Truth or Dare Generator
“What compliment do you fish for most often?”
Running it
Requires a little self-knowledge, so give them a moment. Once it is out, somebody will supply the compliment, and that is a fine result.
Some of what is in the deck
Prefer to read than to shuffle? These are the opening cards of each deck, each with its note and the set it came from.
Truths
What compliment do you fish for most often?
Why ask it
Requires a little self-knowledge, so give them a moment. Once it is out, somebody will supply the compliment, and that is a fine result.
What truth about yourself did you only figure out in the last year?
Why ask it
Rewards people who have been paying attention to themselves. Skip it with players who are already uncomfortable, since it cannot be faked.
What is the most ridiculous thing you have done to avoid a spider, a phone call or an awkward hello?
Why ask it
Three options means nobody can claim they have no answer. The avoidance stories tend to involve hiding in a store aisle for far too long.
Which friend's advice do you ask for and then routinely ignore?
Why ask it
If that friend is in the circle, they already know. It tends to start a fond argument about what the advice was and how things turned out.
What is the most recent thing you searched for that you would rather not explain?
Why ask it
Search histories are small confessions. Let them give the search first with no context, then invite the context and take 'no comment' as a complete answer.
What do you do when you are home alone that would change if there were a camera?
Why ask it
The camera framing gets better answers than asking about guilty habits directly. Full musical numbers in the kitchen are common.
What nickname did you have that you hoped nobody here would ever learn?
Why ask it
The player picks which nickname to give up, so it stays survivable. If the group starts using it, agree that it is retired again when the game ends.
What trend did you mock and then quietly join?
Why ask it
A small lesson in humility that costs nothing. Best asked of the person in the group with the strongest opinions about everything.
What is the laziest meal you have made and genuinely enjoyed?
Why ask it
Low risk, high detail. People defend these meals with surprising pride, and the defense is funnier than the recipe.
What is the kindest thing someone did for you that you never properly thanked them for?
Why ask it
Changes the temperature of the room for a minute, in a good way. You might suggest they send the thank-you tomorrow.
Dares
Tell a thirty-second bedtime story starring the person on your right.
Why ask it
A sleepy narrator voice keeps it gentle. The star of the story finds out how they are seen: usually brave, often hungry.
Do your best evil villain laugh, building from a quiet chuckle to the full thing.
Why ask it
The build is the instruction that matters, since it forces commitment by stages. Quiet players are often alarmingly good at this.
Sell the nearest cushion to the group as if it were a luxury product.
Why ask it
Anyone who has sat through an ad can do this. Have the group ask hostile customer questions for the last ten seconds.
Deliver an acceptance speech for the award of Most Dramatic Reaction to a Minor Inconvenience.
Why ask it
Hand this to the person who has earned it, and the room will know who that is. They usually thank the inconvenience by name.
Truths for kids
What did you think was a great idea until it went wrong?
Why ask it
Children tell these stories with real comic timing. Cutting their own hair is a frequent entry, and the photos usually still exist.
What is the best hiding spot in your home that you have never told anyone about?
Why ask it
Giving up a hiding spot is a real sacrifice for a child. If they would rather describe it in riddles than reveal it, allow that.
What word or name does your family use that nobody outside your home would understand?
Why ask it
The story behind a family word is the good part: who said it first, and what it was supposed to be. Ask them to use it in a sentence, and see if a parent joins in.
If you could have any animal as a pet with no rules, what would you choose and where would it sleep?
Why ask it
Where it would sleep is the part that makes them think. A giraffe is easy to choose and surprisingly hard to put to bed.
Dares for kids
Say 'six sleepy sloths slide sideways slowly' three times as fast as you can.
Why ask it
By the third time it turns to mush, as intended. Everyone will want a go afterward, so allow a group attempt before moving on.
Walk like a penguin to the door and back without smiling.
Why ask it
Not smiling is the hard part, and it is what makes everyone else laugh. Heels together, arms pinned and tiny steps give the best waddle.
Be a caterpillar turning into a butterfly: crawl, curl up in a cocoon, then fly.
Why ask it
Three stages give it a shape, and the quiet cocoon in the middle builds suspense. It suits gentle children who dislike loud dares.
Invent a dance called the Wobbly Jellyfish and get everyone to do it with you.
Why ask it
Put this near the end, when even the shy ones are ready to join in. It finishes with the whole room dancing, a good place to stop.
Truths for teens
What have you done to look cool that backfired completely?
Why ask it
The gap between the plan and the result is the whole story. Have them describe the plan first, in detail, as if it still might work.
What is the most embarrassing thing a parent has done in front of your friends?
Why ask it
The parent is the one on trial, which takes the heat off the player. Singing along in the pickup line is the usual charge. Leave it out when that parent can hear from the kitchen.
What username or email address did you make years ago that you now regret?
Why ask it
Old usernames are time capsules with numbers on the end. Ask what the numbers stood for: there is always a reason, and it makes the name worse.
When did you last text 'on my way' while you were still in your room?
Why ask it
Short, true for nearly everybody and easy to answer over text. Follow up with what they were really doing; the answer is usually hunting for one shoe.
Dares for teens
Sing everything you need to say, musical-theater style, until two more players have taken their turns.
Why ask it
Volume matters less than commitment. If they clam up to avoid singing, ask them something that needs a long answer.
Finish every sentence with 'allegedly' until your next turn comes around.
Why ask it
One word turns ordinary statements into legal trouble. 'I am going to get some water, allegedly' is the standard to aim for.
Tell a story about your day while buffering like a bad video call: freeze, skip and repeat.
Why ask it
On a real video call, the others will not know at first whether it is the dare or the connection. In a room, the frozen face mid-word is what sells it.
Answer only to a stage name the group gives you until the game ends.
Why ask it
Insist on names that flatter: DJ Punctual, the Human Charger. The group will forget and use the real name, and the player gets to ignore them when they do. In a text game, the name goes at the end of every message as a sign-off.
How to play truth or dare
Sit where everyone can see each other. The player whose turn it is says truth or dare, and whoever holds the phone taps that deck. Read the card aloud. A truth gets an honest answer, and a dare gets done there and then.
Then the turn passes to the left. Tapping the deck that is already selected deals its next card, so a second truth in a row is one tap.
House rules that keep it fun
- One pass eachEvery player may skip one card per game, no reasons asked. Knowing the pass is there makes people braver with the rest.
- No three in a rowAfter two truths the next one has to be a dare, and the other way round.
- What is said here stays hereAgree on it before the first card. A truth is only worth telling if it will not be repeated on Monday.
Other ways to take a turn
- Spin for itSpin a bottle or a pen. Whoever it points at takes the next card and chooses truth or dare.
- The group decidesThe player does not choose. Everyone else votes truth or dare for them, and then the card is dealt.
- Truths onlyOn a video call or in a car, where dares are awkward, stay on the Truths deck and go round the circle.
Truths, dares and the kids' decks
- Truths and DaresWritten for teens and adults who want the game without the cruelty. Everything is clean, and every dare can be done in a living room in a minute or so with nothing to fetch.
- Truths for kids and Dares for kidsWritten for children of about six to twelve, so a grown-up can read them aloud without checking ahead. The dares are silly and physical, stay indoors and need no props.
- Truths for teens and Dares for teensWritten for ages about twelve to eighteen: honest without being humiliating, and dares that take a minute in a living room or on a video call. Nothing to send, post or record.
The sets behind it
Nothing is written on the fly. Every card comes from one of these question sets, and each set has the whole list in an order that builds.