Radica has launched a handheld machine that plays 20 Questions to win, taking the opposite approach to the finish line with startlingly accurate results. You think of something, then the machine starts with a gigantic catalog of all possible results, steadily working its way to a smaller and smaller list thanks to carefully crafted questions to which you can answer "Yes" or "No," but also "Sometimes" or "Unknown." There are limitations; for instance, you can't use proper nouns such as celebrities, cities or your dog. Still, any generic object is fair game including, in my testing, strawberries, digital cameras, meerkats and stereo loudspeakers, among others.

The traditional questions are there: "Is it flat?" "Could it be found in a classroom?" "Does it weigh more than a duck?" There are some updates, too: " Is it bigger than a breadbox?" is now, "Is it bigger than a microwave oven?" After the 20th question, it tosses out its leading guess. If that's not right, it asks five more questions, guessing again after Number 25. If it's still wrong, it concedes defeat with, "I guess you were lucky this time!" If it' s right, it exclaims, "I'm very smart! I win!"

Yes, modesty is not its strong suit. Every so often, "I'm gonna win!" scrolls across its screen in dancing red letters. Sometimes, when it thinks you're being deliberately vague, it asks, "Are you trying to confuse me?" Once, just before making a guess, the cocky little plastic ball said, "I'm thinking… you win!" Then it quickly flashed, "Just kidding!" and took the game.

Like I said, it's smart but it doesn't always get the right answer. I've consistently stumped it with shower curtain, which most recently it guessed as either a sponge (after Number 20) and a bedspread (after Number 25). Close enough to be impressive, but alas not right. I revel in that moment, mainly because the thing has guessed right on so many other occasions.

If you want to have a look at the game itself without first buying the ball, you can check it out at the 20q.net website, which has been around since 1996. It's slightly different, but still hauntingly on target.