The game relies on trust as the Spy is the only person who knows whether the guessers are correct or not. The Spy cannot change the object once it has been chosen. If younger children are playing who are not so good at guessing, the role of Spy can be passed around in a set order. Once a guesser has correctly identified the object, they become the Spy for the next round and the game starts again.
Traditionally players ask directly about particular possibilities ('Is it a tree?'). Other players then have to guess the chosen object. 'I spy with my little eye something beginning with C' if the chosen object is a cow). ', naming the letter the chosen object starts with (e.g.
They do not announce their choice, and instead say, 'I spy with my little eye something beginning with. One player is chosen to be the Spy, and they silently select an object that is visible to all the players. Other players attempt to guess this object. I spy is a guessing game where one player (the spy or it) chooses an object within sight and announces to the other players that 'I spy with my little eye something beginning with.', naming the first letter of the object.
