Have you ever been to work meetings where the energy levels are lacking? Or sitting at home with friends where the conversation’s grown stale? Or perhaps you’ve gone into the office and felt desperate to find a fun way to bond with your colleagues?
Well, we have a solution! In this article, we’ll introduce you to a collection of entertaining question games that can spark conversation, energize a room, boost morale, and improve relationships between friends and co-workers alike. So, gather your teammates and get ready for 20 top-notch question games.
1. 21 Questions
21 Questions is the perfect game for passing the time, learning more about each other, and exercising critical thinking skills. Here’s how it works:
One person in the group thinks of an individual (e.g. a celebrity), a place, an animal, or an object. Then everyone else takes turns asking “yes/no” questions to work out what it is! The aim of the game is to work together to find the answer as quickly as possible. If they don’t succeed within 21 questions, they lose.
Here’s an example where Player One is thinking of an elephant:
- Player Two: “Is it an animal?”
- Player One: “Yes.”
- Player Three: “Does it fly?”
- Player One: “No.”
- Player Four: “Is it a large animal?”
- Player One: “Yes.”
- Player Two: “Does it live in Africa?”
- Player One: “Yes.”
- Player Three: “Is it a giraffe?”
- Player One: “No.”
- Player Four: “Is it an elephant?”
- Player One: “Yes.”
They’d then swap roles, with Player Four (i.e. the person who guessed the answer) thinking of something for everyone else to guess.
2. Never Have I Ever
You might remember this one from your university days! While it doesn’t involve questions per se, Never Have I Ever is a classic game where players sit in a circle and take turns making statements beginning with the phrase “Never have I ever,” followed by something they’ve never done before.
For example, “Never have I ever done a bungee jump,” “Never have I ever watched a live baseball game,” or “Never have I ever eaten McDonald’s.”
The idea is that players who have done the action must raise their hand and/or do a forfeit of some kind. At a party, for example, they might have to take a swig of their drink. In essence, this game is a way to ask if anyone in the group has done particular things without actually asking them.
It’s a funny and light-hearted way to learn more about each other too – especially when you spice things up with some embarrassing or incriminating statements! Just make sure you “judge the crowd” and keep everything appropriate for the situation you’re in. Here are a few examples of good “never have I ever” statements to try:
- Never have I ever come into work hungover
- Never have I ever hung up on a customer by accident
- Never have I ever stolen someone’s food from the work fridge
- Never have I ever fallen asleep in a meeting
- Never have I ever called in sick without actually being unwell
3. This or That
This or That is a fast-paced game that’s great for boosting energy levels in the room and helping people focus. It’s also another useful tool for learning about one another.
How it works is simple. Everyone sits in a circle and takes turns presenting two options for the rest of the group to decide between.
The decisions must be made quickly and without thinking, followed by a brief justification of why they picked A over B. Generally speaking, this is designed to be a rapid-fire game, but feel free to slow it down for harder or more abstract questions.
Here are some “This or That” prompts to help get the ball rolling:
- Coke or Pepsi?
- Rich and famous or rich and unknown?
- Cars or motorbikes?
- Networking or Netflix-ing?
- Pizza or pasta?
- Urban or rural?
- Tea or coffee?
- Big bash or small get-together?
- Cinema or movie night at home?
- Vacation or staycation?
- Dogs or cats?
- Gold or silver?
- Travel to London or Paris?
4. Truth or Dare
Want to discover new things about your workmates or challenge them to do silly stuff? Truth or Dare is a classic question game where you take turns choosing between a “truth” and a “dare.”
If you pick the former, you have to answer a personal question from one of your colleagues – no matter how embarrassing it might be! Opt for the latter, and you have to do something embarrassing, awkward, or otherwise unenjoyable.
As you can imagine, the truths and dares you’d do with close friends are likely to differ from what’s appropriate in the workplace! We suggest you keep the game “PG” when you’re with workmates – avoiding questions or dares that might make people too uncomfortable.
Potential “truths”:
- What’s your biggest fear?
- Who do you think is the best-looking person in the office?
- What’s the worst lie you’ve ever told someone?
- What’s the most embarrassing thing that’s ever happened to you?
Potential “dares”:
- Do your best impression of [insert co-worker’s name here]
- Sing a song in front of the group
- Eat a spoonful of [insert condiment here]
- Call a random number and tell whoever answers that you love them
5. Fact or Fiction
Quick, simple, and surprisingly engaging, Fact or Fiction is a first-rate icebreaker game that challenges players to distinguish between true or false statements.
To play, one participant reads out a statement, and everyone else must guess whether it’s “fact” or “fiction.” The aim is simple: test people’s general knowledge on certain topics and have some fun in the process!
This question game often works best with a bit of planning, though. Try to compile a long list of fact/fiction questions beforehand that players can draw from. It’ll help the game flow and ensure you ask questions on a range of topics to keep it interesting.
Alternatively, you can forget the trivia and play Fact or Fiction with personal statements. Each player says something about themselves, and everyone else decides if it’s true or false! Examples include:
- I have traveled to every state in America. Fact or fiction?
- I can do the splits. Fact or fiction?
- I have an identical twin named David. Fact or fiction?
- My family emigrated here from France in 1880. Fact or fiction?
- I am bilingual. Fact or fiction?
6. Rapid-Fire Questions
Ready for a question game with communication at its core? Quick, fun, and energizing, Question Game ticks all the right boxes. Here’s how it works:
Working in pairs, players must bounce rapid-fire questions back and forth for as long as possible. If someone hesitates for too long, says something nonsensical, or makes a statement instead of asking a question, they lose!
Here’s what it might sound like:
- “What’s your biggest fear?””
- “Isn’t that too personal for work?”
- “Are you dodging my question?”
- “What do you think?”
- “Why won’t you tell me what you’re scared of?”
- “Why don’t you just guess what my biggest fear is?”
- “Is it spiders?”
- “Does that mean you don’t like spiders?”
- “Are you turning the question on me?”
Another way to play the Question Game is in a group, where everyone takes turns asking the next question in the sequence. If they mess up, they get eliminated! The winner is the last person standing.
7. Icebreaker Questions
Icebreaker questions are go-to tools for starting meetings/events on a positive note, grabbing people’s attention, sparking conversation, and helping group members learn more about each other.
From silly ones to serious ones, there’s an endless list of icebreaker questions you can use! Here are 10 of our favorites to get you started:
- If you had to eat one meal for the rest of your life, what would it be and why?
- If you could have any superpower for a day, what would it be and why?
- If you could teleport anywhere in the world, where would it be and why?
- What’s your happy place and why?
- What’s one thing you want to be remembered for after you die?
- Describe a time you said “no” to something that you wish you’d said “yes” to?
- Who is your biggest role model in life?
- If you could rid the world of one thing, what would it be?
- What’s one productivity tool you couldn’t live without?
- What’s your biggest claim to fame?
8. Trivia
Questions games don’t get much better than good old-fashioned trivia! A classic way to test people’s knowledge on a range of topics, you can ask questions on everything from science and current events to religion, sports, and history.
Of course, there’s nothing stopping you from playing a “personal trivia” game too. Take this tack, and you’d ask questions to test the team’s knowledge about each other instead! For example, who did what at the last Christmas party? Which team member was born overseas? And who has a middle name that starts with “K”?
You get the idea!
Whatever type of trivia game you choose, the idea is to play in teams and compete against each other to see who can answer the most questions correctly. Award prizes to the winner to incentivize participation.
9. Would You Rather
No list of quality question games is complete without “Would You Rather.” A classic party game, it also functions as an effective icebreaker in work environments. The idea’s simple:
Confront someone with two competing situations and ask them to choose which one they’d prefer! For example:
- Would you rather have unlimited wealth or unlimited happiness?
- Would you rather be able to fly or read people’s minds?
- Would you rather be able to talk to animals or speak every human language?
- Would you rather have legs for arms or arms for legs?
- Would you rather have bad breath or smelly armpits?
The sillier the question, the better! However, feel free to mix in some more serious dilemmas as well. They might be work-related, for instance (e.g. “would you rather work in silence or have music on in the background?”) or require some soul-searching (e.g. “would you rather save the lives of three family members or 1000 people you don’t know?”). Whatever the case, you can expect would you rather questions to spark conversation and make people laugh in equal measure!
10. Where Do You Stand
Where Do You Stand is another excellent question game for anyone hoping to stimulate discussion, encourage people to share their perspectives, and learn about each other’s differing opinions.
Primed to foster understanding and respect among groups of friends and colleagues, the game requires participants to pick between two contrasting stances on a given topic. Here’s how it works:
One player poses a question or issues a statement on a current event, social issue, or personal belief. It could be serious or silly, although it’s good to have a mix of both! The other players then indicate where they stand on the issue, either by saying their answer or by moving to designated sections of the room.
Some possible “Where Do You Stand” questions/statements include:
- Does free will exist?
- Is winter better than fall?
- Is morning better for productivity than night?
- Healthcare should be free for everyone
- Avatar the movie has a strong storyline
- Should there be a universal basic income?
- Meat is bad for you
11. Two Truths and a Lie
Two Truths and a Lie is a fun game where players take turns sharing three statements about themselves. The catch is only two of them should be true!
The rest of the group then asks questions and talks amongst themselves to identify which statement’s made up.
There’s a lot to like about this question game, but we particularly enjoy the strategic element involved. After all, each player has to find a way to deceive their teammates! If they make their lie too obvious, the others will see right through it. But if they say something that meshes with how the group sees them, they’ll get away with it.
Whether the group guesses correctly or not, though, the process of asking/fielding questions is powerful for team building. People will discover new things about their colleagues – even if it’s only that they’re brilliant liars!
12. Who’s Most Likely To?
“Who’s Most Likely To” is a simple question game where players identify someone in the group who best fits a certain description. For example:
- Who’s most likely to sing karaoke at the next Christmas party?
- Who’s most likely to play practical jokes in the office?
- Who’s most likely to make you laugh so hard that you cry?
- Who’s most likely to have a witty comeback?
- Who’s most likely to be awarded employee of the month 6 times in a row?
You need two or more people to play, as well as a large set of pre-written cards with these questions written on them. Feel free to make these cards yourself or purchase an actual “Who’s Most Likely to” card game in advance. From there, you sit together in a circle and take turns drawing cards/answering questions.
Aside from being surprisingly fun, we like this game because you can use it to give indirect praise and compliments. For example, the question might be: “Who is most likely to cheer up the room?” Whoever gets picked is sure to feel happy about it!
For related ideas, check out these “get to know you” questions.
13. Kiss, Marry, Kill
Looking for a quick and funny way to start a meeting? Try Kiss Marry Kill. A perennial crowd-pleaser, this question game involves choosing which of three people you’d rather kiss, marry, or – you guessed it – kill.
They can be fictional (e.g. characters from well-known movies) or real (e.g. singers, sports stars, or people in the office) and you take turns presenting three names for the other players to choose from. Expect light-hearted debate to rage as each participant justifies who they’re kissing, marrying, or killing!
If you want to make this game slightly more PC, then consider the alternative: “Kiss, Marry, Avoid.” The process is the same, just with slightly less offensive language.
14. What If?
Want to inject some energy into proceedings and trigger some silly, serious, and generally scintillating discussions at the same time? Play What If. A super straightforward question game, you simply take turns asking “what if” questions for your teammates to answer.
You may find that the best discussions come from questions people make up on the fly. Nevertheless, here are some great “What If” questions to get things started:
- What if you could travel back in time?
- What if the power went out for a month?
- What it there was no internet anywhere in the world?
- What if your high-school crush contacted you out of the blue?
- What if you stopped drinking coffee for a week?
- What if a famous director asked you to star in their next movie?
- What if you had 24 hours left to live?
15. Guess Who
Based on the popular board game of the same name, Guess Who is an entertaining activity where someone in the group picks a celebrity (or colleague!) and everyone else asks “yes/no” questions to identify who it is. For instance:
- “Are they a musician?” “Yes”
- “Do they sing?” “Yes”
- “Do they have long hair?” “No”
- “Are they in a band?” “No”
- “Do they play guitar as well?” “Yes”
- “Are they as famous today as they were in the past?” “Yes”
- “Did they once date Katy Perry?” “Yes”
- “Is it John Mayer?” “Yes”
The round finishes when their identity’s revealed! And whoever made the successful guess then takes a turn. You can keep playing for a set number of rounds or until everyone has had a chance to choose a celebrity.
16. How Well Do You Know Me
Here’s a brilliant question game for a) testing how well you know your teammates and b) helping everyone learn more about each other.
To play, one person acts as the subject while everyone else is a guesser. You then choose questions (that someone has compiled in advance or found on the internet) that both the subject and guessers must answer about the subject. Potential questions include:
- “Where did I grow up?”
- “What’s my favorite food?”
- “What are my current hobbies?”
- “Who is my celebrity crush?”
- “What historical figure do I look up to?”
For example, if Dave from HR was the subject, he’d answer questions about himself; the other players would attempt to answer the questions about him. After writing down their answers, everyone would then compare what they put! You then swap roles so that everyone has a chance to be the subject.
17. One Must Go
One Must Go is a fun question game that’d be a fantastic warm-up activity before team meetings or on your next work retreat. We love it for its ability to stimulate light-hearted conversations and help co-workers get to know each other.
How it works is simple: someone comes up with three to four options in a particular category and then asks the group to decide one option to get rid of. For example, “One must go: your favorite drink, your favorite item of clothing, your favorite song, your favorite food?” Or, “One must go: mustard, mayo, ketchup, bbq sauce?”
18. Jenga Questions
Ideal for small groups, this simple game involves taking Jenga blocks, writing a question on each one, and then setting up the Jenga tower as usual. You then take turns pulling out a block and answering whatever question’s on it.
The questions themselves can be totally random, work-related, or tailored to your interests. For larger teams, consider splitting up into smaller groups first and assigning a Jenga tower to each one.
19. Paranoia
Sitting in a circle, players take turns whispering a question into the ear of the person on their right – the answer to which is someone else playing the game. Whoever’s asked the question then points at whoever they believe is the answer.
For example, you might ask, “who is the best-looking person in the group?” to Alice, who might point at James across the room. But poor James doesn’t know what the question was! Hence the name, Paranoia. The only way for James to find out is to accept a dare/forfeit. If he’s unwilling to do so, then it becomes Alice’s turn to whisper a question to whoever’s next to her.
A word of caution: Paranoia’s a fun and unique question game, but it isn’t without tension! We recommend you only play if everyone on the team is close friends.
20. Friendly Feud
Have you ever seen the TV show or played the board game called Family Feud? Well, Friendly Feud is a DIY version that’s just as fun to play. Here’s the process for each round:
- Divide the group into 2 teams
- Come up with a question on a particular topic
- Poll one of the teams to find the top 5 answers to it (making sure the other team doesn’t see/hear)
- Assign points to each option, with the most points going to the “best” answer and the least points going to the “worst”
- Ask the opposite team to come up with 5 answers to that same question – with a time limit
- See if they choose any of the same answers and then add up the number of points they earned
- Repeat the process, asking numerous questions to both teams and keeping track of their points
For instance, let’s say the question is, “what’s something that flies?” After polling Team A, you get 5 answers: Airplane, bird, bee, drone, and helicopter, which you say are worth 5 points, 4 points, 3 points, 2 points, and 1 point, respectively.
You then ask Team B for 5 answers to the same question. They say, “airplane, paraglider, hot air balloon, spacecraft, and birds.” Because they got two of the five options set out by Team A, they’d receive 9 points.
Play these question games with friends and co-workers
Whether you’re at work or with friends, question games are top-notch icebreakers and effective ways to elevate energy levels. They can deepen existing relationships, too, help co-workers learn more about each other, and stimulate both funny and thought-provoking discussions.
For all these reasons and many more like them, question games are quality additions to a company retreat! If you’d like to see what we mean, then Surf Office is here to handle the logistics. We’ve helped hundreds of businesses organize memorable team retreats and offsites – saving them time and money in the process.
Contact us today if you’d like us to do the same for you.
