Would You Rather

Set up

None. For a large group, clear enough floor that people can move to one side of the room or the other.

How to play

1. One player asks a question in the form “Would you rather… or…?” Both options must be possible to imagine and neither may be dodged.
2. Everyone commits at the same moment: thumbs up for the first option, thumbs down for the second. In a big group, walk to a side of the room.
3. The asker picks one person from each side to explain their choice in a sentence or two.
4. Anyone may change sides after hearing the arguments.
5. The player to the left asks the next question.

Turning it into a contest

For groups that like a winner: before the vote, the asker secretly predicts which side will be bigger. A correct prediction scores a point. Or play odd one out: anyone on the smaller side scores a point, which rewards questions that split the room.

Writing good questions

The best questions are evenly balanced and specific. “Would you rather fly or be invisible?” is fine. “Would you rather be able to fly, but only as fast as you can walk, or be invisible, but only when nobody is looking?” starts an argument. Keep them kind: nothing that puts a person in the room on the spot.

For a family table, draw from what is in front of you: only eat one dish from this meal for a year, or never eat it again?

Ways to change it

• Defend the other side: after voting, each speaker must argue for the option they did not choose.
• Guess the host: everyone predicts what one named person will choose, then that person reveals it.
• Quick fire: ten questions in two minutes, no debate. A good warm-up.

Who it suits, and who it doesn’t

It works anywhere people are sitting and waiting: a dinner table, a classroom, the start of a meeting. Children from six can play with simple questions. It is a conversation game, so it will not rescue a party that needs people on their feet, and it only works as well as its questions.