The version of 'I spy' that I played as a kid was always...
I spy, with my little eye, something beginning with (some letter).

I find this version more entertaining, perhaps just because it's the one I grew up with. Some of my favourites are:

  • eye (No-one expects you to say the word you're thinking of at the very beginning of the game. In addition, body parts such as hand, nose usually go without notice for a while after the guessing starts.)
  • chimney (Once you say 'c', everyone will start thinking of words beginning with a 'k' sound. 'Chalk', and a few others, would to just as well… provided, of course, that you can actually see chalk while you're playing.)
  • knob (Again, people will start thinking of the 'k' sound. Words that begin with a silent letter are much trickier. Knuckle is both a body part and beginning with a silent letter.)
  • ring (If the person you're playing against is wearing a ring, this is a difficult one. People forget what they're wearing. Even better is glasses.)