100 cool examples and how to play "Would You Rather...?"

How to play “Would you rather…?”

Set up

Players

Would you rather…? is a conversation game for 2 to 10 players, with no minimum age as long as the questions are appropriate to the age of the child.

What you need to play

You don’t need anything at all to play ‘Would you rather…?’ – just some good company!

Turns

Would you rather…? is played in turns in a clockwise direction. In each turn a player will ask a question.

Which team goes first?

Someone has to go first: let the person who suggested the game – or whoever’s hosting – kick things off.

Goal of the game

Who wins?

Would you rather…? is not a competitive game but a conversational game for fun that helps participants get to know each other better. However, below we propose a competitive variant.

Rules of “What do you prefer…”: game development

Question

The player whose turn it is asks a question that forces the other players to choose between two options. For example: Which would you prefer to live in a world without internet or in a world without music?

Question

For the game to be interesting both options must be equally good or equally bad. This is the only way of making the players who have to answer doubt, thus provoking the dilemma and the debate.

Below are many more examples of fun and original Would you rather…? questions.

Responses

Each player gives her/his answer and adds any comments or clarifications she/he deems appropriate. This is the heart of the game Would you rather…? in which players’ answers show the others some feature of their personalities or tastes.

The person to the left of the questioner begins by answering and continues in the same time order.

Next turn

After the debate is over, the player on the right takes his turn.

Tips to play “Would you rather…?”

Adapt the questions

It is important to adapt the questions to the participants. A game with children is not the same as a game without children. It is not the same a group with many people who do not know each other than a group of lifelong friends.

3 ways to organize it

Depending on the occasion and who the players are, it is possible to organize a “What do you prefer…? session in three ways:

Option 1 – Each player invents his own questions. This is the simplest option. Zero cost.

Option 2 – The host or hostess has previously made a selection of questions that will be chosen randomly during the game.

For example, write them on slips of paper, fold them up, and toss them into a box.. It is a bit of work, but it is the best option if the organizer foresees a lack of imagination to create the questions by the participants or wants to lead the discussion into some terrain 😉.

Option 3 – Questions are chosen randomly in some way, for example using a commercial game such as Pick your Poison.

Variants of ” Would you rather…?”

Time limit

This variant establishes a maximum time limit for each player to make their decision. On the one hand, it shortens the time for the hesitant and on the other hand, it increases the pressure.

Hide answers

In this other variant, players secretly write their answer on a piece of paper before the round of answers begins. Why? So that the answers and comments of some do not influence others.

The questioner also answers

Normally in the game What do you prefer? the one who asks the question does not answer it, but you can change this rule.

Competitive variant

The players write their answers secretly on a piece of paper, then all the answers are read out and the players who have given the majority answer score one point. At the end of the game, the player with the most points wins.

In this case the game is a bit different because you don’t answer what you think but what you think others will think. It’s another interesting approach that will also open up a lot of discussions and help players get to know each other better.

Examples of questions to play ” Would you rather…?”

To inspire you in your next ” Would you rather…?” game.

Some of the questions you are about to read have been invented by LOODENS. We know it’s not exactly Pulitzer material, but hey – we had fun coming up with them!, so we have labeled them as ORIGINAL LOODENS.

Different or surprising or curious questions or all three at once.

ORIGINAL LOODENS You look for it and you can’t find it. In the jacket, in the bag, in the backpack… It’s not there. You have lost it. Which would you rather have, your phone or your wallet with all your cards and identification documents
ORIGINAL LOODENS You win a contest and can choose between free hotels or free restaurants for the rest of your life. Which would you prefer?
ORIGINAL LOODENS Would you rather have a world without videogames or without social networks? Most people here are very clear about it and leave very clear traits of their personality.
ORIGINAL LOODENS If one of us has to fall, which would you rather have, your cell phone fall or you?
Would you rather have 30 days in a row over 40 Celsius degrees or 30 days in a row below minus 10 Celsius degrees?
ORIGINAL LOODENS Would you rather have a world without music or a world without the Internet?
ORIGINAL LOODENS Would you rather have a world without washing machines or a world without dishwashers?
Would you rather be only half as tall as you are or twice as heavy as you are? An easy question for some and difficult for others.
ORIGINAL LOODENS Would you rather have a world in which no one is ever wrong or a world in which no one ever lies?
Would you rather have the power to know when someone is lying or the power that no one can ever detect your lies?
ORIGINAL LOODENS Which would you rather spend a year on a desert island or a year in jail? This question throws a lot of people off. In case you’re wondering – yes, the island has animals and plants… but not a single human in sight.
ORIGINAL LOODENS Which would you rather forget all your passwords or lose your cell phone? With this question you will find out interesting things about how participants manage their passwords. There are always surprises. And more than one person learns something that will come in handy in the future.
Would you rather spend a night in a cemetery or in a creepy abandoned house?
ORIGINAL LOODENS Would you rather have a world without medicine or a world without the Internet?
ORIGINAL LOODENS Would you rather have your memory erased and not remember anything or have everybody suddenly forget about you and not know who you are?
If you had no choice and had to choose what would you prefer never to hear again or never to be able to speak again? A great dilemma, really.
Would you rather forget who you are or forget everyone you know? The second case is that the others would recognize you, but you have lost all the memories shared with them. Complicated, isn’t it?
ORIGINAL LOODENS Would you rather end world hunger or find a cure for cancer if you had the opportunity to invent or create something that would allow you to do so? A thought-provoking question sure to spark a great debate.
ORIGINAL LOODENS Would you rather have a teacher who explains poorly but gives easy exams or a teacher who explains very well but gives very difficult exams?
If you can only keep one, would you rather have a garden or a swimming pool in your home?
Would you rather have a world without music or a world without series and movies?
Would you rather have a world without kisses or a world without hugs? We love this question because so many people are hesitant.

Classic questions about important life topics

Love, health, work, money, family, friendship… Typical questions for this game

Would you rather have a million dollars now or $10,000 a month for 10 years? Second option gives more money but the money is not available from day one, it arrives over time.
Would you rather be rich but unhappy or poor but happy? This is a very typical question but it could not be missing in this list.
Would you rather have a job you love with a regular paycheck or a job you hate but making a lot of money? Debate is assured.
Would you rather have a year of paid vacation or a year of double your salary?
Another classic that never fails: would you rather be rich but ugly or poor but attractive?
This one is also classic, but it never goes out of style: Would you rather have a happy but sexless love relationship or a relationship with lots of sex but no love?
And this one is classic too. Friends or money. Would you rather have a lot of money but no friends or a lot of friends but no money?
Would you rather be an only child or have 5 brothers or sisters?
Would you rather have a life without financial problems or a life without health problems?
Would you rather live without friends or without family?
Would you rather be the smartest person in the world but have no friends or have lots of friends but be unintelligent?

Funny, crazy, fantasy questions

Some present situations that are impossible in reality, but the reaction and response of the participants will give you clues about their personality. It’s a guaranteed laugh riot.

Would you rather have the ability to speak every language in the world or have the ability to communicate with animals?
Another approach: Would you rather be able to read everyone’s mind or be able to communicate with all animals?
ORIGINAL LOODENS Which would you prefer a world without toilets or a world without showers and bathtubs? This question is a lot of fun as soon as the participants internalize what it would mean if one or the other were missing: to shit in the latrine or in the field and bathe in a river or lake without hot water.
Would you rather be locked in a room with a snake or a poisonous spider?
Would you rather not be able to use the Internet anymore or have your thumb amputated from your dominant hand?
ORIGINAL LOODENS Would you rather see everything in black and white or would you rather have every meal taste the same? If someone asks if the taste would be good or bad we make it harder for them: meals don’t taste like anything.
ORIGINAL LOODENS Would you rather everything was the same color – there is only one color in the world – or would you rather everyone had exactly the same voice?
ORIGINAL LOODENS Would you rather live in a world where everyone is dumb or in a world where everyone is smart?
ORIGINAL LOODENS Would you rather take a trip around the world or a space trip to the moon?
ORIGINAL LOODENS Which would you rather have your hair stop growing forever or your nails stop growing? This question seems silly, but as soon as you start thinking about it… it’s not so silly. More than one will find out after the debate what the nails are for.
Would you rather have the power to teleport or to be invisible?
Would you rather have the power to travel back in time to the past or to the future? You can return to your natural time in both cases.
ORIGINAL LOODENS Which would you prefer to be taken back in time 1,000 years and live there for the rest of your life or to be taken to the land of the future 1,000 years from now and spend the rest of your life there? A very interesting question that will encourage debate about what will become of us homo sapiens in the medium-term future.
Would you rather be reincarnated as a dog or a cat?
ORIGINAL LOODENS If you could resurrect one of the two, which would you prefer to resurrect Freddie Mercury or Leonardo da Vinci?
ORIGINAL LOODENS Would you rather have Homer Simpson or Mr. Bean as a roommate for a year?
Would you rather be the only person who dresses inappropriately at an event or have to speak in front of everyone and go blank for a minute?
ORIGINAL LOODENS Would you rather be the only one who didn’t get a joke that everyone is laughing at, or tell a joke and no one finds it funny?
ORIGINAL LOODENS Abres la nevera y sólo tienes un yogur y un huevo, ambos caducados desde hace dos semanas. You’re starving so you’re going to eat one of them. Which one do you prefer?
ORIGINAL LOODENS Would you rather be alone and lost in Antarctica or in the Sahara desert?
Would you rather have a time machine or a machine for cloning all kinds of living creatures including humans?
Would you rather have the power to be immortal or to be invisible whenever you want?
Would you rather have the power to fly or the power to breathe underwater?

Controversial questions

Questions that might make a player feel uncomfortable because of their difficulty or because they touch on topics that may be sensitive for some people. Use in moderation.

You discover that you are adopted and you have the opportunity to meet your biological parents, would you rather meet them or not?
Would you rather save the life of one loved person or 100 people you don’t know at all?
Would you rather know when you’re going to die or what you’re going to die of?
Would you rather have a leg amputated or an arm amputated?
What would you rather spend a day with your favorite idol or with someone you love who has passed away? Maybe skip this one if someone in the group has recently lost a loved one.
Would you rather be the first of your friends to die or the last?
If only one of these two options can happen, would you rather have 6 children or none at all?
Would you rather find out that your partner is gay or you’re adopted and had been kept in the dark?
Would you rather your partner is unfaithful and you never know it, or believe that he or she is unfaithful and that he or she really isn’t?
Would you rather your partner caught you being unfaithful or would you rather she/he caught you?

Dirty, scatological, irreverent, unpleasant questions

Not suitable for everyone

ORIGINAL LOODENS Imagine you have to do it to save your life, would you rather eat a plate of insects or drink a glass of sheep’s blood?
ORIGINAL LOODENS You have a rare disease and your hair grows abundantly where it shouldn’t. Where would you rather your hair grow on your nose or palms?
You’ve been holding on for a long time but you can’t take it anymore. You cannot control it anymore. It’s going to come out although you’re in public, shame on you! Would you rather have a burp or fart in public?
What do you prefer to fart that sounds a lot but doesn’t smell or farts that don’t sound but smell terrible?
Would you rather have your parents watch a sexual video of you or have it available during 5 minutes on the social network you use the most and on which you have the most followers?

Questions “A world without…” about tastes, preferences or hobbies

Ask which do you prefer beer or wine? is no dilemma for anyone so we recommend converting these questions into A WORLD WITHOUT questions, in which the discarded option is understood that it has not existed, does not exist and will never exist.

This makes not only choosing the answer more difficult, but also encourages more debate, since by answering each player is not only expressing his liking for one of the options, but also depriving others of the second option. —Really? A world without beer?—

Would you prefer a world without beer or a world without wine?
Would you rather have a world without coffee or a world without chocolate?
Would you rather have a world without dogs or a world without cats?
Would you rather have a world without hamburgers or a world without pizzas?
What do you prefer a world without sweet tastes or without salty tastes?
Would you rather have a world without beaches or a world without mountains?
Would you rather have a world without Mexican food or a world without Italian food?
Would you rather have a world without coffee or a world without tea?
Would you rather have a world without summers or a world without winters?
Would you rather have a world without restaurants or a world without any kind of games?
Would you rather have a world without airplanes or a world without cars?
Would you rather have a world without love movies and series or without comedy movies and series?

What next?

If you have used the game “What do you prefer…? as an icebreaker game and you have created complicity and a good atmosphere, you will probably want something else afterwards.

If you want to raise the volume and intensity of laughter you can try What do you MEME? or add to the fun the irreverent and “hooligan” touch of Cards Against Humanity.

Or maybe you fancy something also fun but with a slightly more intellectual touch, such as the word association game Secret Code or the fascinating occult role-playing game Secret Hitler.

And if you feel like turning the meeting into a real party, you can give it a musical touch with a Ping Pong Sing a Song competition -for which you don’t need any object or game- or make a Karaoke with one of the 9 LOODENS proposals -most of them free- or move those bodies learning a simple and hilarious Bollywood Dance choreography explained step by step 😉.