The Magic 8 Ball may sound simple, and it is – the simplest fortune telling tool available. All you have to do is ask a question, give it a little shake (though most sources say not to), turn it over, and look through the small window at the base to get the answer. Right?
But what are all these answers and what do they all mean?
There are a total of 20 responses on a typical Magic 8 ball: 10 affirmatives, 5 non-committals and 5 negatives. Magic 8 Balls answers (explained below) are meticulously and statistically created to be accurate, and each one means far more than they seems to. You can trust its responses just as much as you trust your senses.
The Answers on the Magic 8 Ball
A standard Magic 8 ball has 20 possible answers as shown in the table below, including 10 affirmative answers, non-committal answers, and 5 negative answers, such as Concentrate and ask again and Reply hazy, try again.
The answers are actually on a white die, floating in the center of the magic 8 ball – the words are raised so they can be seen when the die is pressed against a small glass window.
| Affirmative Answers | Non – Committal Answers | Negative Answers |
| It is certain | Reply hazy, try again | Don’t count on it |
| It is decidedly so | Ask again later | My reply is no |
| Without a doubt | Better not tell you now | My sources say no |
| Yes definitely | Cannot predict now | Outlook not so good |
| You may rely on it | Concentrate and ask again | Very doubtful |
| As I see it, yes | ||
| Most likely | ||
| Outlook good | ||
| Yes | ||
| Signs point to yes |
The Magic 8 Ball answers are very simple and straightforward. But they have a bit of a catch. You really need to understand the answers to your question so that you can apply it to your situation. For example, affirmative answer, Outlook Good, may have different meanings in different situations such as –
Should I finally ask my crush on a date?
Outlook Good.
Meaning – Yes, you definitely should. What are you waiting for!
Is now the perfect moment for me to resign and seek for greater opportunities?
Outlook Good.
Meaning – Go for it. The time is right. There are lots of opportunities in this world just waiting for you!
Should I pursue a college degree now that I know what my passion is?
Outlook Good.
Meaning – Life is now starting to make sense. You know what you love doing. Go ahead. Grab a degree, Develop Your skills, strengthen your gifts. The world is your oyster.
It’s truly amazing – the number of options you have with the Magic 8 Ball. Like your own secret Santa. Let’s dive a little deeper, with a detailed explanation of all the possible answers to a question.
Magic 8 ball Answers List
- It is certain
- It is decidedly so
- Without a doubt
- Yes, definitely
- You may rely on it
- As I see it, yes
- Most likely
- Outlook good
- Yes
- Signs point to yes
- Reply hazy, try again
- Ask again later
- Better not tell you now
- Cannot predict now
- Concentrate and ask again
- Don’t count on it
- My reply is no
- My sources say no
- Outlook not so good
- Very doubtful
These answers range from definitive positive or negative responses to more ambiguous or uncertain replies, allowing for an element of mystery and intrigue when using the Magic 8 Ball for decision-making or fortune-telling fun.
How to Interpret the Response ?
It is necessary to remember that the magic 8 ball can’t change physical reality in the past, present, or future. It will only tell you the truth that you want or need to know.
You will not always receive the correct answer, which makes it trustworthy. Just like in real life, many times it’s yes, other times no, and sometimes it’s a non-committal answer.
Let’s take a look few examples to understand how to interpret the responses of the Magic 8 Ball. We’re taking a question from the suggested questions on the original Magic 8 Ball packaging first, and analyzing a few of the possible answers in detail.
Magic 8 Ball, inquiring minds want to know:
Q: Can our team win?
Ans1: You may rely on it.
Clear Yes, the team can definitely win. However, reading between the lines suggests that the win can be relied on, but it is not a sure thing.
Ans2: Signs point to yes.
This response is a surer shot Yes.
Ans3: Most likely.
An answer that leans more toward yes than no.
Ans4: Very doubtful.
A less sure shot. No, but somewhere in the center. So, while the team may win, there is a better likelihood that it will not.
Ans5: My sources say no.
A definite No for an answer!
Ans6: Don’t count on it.
A heart-sinking Negative response.
Ans7: Cannot predict now.
Definitely one of its more non-committal answers. More like the Magic 8 Ball stating, “Try again if you still want an answer, or accept this one.”
Ans8: Concentrate and ask again.
In our opinion, this answer Magic 8 Balls is the absolute best. As the ball is telling you that you are not focusing on your question and what you really want enough – consciously focus on what you want, ask again and the ball (universe?) gives it to you. will In other words, find what unlocks your amazing, brave, compassionate, intelligent heart.
Not satisfied? Reframe your Question and start again.
Bonus tip: Now, we recommend, you frame the question more directly so you get a better sense of the answer you’ll receive. For example, can the team we have win the season? Can our team win today’s match? Or can our team win this final tournament? Will our team ever win again after this defeat? etc. Add more details, narrow it Down. Add a timestamp. And then your responses will make more sense.
Let’s try again, with our reframes question and all the answers explained this time. Compare the same answers above with the same answers to get a better idea of the difference created by reframing the question on the meaning of your new answers.
Q: Can our team win the match today?
Affirmative Answers
Ans1: It is certain.
Obviously means a Yes, the team can definitely win the match today.
However, if you read between the lines, it means that the win can possibly be relied upon, but is not a sure shot Yes. Meaning what exactly? If your team works hard and is motivated, you can win today’s match!
Ans2: It is decidedly so.
The word decidedly means to a great extent and in a way that is very obvious.
Something described as being decidedly a certain way is absolutely that way, with no hint of doubt. So the team’s victory in today’s match is a win-win, and the players should play fearlessly and without trepidation.
Answer 3: Without a doubt.
If you say that something is true without doubt or doubt, you are asserting that it is definitely true.
Absolutely or with absolute certainty; Without doubt. So, the team is definitely winning today, and the fact that it didn’t happen is not even a matter of debate.
Answer 4: Yes definitely.
This answer is used as a more emphatic affirmative answer than “yes” alone – meaning definitely.
So, the teams win today is a sure shot. Again, something we have no doubt about.
Answer 5: You may rely on it.
It means to trust or believe – in someone or something, in this case the Magic 8 Ball.
Obviously yes, the team can definitely win. However, if you read between the lines, that means that’s win can be relied upon, but that’s not a sure shot yes.
Answer 6: As I see it, yes.
Means YES is —used as a word to express agreement or affirmation to emphasize and amplify the affirmative answer.
Do you want that? yes i do. Will the team win? Yes it will. Will the team win today’s match? Jee will win today’s match.
Answer 7: Most likely.
Not likely: Like maybe. Example, it’s likely to rain tomorrow. There is a high chance of sunshine tomorrow.
An answer that leans more towards yes than no. Most likely the team will not win today’s match.
Ans8: Outlook good.
The outlook looks good! The predictions are good! The probable situation looks positive! The victory of the team looks definite!
Ans9: Yes.
This one is the simplest, most direct response. Yes, meaning, an affirmative answer or decision.
Almost like expressing great pleasure, excitement, or even encouragement at the victory ahead.
Ans10: Signs point to yes.
This response is a surer shot Yes. That it will very likely happen.
For example, all signs point to the mayor winning the election, means the mayor will probably win the election but it is not 100% guaranteed.
Hence, all the signs point to, yes, the victory of the team in todays game, meaning the team will probably win the game, but there is perhaps a 1% chance that something might not go as planned and the team might scoot very closely past the victory. So be careful!
Non – Committal Answers
Ans1: Reply hazy, try again.
Try again simply means to try something twice or many more times.
So, maybe that means trying to ask the ball again – now or later. Don’t know if your team can win today or not.
Ans2: Ask again later.
Ask again later usually means exactly what it seems to mean – ask later. This is usually a tactic to delay an unpleasant response or to buy time for Ball to consider the response further.
But look at it like this – Its an option for you to try your luck with the Ball again in a while, and it might just give you the answer that you are looking for.
Ans3: Better not tell you now.
Again, this could be the Ball saying – I know your future but the time isn’t right for you to know yet.
Try again for the answer that is most correct for you. When you get that answer, trust the ball, and either let it go for the day or try again in a little while.
Ans4: Cannot predict now.
Definitely one of its more non-committal answers.
More like the Magic 8 Ball saying try again if you still want an answer, or accept this as one. Will the team win the match today? Ah, hard to predict that right now.
Ans5: Concentrate and ask again.
In our opinion, this answer of Magic 8 Ball is the absolute best. As the ball is telling you that you are not focusing on the question and what you really want enough – consciously focus on that you want, ask again and the ball (universe?) will give you the Answer
In other words, find the thing that opens your wonderful, adventurous, compassionate, intelligent heart. Visualize the teams indefinite victory today and then ask it again for a more positive answer. Like we always say – its all about your intention.
Negative Answers
A1: Don’t count on it.
A heart-sinking Negative reaction. It is the magic 8 ball that warns you not to expect anything.
For example, yes, you may have heard the bosses talking at the Christmas party, but don’t count on bonuses this holiday season. If you think that Your Selected team is going to win the match today, don’t count on it. There are factors that can stand in the way of winning. Let’s do it again.
Ans2: My reply is no.
If there’s one answer you don’t want to see on the Magic 8 Ball, it’s this. The heart sinker of all of them. No percentages or probabilities.
The Answer is a flat no. Is the team going to win the match today? no it is not. But the trick here is not to lose hope. This can’t happen for some reason. This is your chance to step back, reassess, and then try again for the team’s victory.
Ans3: My sources say no.
A definite no for the answer! But as we said before, don’t lose hope. This may not happen for some reason.
This is an opportunity for you to step back, reevaluate, and then try again.
Ans4: Outlook not so good.
This response is a perspective or way of looking at a situation, a possible or expected state or outcome of something, a perspective or possibility. Therefore, the victory of the teams definitely does not look like a possibility. Oops
Ans5: Very doubtful.
Not a less sure shot, but somewhere in between. So the team can win, the more likely it is not.
How many answers were there to the original Magic 8 Ball?
Now You know that the standard Magic 8 Ball available in the markets Now-a-days have a 20 sided white plastic die inside it with the answers you see as the die itself floats in the blue fluid which gives the effect of the answer slowly appearing as you look through the window – 20 possible answers.
But do you know how many answers the first ball had?
The number of responses in the Magic 8 Ball has varied over its history.
In very first version of this Device, two 6 sided dice were used to provide the answers. This gave only 12 answers.
The very first major revision saw this being reduced to one die, giving the possibility of just 6 answers. Then came the final Magic 8 Ball edition, which is available in stores today, with twenty possible solutions.
Here’s some information on how this came about.
In the 1940s, a clairvoyant in Cincinnati named Mary Carter impressed her son with an object she used with her clients – a container with a small chalk slate inside. She would shake the container and open it to show the clients the answer to the question, written on the slate.
His son, Albert Carter, developed the design into an easier-to-operate device – The Sycho Seer. A simple cylinder with both transparent ends, filled with molasses, and two dice with the answers written on each face – 12 answers in total.
When it was shaken and the top eliminated, one of the dice would move up, revealing a random face/answer.
Albert Carter took his idea to a local businessman, with the intention of mass producing it. The merchant, Max Levinson, along with his brother-in-law, Abe Buckman, altered the design by unifying the number of windows, changing the molasses to ink water and putting the name in SYCHO SLATE. This version now only had one 6-sided die with answers – 6 answers in total.
It was Bookman who, in 1950, teamed up with Brunswick Billiards, A Chicago company, to change the overall shape of the crystal ball.
An 8-ball variation was created, which was so successful that it eventually became Magic. The 8 ball we see today has a 20-sided die inside – 20 answers total, developed and patented by the toy store Mattel.
Final Words
The Magic 8 Ball has been around for over half a century. It was a brilliant idea for a toy company’s patented mass-produced toy, the brainchild of a clairvoyant’s son, a businessman, and finally a toy company. But it’s more than just a toy.
It became an icon of popular culture in the 1960s with appearances on shows such as The Dick Van Dyke Show, Friends, Seinfeld, Murphy Brown, and The Daily Show.
Variations of the original seem to be almost as popular as the real thing. Individuals can now commission customized versions, and answer questions typed into the online edition.
The original that started with just 12 easy answers is now a world favorite with over 20 possible answers for different scenarios! Each answer is unique, and means more than it appears.
Keep your options open, keep your intentions clear and ask the ball for what you want. The answer can mean anything!
References
Reference 1: Encyclopedia Britannica – Where Did the Idea for the Magic 8 Ball Come From?
Reference 2: LinkedIn – Chance vs. Choice: Life Lessons from the Magic 8 Ball
Reference 3: Merriam-Webster Dictionary
Reference 4: Medium – Eight Ball Answers ~ Ask Again Later by Aramis Thorn
Reference 5: Today I Found Out – Inventing The Magic 8-Ball
Reference 6: Reverso Dictionary
Reference 7: Museum of Play – Outlook Good: Magic 8 Ball Inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame
Reference 8: Core 77 – Toy Design History: How They Came Up with the Magic 8 Ball
Reference 9: Mental Floss – A Brief History of the Magic 8 Ball
Reference 10: Book – Dictionary of Toys and Games in American Popular Culture by Frank Hoffmann, Frederick J Augustyn, Jr, Martin J Manning, Published in 2013
Reference 11: Book – Timeless Toys; Classic Toys and the Playmakers Who Created Them by Tim Walsh, Published in 2005
