Botticelli (game)
guessing game which requires the players to have a good knowledge of biographical details of famous people
Botticelli is a guessing game where one person or team thinks of a famous person and reveals the initial letter of their name, and then answers yes–no questions to allow other players to guess the identity. It requires the players to have a good knowledge of biographical details of famous people.
The game takes its name from the principle that the famous person must be at least as famous as Sandro Botticelli.
How to play
One player (the chooser) is selected to think of a famous person (the identity). This person should be someone the chooser is comfortable answering biographical questions about, and someone the chooser is very confident that the other players will all have heard of; obscure identities make for frustrating game play, especially with young players. The rule of thumb is that the person should be at least as famous or well known as Sandro Botticelli, hence the name of the game. Fictional characters are acceptable, but can present certain difficulties. In some contexts, a non-famous person with whom all the players are familiar may be acceptable.
The chooser then announces the initial letter of the name by which the person is usually known; for non-fictional individuals, this is usually the last name. For example, if the chooser chose Sandro Botticelli, then the initial letter would be B. Some individuals are best known by their first name alone, such as Michelangelo or Cher; for these the first initial would be used.
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