What are Minute Mysteries?

These mystery riddles are given to engage the mind. Participants ask “yes” or “no” questions to get clues to what might be the answer. These can keep groups busy for hours. Never simply give away the answers. Let participants think about these for a while. You always have someone coming back to you hours later saying “I figured it out!”

The Iron (My Personal Favorite!)

There is a man pushing an Iron down the street he stops, pays the shopkeeper $50 and continues pushing his Iron down the street. What is he doing?

Answer: He’s is playing Monopoly

Light Bulbs

There are 3 light bulbs on a ceiling in a room that is 7 feet tall. There are no windows in the room and only 1 door. There are 3 switches outside the room. How do you find out which switch turns on each bulb by only opening the door once?

Answer: Turn on 1 bulb for 5 minutes. Turn it off. Turn another switch on. And then you will have 2 bulbs off, 1 Hot 1 Cold, and 1 bulb on.

Hanging

There is a man hanging from a rafter in a room with 30 ft ceilings. There is no way to get up to the ceiling and no windows at the top of the building. There is a light mist on the floor. How did he get there?

Answer: He was standing on a large block of dry ice.

Straws

There is a man lying dead in a field with a straw in his hand. How did he die?

Answer: He was in a hot air balloon that was going down so they drew straws and he drew the short straw.

Backpack

There is a man lying dead in a field with a backpack on. How did he die?

Answer: His parachute didn’t open.

Alternative Clue

Clue: A body is found in the middle of a field with a ring on his finger. How did he die?
Answer: The ring is a rip cord, but the parachute didn’t open.

Adam and eve

There is an archeologist performing a dig and come across 2 perfectly preserved bodies. 1 Male and one female. Immediately he knows its Adam and Eve and does no testing on the bodies. How does he know?

Answer: They have no belly buttons.

The Traveler

There is a man who has been traveling for many years. He was all alone on his ship. He finds land and has a sparrow sandwich from one of the taverns. After this he walks off a bridge. Why?

Answer: His cook had been feeding him sailors and telling him that it was sparrow sandwiches.

Cigarettes

3 men in a boat with 4 cigarettes. None of them have a light. How do they smoke?

Answer: The throw 1 cigarette out of the boat and make 1 cigarette lighter.

Bodies In Water

Clue: Two bodies are lying in a puddle of water and there is broken glass all about. How did they die?
Answer: The bodies are two fish, whose tank has fell and broke.

Man and Hotel

Clue: A man pushes his car in front of a hotel, and say “I’m broke and I’m out!” What happened?
Answer: He is playing monopoly.

Man in the Mask

Clue: I want to go home, but the man in the mask won’t let me. Who is the man in the mask?
Answer: A baseball catcher

50 People In a Cabin

Clue: Fifty people are in a cabin having a snack. Now they are all dead. What happened?
Answer: It was an airplane cabin and the plane crashed.

Picture Mystery

Clue: One week after visiting a park sightseeing a woman calls the police to report a murder. What happened?
Answer: The body was undetected until it showed up in some pictures she took which had to be developed.

Elevator Doors

Clue: A woman leaves her friend’s room and pushes the button for the elevator. The doors opened part-way then stopped, and her friend was dead. What happened?
Answer: This takes place in a hospital where the electricity failed, so the elevator doors stopped. Her friend was on a respirator, which also stopped, killing him.

Blind Tightrope Walker

Clue: A man is walking, the music stopped and the man died. What happened?
Answer: The man was a blind tight-rope walker who used the music to signal when he was at the end of the rope. The music finished early and he fell to his death.

What are Never Can Tell Games?

Never can tell games are great to keep groups thinking and entertained. These never can tell games are great for campfires or just to have a low key activity if your group needs a break from high energy activities. The name explains it all you never give away the answers to any of these games (Not Ever!). The best part of these never can tell games is watching participants figure out the “trick” to each of the games and once they do figure it out they are able participate in the telling of the game.

Original Black Magic

• This never can tell games requires 2 people that know the “trick”
• Explain that you and your partner can “read each others mind”
• Someone who is picked goes out of earshot of the group
• An object is picked to be the correct object
• The person comes back and is asked to guess the correct object when it is pointed out.
• The correct object is always the object named after something black

Johnny whoops

• A simple finger game
• Start on your pinky finger and move towards your thumb.
• While pointing at each finger say:
  “Johnny, Johnny, Johnny, Johnny, Whoops (Sliding between your index and thumb) Johnny, Whoops, Johnny, Johnny, Johnny, Johnny”
• The trick can be any of the following

1. Folding your hands at the end of the game
2. Clearing your throat before you start
3. Say K or OK before you begin

How Many?

• The game begins with you pointing out a number of objects.
• “There are 5 trees over there”
• Then you ask a question
• “How many tress are there?” – 5
• The answer is the number of words in the question at the end of the phrase.
• So if you asked “How many?” the answer would be 2

Click! Who’s in the picture?

• You form a “picture” with your fingers and point it at someone and say “click”
• Then you say “who’s in the picture?”
• The first person to speak after you say “who’s in the picture” is the person who is in the picture

Variation: Bang!…..Who’s dead?

• The exact same game as above but using your fingers like a gun
• The person who speaks first after the last bang is the person who is dead

Are These Sticks Crossed?

• Get 2 sticks or objects and place them in a crossed or uncrossed position
• Then ask if they are crossed
• The trick to this game is that whether or not the actual sticks are crossed doesn’t matter. It is actually if the persons legs are crossed that is facilitating the game.

 What Number do You see?

• Similar to “Are these sticks crossed?”
• Get multiple sticks to use.
• Place them into a pattern
• Then ask “What number do you see?”

The Trick to this one is that after you have positioned the sticks your hold a certain number of fingers out on your leg or in a fairly inconspicuous place so that the answer isn’t obvious. The number of fingers that you’re holding up is the answer. So 4 fingers then answer would be 4.

 Variation: Acted out Numbers

The same never can tell games as “What number do you see” except that you choose participants from the group that will let you “form” them into numbers. This never can tell games is especially fun with younger children because they are active participants in it and also one of my go to games when I need to fill some time.

 Snaps

Snaps is one of the most difficult never can tell games you can play. If you get a group that are really good at never can tell games throw this one at them. I’ve heard from several outdoor center/summer camp staff members that it took their entire childhood at summer camp to figure this one out!

• Have someone who knows the game go out of earshot.
• Have the audience choose a word to be the “Answer”
• Call the person back to the group
• Start by saying either” This is the game of snaps” Or “this is not the game of snaps” before each sentence
• If you start with “This is the game of snaps” then the first letter or each sentence you say begins to spell a word.
• If you begin with “This is not the game of snaps” the sentences that are said have no meaning and are designed the throw off participants from figuring out the anwers.

Example: “This is the game of snaps.” (Snap your fingered a few times for a distraction) Good thing I brought a water bottle. Are you going to bring your water bottle? My Water bottle is red. Ever wonder why they make red water bottles?

The answer to this round of snaps would be “Game”

If there are several words that you are trying to figure out. Start each new word with “This is the game of snaps”.