Editing 20Q (section)

{{Short description|Computerized guessing game}}
{{For|the gameshow|20Q (game show){{!}}''20Q'' (game show)}}
{{Infobox toy
|name       = 20Q
| image      = 20Q red (Radica) front.jpg
| caption = A red 20Q by Radica
|othernames =
|type       = [[Electronic game]]<br />[[Online game]]<br />[[App Store (iOS)|iOS iPad App]]<br />customized knowledgebases
|inventor   = Robin Burgener [https://www.theglobeandmail.com/technology/science/is-it-animal-vegetable-or-artificial-intelligence/article18161750/]
|country    = United States
|company    = [[Radica]] (2003 - 2011)<br />[[Techno Source]] (2011-2015)<br />[[Uncle Milton Industries]] (2015–2017)<br />Irwin Toys (2017-2019)<br />Hansen Toys (2020-present)
|from       = 1988
|to         = present
|materials  = [[AI|Artificial Intelligence]]
|slogan     =
|website    = http://www.20q.net
}}

'''20Q''' is a computerized game of [[twenty questions]] that began as a test in [[artificial intelligence]] (AI).  It was invented by Robin Burgener in 1988.<ref name=goddard>{{cite web|last1=Burgener |first1=Robin |title=Engineering Colloqium: 20Q The Neural Network Mind Reader |url=http://ecolloq.gsfc.nasa.gov/archive/2006-Spring/announce.burgener.html |publisher=Goddard Space Flight Center |url-status=live |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130216091945/http://ecolloq.gsfc.nasa.gov/archive/2006-Spring/announce.burgener.html |archivedate=2013-02-16 }}</ref> The game was made handheld by [[Radica]] in 2003, but was discontinued in 2011 because [[Techno Source]] took the license for 20Q handheld devices.

The game 20Q is based on the [[Twenty Questions|spoken parlor game]] known as twenty questions, and is both a website<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.20q.net/ |title=Official 20Q Website |access-date=2005-02-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051130020334/http://20q.net/ |archive-date=2005-11-30 |url-status=live }}</ref> and a handheld device. 20Q asks the player to think of something and will then try to guess what they are thinking of with twenty yes-or-no questions. If it fails to guess in 20 questions, it will ask an additional 5 questions. If it fails to guess even with 25 (or 30) questions, the player is declared the winner. Sometimes the first guess of the object can be asked at question 14.