Baby Shower Prediction Game: 20 Fun Questions
A baby shower prediction game is a guessing game where friends and family predict details about a baby's arrival, such as the birth date, the weight, and whether the baby comes early or late. It is a baby shower classic, and it works even better with live probabilities: each question becomes a yes/no market, and everyone can watch the group's confidence change until the big day.
This guide gives you 20 questions that are easy to resolve, the etiquette that keeps the game fun for the parents, and a simple way to run it online with free virtual Coins.
Why a Prediction Game Beats the Classic Guessing Grid
The traditional baby shower guessing game is a paper grid: each guest picks a date, a weight, and a time, and whoever is closest wins.
It is fun, but it has limits. Guests make one guess and forget about it. The "closest guess" rules get complicated when two people tie or when nobody picks the right day. And you only find out who won at the very end.
A prediction game fixes that:
- Every question has a clean YES or NO answer, so there are no disputes about who was closest
- Guests can change their minds as the due date approaches
- Live probabilities show what the whole group thinks, which becomes a talking point in itself
- Remote friends and family can join, not just the people at the shower
If you have never tried a prediction market, What Is a Prediction Market? explains the idea in a few minutes.
20 Questions for Your Baby Shower Prediction Game
Each question below has a clear threshold, so the answer is never a matter of opinion. Adjust dates, weights, and names to your situation.
Timing
- 1Will the baby arrive before the due date?
- 2Will the baby be born on the due date itself?
- 3Will the baby be born on a weekend?
- 4Will the baby be born between 8 pm and 8 am?
- 5Will the baby be born in [month]?
Size
- 1Will the baby weigh more than 3.5 kg (7 lb 11 oz)?
- 2Will the baby weigh more than 3.2 kg (7 lb 1 oz)?
- 3Will the baby be longer than 50 cm (19.7 in)?
The Big Reveals
- 1Will it be a girl? (only if the parents have not found out or shared it)
- 2Will the parents announce the name before the birth?
- 3Will the baby's first name start with a letter from A to M?
- 4Will the baby get a family name as a first or middle name?
- 5Will the baby's name have more than six letters?
Parents and Family
- 1Will the baby's first outfit be a gift from the shower?
- 2Will a grandparent be the first to reply to the birth announcement in the family group chat?
- 3Will the first baby photo be shared in the family group chat within an hour of the birth?
- 4Will [grandparent] be the first visitor after the parents?
Just for Fun
- 1Will the baby be born with a full head of hair, according to the parents?
- 2Will the baby's first photo show the eyes open?
- 3Will the baby share a birthday with someone in the family?
Notice how each question names what counts as YES. "Will the baby be big?" starts arguments. "Will the baby weigh more than 3.5 kg?" does not. Prediction Market Questions: 9 Writing Tips explains why this matters so much.
Etiquette: Keep It Kind
The game should make the parents smile, not add pressure. A few simple rules keep it that way:
- Ask the parents first, and let them veto any question
- Keep it private and invite only people the parents would be happy to include
- Let the parents confirm the answers, since they are the only reliable source
- Do not ask the parents for updates during labor or right after the birth. Resolve the markets when they share the news
And avoid these topics entirely:
- Medical complications or health risks
- Delivery methods, such as a C-section
- Anything about the parents' bodies, recovery, or private decisions
- Questions that could feel like a countdown or a judgment, such as 'Will the baby be very late?'
A good test: if you would not ask the question out loud at the shower, leave it out of the game.
How to Play on KrowdCall
KrowdCall is a free prediction game built on prediction markets, and its private markets suit a baby shower well. Everyone starts with 1,000 free Coins, nothing can be bought or cashed out, and only invited guests can see the markets.
- 1Ask the guests to sign up with Google first, including friends and family who can't attend in person. You can only invite people who already have a KrowdCall account
- 2Pick a handful of questions from the list above, and create one private market per question
- 3Write a resolution rule that leaves no doubt, such as 'Resolves YES if the baby is born before 14 March (the due date), as confirmed by the parents'
- 4Set the closing times: the due date for 'Will the baby arrive before the due date?', and a couple of weeks after the due date for everything only known at birth
- 5Invite the guests to each market by username (up to 100 per market)
- 6Open the markets together at the shower and let people predict while the party is on
- 7When labor starts, move every closing time to 30 minutes from then
- 8Resolve each market within 7 days of its closing time, once the parents share the news
Getting the closing times right
This is the part that needs a little care, because nobody knows when the baby will come. You want predictions to stop the moment labor starts, so nobody can predict with news from the hospital. But a closed market can't be reopened, and you have 7 days after the closing time to resolve it. If you don't, the market is canceled automatically and everyone gets their Coins back. So closing everything weeks before the due date doesn't work: most markets would be canceled before the baby arrives.
The fix is that the host can change a market's closing time while it is open, earlier or later, as long as the new time is at least 30 minutes away. Here is how that plays out:
- Before the due date: set the closing time to the start of the due date (midnight). If labor starts earlier, move the closing time to 30 minutes from then, and resolve once the parents confirm the birth date, following the rule: a baby who ends up arriving on the due date is still a NO. If the due date passes with no baby, the market closes on its own and you can resolve NO right away
- Birth details (weight, length, time of birth, hair, and so on): set the closing time a couple of weeks after the due date. When the parents say labor has started, or that they are heading to the hospital, move every closing time to 30 minutes from then
- A specific day or month (born on the due date, born in [month]): set the closing time to the start of that day or month. If labor starts earlier, move it to 30 minutes from then
- Name questions: if the parents announce the name before the birth, move those closing times to 30 minutes from then. If they may wait more than a few days after the birth to share it, leave the name questions out
- If the baby is late and a closing time gets close, move it later before it passes
Since only the market's creator can change its closing time, the host should be someone who will hear quickly when labor starts, ideally a close friend or family member the parents are happy to text.
Coins, deposits, and crowning a winner
Creating a market costs the host a small liquidity deposit in Coins: about 69 Coins at the default Balanced price sensitivity. Ten markets would tie up about 700 of the host's 1,000 Coins, and even five take about 350. For a shower, start with a handful of markets and choose Fast-moving price sensitivity: each market costs about 35 Coins, and a few predictions visibly move the probability, which is what a small group wants. When a market is resolved, the host gets back the deposit plus the Coins predictors paid in, minus what the correct shares are worth (never below 0), so it can come back as a bit more or a bit less. If a market is canceled, the whole deposit is returned.
To pick a winner, don't just look at who has the most Coins: balances include every other market a guest has played. Compare results on the shower markets instead, using each market's top holders or each guest's P&L page, which lists their open positions and settled results.
Keep money out of it: nobody should pay to join, and the reward is simply being crowned the best predictor at the shower. If the host wants to celebrate the winner, a playful title or a toast is more than enough.
For more detail on the setup itself, see How to Create a Prediction Market and Private Prediction Markets Explained.
Other Celebrations That Work the Same Way
Once your group has tried it, the same format works for other milestones:
| Occasion | Example question |
|---|---|
| Weddings | Will the first dance song be announced before the wedding day? |
| Engagements | Will they announce a wedding date before the end of the year? |
| Birthdays | Will the surprise party stay a surprise until the guest of honor arrives? |
| Moving house | Will the move be finished before the end of the month? |
| Graduations | Will they have a job offer before graduation day? |
Start Your Baby Shower Prediction Game
A baby shower prediction game is one of the easiest ways to introduce friends and family to prediction games. The questions are personal, the answers are certain to arrive, and everyone already cares about the outcome.
Pick your questions, check them with the parents, and create your first private market on KrowdCall. When the baby arrives, you will have a winner, a few surprises, and a nice record of what everyone expected.
Frequently asked questions
Find quick answers to the most common questions about this topic.
It is a guessing game, usually played at a baby shower, where friends and family predict details about a baby's arrival, such as the birth date, weight, or length. Whoever calls it best wins bragging rights.
Author
Bruma
