismCh2kAwf8) from Gwar. Its first guess was Jim Morrison. It got it on the continuation, though. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defeat-the-akinator/598724.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defeat-the-akinator/598724.md?page=7)