Questions to Ask a Magic 8 Ball
These are for a sleepover, a slow afternoon at a desk, or a kid who has just been handed the ball and needs something to ask it. All 51 questions are yes or no, the only kind a Magic 8 Ball can answer, and they are sorted into five groups: Funny, Love, School and work, The future and Group game. Warm up with the funny ones, and bring out the group game when everybody wants a turn.
Want questions from the whole vault instead? Try the random question generator.
The questions
Each question, and why to ask it
Funny
Will I ever find my other sock?
Why ask it
A good first question because nothing rides on it. 'Outlook not so good' is the funniest reply the ball can give here, so read it out in your most serious voice.
Is my cat secretly in charge of this house?
Why ask it
Swap in the dog, the hamster or a little brother. On a 'Without a doubt', the pet gets to pick the next question, and somebody has to translate.
Am I the funniest person in this room?
Why ask it
Only ask if you can take a 'Very doubtful' in front of witnesses. When the ball says yes, the room is allowed to demand a joke on the spot as proof.
Is a hot dog a sandwich?
Why ask it
The ball has no business settling this, which is why people ask it. The losing side gets one appeal, and then the ruling stands for the night.
Do you get dizzy when I shake you?
Why ask it
Ask the ball about itself and every reply sounds like it has feelings: 'Better not tell you now' comes across as a queasy complaint. It has a point, too, since a slow turn gives a clearer reply than a hard shake.
Would I last ten minutes in a zombie movie?
Why ask it
Putting a number in the question gives the answer something to bite on. After a no, go around and let each person say what would get them first.
Are you making these answers up?
Why ask it
'My sources say no' is the reply everyone hopes for, since it raises the matter of who the sources are. Save it for right after an answer nobody liked.
Are aliens real?
Why ask it
One of the oldest questions put to the ball, and it answers with total confidence either way. After a yes the follow-ups write themselves: have they been here, and do they like us?
Will I eat something green today?
Why ask it
Small enough to check by bedtime, which little kids love. A no works as a dare for the vegetable dodgers, and a yes lets a parent point at the broccoli.
Is my stuffed animal awake while I'm asleep?
Why ask it
A gentle one for the youngest person at the sleepover. Yes means the toy is keeping watch and no means it sleeps when they do, so nobody goes to bed worried.
Can you keep a secret?
Why ask it
Whisper one into the window straight after a yes. A no from a toy with no mouth is its own joke, so point that out and tell it the secret anyway.
Love
Does my crush know I exist?
Why ask it
The classic sleepover question, and the no is the answer you can do something about: it means saying hello on Monday. Nobody has to name the crush for it to work.
Does the person I'm thinking of like me back?
Why ask it
Think of the name and keep it to yourself, so a 'Don't count on it' stays private. The ball would give the same odds for a pop star or the class hamster, so take a yes as luck and a no as nothing at all.
Should I tell my best friend who I like?
Why ask it
Works best with that friend sitting next to you. If the ball says go ahead, whisper the name instead of announcing it, and the friend owes you one back.
Should I be the one to say hi first?
Why ask it
One of the few here where a yes gives you homework, and a plain hi in the hallway counts. A no only means not today, since the ball can be asked again tomorrow.
Will I get a text back before I go to sleep?
Why ask it
The deadline turns it into a prediction you can check, because by morning you know whether the ball was right. Keep score if you ask it most nights.
Will someone ask me to the dance?
Why ask it
Follow a no with the reverse: whether you should do the asking. It suits the week before any school dance, when half the room is wondering the same thing silently.
Will I still like the same person a month from now?
Why ask it
Write the reply and the date on a slip of paper and look at it in four weeks. Crushes move fast, so a no has decent odds of coming true.
Will I meet someone new this year?
Why ask it
Broad on purpose, so a yes can come true at a new school, a summer job or a cousin's wedding. For anyone single and a bit fed up, it is kinder than asking about one particular person.
Will my partner remember our anniversary without a reminder?
Why ask it
For couples who keep the ball on a shelf. Ask it with the partner in earshot and the date becomes very hard to forget, which is the real reason to ask.
Have I already met the person I'm going to marry?
Why ask it
A yes sends everyone through the yearbook, and a no is the romantic answer, since the stranger is still out there somewhere. It goes over as well at a bridal shower as at a sleepover.
School and work
Will I pass my next test?
Why ask it
Ask before you study, not instead of studying. 'Most likely' is nice to hear and 'Very doubtful' is a decent push toward the flashcards, so neither reply hurts.
Will there be a pop quiz this week?
Why ask it
Checkable by Friday, which makes it worth asking on a Sunday night. If a classmate's ball said something different, the two of you have a bet.
Will the teacher forget to collect the homework?
Why ask it
Pure wishful thinking, and the ball's ten yes answers will encourage it. Do the homework regardless, because the toy takes none of the blame when it is wrong.
Should I start the project tonight?
Why ask it
Everyone knows the right answer, so this is a test of whether the ball has any sense. If it says no, ask whether tomorrow is better and see how long it lets you stall.
Will we get a snow day this winter?
Why ask it
It depends entirely on where you live, which makes it a sure thing in some towns and a joke in others. Narrow it to this week when a storm is in the forecast.
Am I going to make the team?
Why ask it
It works the same for the school play, the band and the debate squad. The tryout decides it whatever floats up, and a no the night before should be laughed off, not carried into the gym.
Will my group project partners do their share?
Why ask it
Gets a groan from anyone who has ever been assigned a group. Treat 'Don't count on it' as a prompt to divide up the tasks in writing tomorrow.
Will this meeting finish on time?
Why ask it
The office desk question, asked with the ball held just out of camera view. Tell a coworker what it said and check the reply against the clock.
Will I hear back about the job this week?
Why ask it
The ball cannot see an inbox, so a yes is only good for your mood. Treat a no as the cue to send one short follow-up, which does more than waiting on a toy.
Will the printer work when I need it to?
Why ask it
Printers and Magic 8 Balls are about equally hard to predict. Ask right before you press print, with coworkers watching, and blame the ball for the paper jam.
The future
Will tomorrow be a good day?
Why ask it
A short horizon, so you find out fast, and kids like asking it at bedtime. Steer a 'My reply is no' into naming one thing that would prove the ball wrong.
Will I be rich someday?
Why ask it
Nearly everyone asks this within a minute of picking the ball up. A yes costs it nothing, so follow with whether it happens before you turn thirty and watch the ball start to hedge.
Will I be famous one day?
Why ask it
Go straight on to what for, one guess per flip: singing, a sport, a video of you falling off something. Stop at the first yes and that is your destiny for the evening.
Will it rain on my birthday?
Why ask it
The further off the birthday, the better, since nobody can argue with the reply yet. A yes is a fine excuse to plan the indoor version of the party, in case the toy gets lucky.
Will I travel somewhere I've never been this year?
Why ask it
A town an hour away counts, which makes a yes easy to bring about on purpose. Once the ball has spoken, have each person say where they would go.
Will I ever have a dog of my own?
Why ask it
Kids ask this with a parent in earshot for a reason. Parents should know that 'Signs point to yes' will be quoted back to them for months.
Will I be taller than my mom?
Why ask it
Children like to ask it standing back to back with the parent in question. Pencil the reply next to the height marks on the doorframe and see who was right in a few years.
Is this going to be my year?
Why ask it
Traditional on New Year's Eve and on birthdays. 'Ask again later' is the best possible reply in January, since it books you a second try in June.
Will my team win it all this season?
Why ask it
Sports fans already consult worse oracles than this one. Ask before the first game only, because asking again after a losing streak counts as changing your bet.
Will I still know the people in this room in ten years?
Why ask it
The one slightly tender question in this group, and a yes lands sweetly at a graduation or on the last night of camp. After a no, agree out loud to prove the ball wrong.
Should I go with my first choice?
Why ask it
For small decisions only: which movie, which ice cream, which shirt. A reply that disappoints you has just shown you which option you wanted, and you are free to overrule the ball.
Group game
Is someone in this room keeping a secret?
Why ask it
Half of the ball's answers are a yes of some kind, and it is true of any room, so this one reliably gets nervous laughter. Nobody has to confess, because the looking around is the game.
Is the person on my right telling the truth?
Why ask it
Have them say one thing about themselves first, true or invented, and let the ball rule on it. They own up afterward, and the ball's record as a lie detector is usually terrible.
Will the next person to hold you get a no?
Why ask it
A prediction about the ball itself, so the group can check it within a minute. Keep a tally on paper and find out whether the ball can call its own answers.
Should the person on my left do their best chicken impression?
Why ask it
Turns the ball into a dare machine with mercy built in, since it can say no. Stick to dares that are silly and over in ten seconds.
Is the person holding the ball the best dancer here?
Why ask it
Anyone in the circle can ask it of whoever has the ball. A yes has to be defended with eight counts of dancing, and on a no the ball moves along.
Will anyone here stay awake until sunrise?
Why ask it
The sleepover standard. Whoever shouts 'me' the loudest is usually asleep first, so note who claimed it and bring it up at breakfast.
Did somebody in this circle eat the last cookie?
Why ask it
A mock trial in one question. After a yes, pass the ball around and ask about each suspect by name until it convicts someone.
Should we watch a scary movie tonight?
Why ask it
Handy when the group is split, since the nervous ones can hide behind the ball's no. If it says yes and someone looks unhappy, ask whether a funny one would be better.
Should we play one more round?
Why ask it
The closer. It hands a tired group a way out that is nobody's fault, and 'Ask again later' means a snack break.
Getting a good answer out of the ball
Practical guidance for the conversation itself
Wording a question it can answer
Yes or no, nothing else
Every reply inside the ball is a version of yes, no or not yet. 'Who likes me?' gets you 'Outlook good', which tells you nothing, so turn it into 'Does someone in my class like me?' before you flip the ball over.
Know what is inside
The standard ball holds twenty answers: ten say yes in some form, five say no and five put you off, like 'Reply hazy, try again'. A question lands when it is funny or useful under all three kinds, so try yours against a yes, a no and an 'Ask again later' before you say it out loud.
Give it a deadline
'Will I get a text back?' can never be wrong. 'Will I get a text back before midnight?' can, and a prediction you can check is more fun than one you cannot. Add tonight, this week or before school lets out.
Keep it to one thing
'Should I wear the red one or the blue one?' leaves you holding a 'Yes definitely' with no idea what it means. Ask about the red one, then about the blue one, and enjoy it when the ball approves both.
Flip, don't shake
Hold the ball with the window facing the floor, ask out loud, then turn it over slowly. A hard shake fills the window with bubbles and can leave the triangle stuck on an edge between two replies.
Games for a sleepover or a party
Pass the ball
Sit in a circle. Whoever holds the ball asks one question out loud, reads the reply in a fortune-teller voice and hands the ball to the left. Three trips around the circle is about right before attention wanders.
Call it first
Before each flip, everyone guesses yes, no or try again with a thumb up, down or sideways. A right guess scores a point. The answers split ten, five and five, so the thumbs-up crowd has the odds on its side.
Yes means do it
Use the dare-style questions under Group game. A yes means the person named does the silly thing, a no lets them off, and a put-off reply passes the dare back to whoever asked. Keep every dare harmless and quick, the kind nobody would mind being asked to do twice.
The prediction envelope
Each person asks one question with a date in it, writes the question and the ball's reply on a slip, and seals the slips in an envelope. Open it at the next sleepover, or on the last day of school, and count how many the ball got right.
Keeping it light
It is a twenty-sided die in blue liquid
Say so to any child who takes a reply to heart. The ball does not know their name, their crush or their spelling test, and the same question asked twice will often get two different replies. Show them by asking twice.
Leave the heavy questions out
Nothing about anyone getting sick, getting hurt or dying, and nothing about whether a parent or a friend loves them. A random no to one of those is not funny, and a child can go on thinking about it long after the ball is back on the shelf.
Crush questions without the teasing
Let people think of a name silently instead of saying it. Leave out anything about a person who is not there that you would not want repeated to them, and do not use the ball's no to needle the asker for the rest of the night.
Do not hand it a real decision
Pizza or tacos, fine. Whether to quit a team, end a friendship or spend real money is not a question for a toy. If you ask anyway, notice which reply you were hoping for as the triangle floated up, and treat that as the useful part.
When the ball stalls
Three hazy replies in a row
Make it a house rule: after three put-off answers the question is retired and the asker picks a new one. It stops one person from holding the ball hostage while everyone else waits.
Asking until it says yes
Everyone does it. Allow one re-ask per question, announced as best of three, and then the reply stands. The same goes for group decisions like which movie to watch: agree before the flip that the answer is binding, or the argument just starts over.
A reply nobody can read
If the triangle is tilted or half hidden under a bubble, rest the ball window-down for a few seconds and turn it over again, slowly. Agree that an unreadable reply does not use up a turn.