Black Magic

A Membership Game

In Black Magic, players take turns suggesting something that is black magic, and only those who know the secret rule can answer correctly every time.

The object of the game is to figure out the secret rule by observing what is black magic, and by asking about new things.

What determines whether something is black magic has to do with the sequence of the thing being suggested or asked about.

If something is tested after the previous thing tested was black, it is black magic.

Considerations

One thing to consider when playing Black Magic is what it means for something to be black. It sounds simple, but in practice it can be complicated.

Examples:

Is a Snowman black?

Probably not, even with those eyes made out of coal.

Is a Zebra black?

It’s as black as it is white, but somehow it feels like it isn’t.

Is a Phone Screen black?

When it’s turned off I guess…

Is Barack Obama black?

Is Michael Jackson?

My recommendation is stick to categorizing objects by their most prominent and/or most distinguishing color, and avoid other definitions of ‘black.’ If you made dozens of multicolored copies of the object in question, and the easiest way to point out the original is “the black one,” it’s black.