This or that questions are quick conversation prompts that give you two choices and ask you to pick one. They are easy to use with friends, couples, family, classmates, coworkers, or groups. Popular choices include coffee or tea, beach or mountains, texting or calling, and movies or books.

Key Takeaways

• This or that questions give you two simple options to choose from.
• They work well for friends, couples, parties, dates, classrooms, and texting.
• The best questions make both choices interesting instead of making one answer obviously better.
• Asking “Why?” after a choice can turn a quick game into a meaningful conversation.
• Unlike “would you rather,” this or that usually focuses on simple preferences or direct choices.

What Are This or That Questions?

This or that questions are simple either-or conversation prompts. Someone gives you two options, and you choose the one you prefer.

For example:

Coffee or tea?

Beach or mountains?

Texting or calling?

Summer or winter?

The answer can be quick, but the conversation does not have to stop there. You can ask the person why they made that choice, which often leads to stories, jokes, debates, or surprising discoveries.

Current question lists commonly organize these prompts around categories such as food, travel, entertainment, work, friends, couples, kids, and challenging choices.

That flexibility is what makes this format useful. You can use five questions as a quick icebreaker or spend an entire evening comparing answers.

How to Play This or That

The basic rules are extremely simple.

1. Choose a question.
2. Read the two options.
3. Everyone picks one.
4. Ask why if you want a longer conversation.
5. Move to the next question.

For a group, everyone can answer at the same time by raising a hand, moving to one side of the room, or typing their choice in a group chat. For couples or close friends, take turns answering and guessing what the other person will choose.

A useful variation is to guess someone’s answer before they respond. This adds a small challenge and can reveal how well you actually know each other.

Fun This or That Questions

Start with easy questions before moving into anything personal or difficult.

1. Coffee or tea?
2. Pizza or burgers?
3. Beach or mountains?
4. Sunrise or sunset?
5. Summer or winter?
6. Dogs or cats?
7. Books or movies?
8. Sweet or salty?
9. City or countryside?
10. Morning or night?
11. Texting or calling?
12. Sneakers or sandals?
13. Music or podcasts?
14. Cake or ice cream?
15. Rainy days or sunny days?
16. Window seat or aisle seat?
17. Comedy or mystery?
18. Road trip or flight?
19. Breakfast or dinner?
20. Movies at home or movies at the theater?

These are great warm-up questions because they are easy to answer and rarely create awkward moments.

Funny This or That Questions

Funny choices can make a basic conversation much more entertaining. The best ones create an impossible or ridiculous preference without becoming too complicated.

1. Always have wet socks or always have a crooked pillow?
2. Talk like a robot or walk like a penguin?
3. Eat pizza with a spoon or soup with a fork?
4. Have a tiny elephant or a giant hamster?
5. Sing everything you say or dance everywhere you go?
6. Laugh at the wrong time or sneeze during every serious conversation?
7. Wear pajamas everywhere or formal clothes everywhere?
8. Fight one horse-sized duck or 100 duck-sized horses?
9. Have a permanent funny haircut or permanent funny shoes?
10. Only whisper or only shout for one day?
11. Have spaghetti for hair or popcorn for teeth?
12. Be followed by one annoying song or one annoying sound?
13. Forget people’s names or forget where you parked?
14. Have your phone speak every notification aloud or have it play music?
15. Be famous for something embarrassing or unknown for something amazing?

Funny questions work especially well at parties because nobody needs a long explanation before answering.

This or That Questions for Friends

Want to see how well your friends know your personality? Try these.

1. Stay home or go out?
2. Big party or small gathering?
3. Road trip or weekend getaway?
4. Shopping or gaming?
5. TikTok or YouTube?
6. Text all day or talk on the phone?
7. Have one best friend or many close friends?
8. Plan everything or be spontaneous?
9. Late-night conversation or early-morning adventure?
10. Take photos or make videos?
11. Karaoke or dancing?
12. Board games or video games?
13. Camping or hotel?
14. Shopping mall or online shopping?
15. Group vacation or solo trip?
16. Be the funniest person or smartest person in the group?
17. Always be early or always be late?
18. Tell the truth or protect someone’s feelings?
19. Relive your best day or skip your worst day?
20. Have unlimited free travel or unlimited free food?

The strongest friend questions do more than identify favorites. They reveal habits, personalities, priorities, and unexpected opinions.

This or That Questions for Couples

For couples, simple choices can become surprisingly good conversation starters. Recent relationship-focused lists commonly use categories such as funny, romantic, lifestyle, travel, date night, and deeper questions.

Try these:

1. Dinner date or movie date?
2. Beach vacation or mountain getaway?
3. Morning cuddle or goodnight kiss?
4. Texting or calling?
5. Cook together or order takeout?
6. Road trip or flying somewhere new?
7. Romantic dinner or casual picnic?
8. Stay in or go out?
9. Surprise date or planned date?
10. Flowers or chocolates?
11. Sunrise together or sunset together?
12. Matching outfits or matching accessories?
13. Long conversation or comfortable silence?
14. Handwritten note or sweet text?
15. Weekend trip or staycation?
16. Dancing together or watching a movie?
17. Adventure date or relaxing date?
18. Give gifts or receive gifts?
19. Recreate your first date or plan something completely new?
20. Talk about the future or remember the past?

For couples, do not worry about getting the same answers. Different choices can be more interesting because they give you something to discuss.

Deep This or That Questions

When you want to move beyond food, movies, and hobbies, try deeper choices.

1. Success or happiness?
2. Freedom or security?
3. Money or more free time?
4. Love or career?
5. Adventure or stability?
6. Being understood or being admired?
7. Forgive easily or remember the lesson?
8. Know your future or change your past?
9. Live near family or live somewhere exciting?
10. Have a meaningful life or a famous life?
11. Follow your heart or follow your logic?
12. Take risks or play it safe?
13. Have many experiences or one perfect experience?
14. Be respected or be loved?
15. Have more confidence or more patience?

There is no correct answer. These questions are designed to reveal values rather than test knowledge.

Hard This or That Questions

Some choices are difficult because both options sound good.

1. Travel the world or build your dream home?
2. Unlimited money or unlimited time?
3. Live in your favorite city or travel whenever you want?
4. Read every book or watch every movie?
5. Never need sleep or never need food?
6. Know every language or play every musical instrument?
7. Be extremely intelligent or extremely creative?
8. Relive your happiest memory or create a new perfect memory?
9. Have your dream career or your dream lifestyle?
10. Be able to change one thing about the past or see one thing about the future?
11. Have perfect health or financial freedom?
12. Be loved by everyone or understood by one person completely?
13. Live by the ocean or in the mountains?
14. Have unlimited vacation time or a four-day workweek?
15. Always know the right thing to say or always know the right thing to do?

Hard questions are best when neither choice is obviously superior. That balance creates discussion instead of automatic answers.

This or That Questions for Parties and Groups

For a party, choose questions that everyone can answer without needing private information.

1. Karaoke or dancing?
2. Pizza or tacos?
3. Beach party or pool party?
4. Music or games?
5. Team games or individual games?
6. Indoor party or outdoor party?
7. Costume party or themed dinner?
8. Trivia or charades?
9. Board games or card games?
10. Snacks or full meals?
11. DJ or live band?
12. Early party or late-night party?
13. Road trip or staycation?
14. Photos or videos?
15. Competitive games or silly games?

For larger groups, ask everyone to choose at the same time. Then ask a few people to explain unusual answers. This keeps the game moving instead of turning every question into a long discussion.

This or That Questions for Texting

This or that works especially well in text messages because each question can be answered in just a few seconds.

Try sending:

• Netflix or YouTube?
• Call or text?
• Good morning or goodnight text?
• Coffee date or dinner date?
• Beach or mountains?
• Summer or winter?
• Voice messages or typing?
• Instagram or TikTok?
• Sweet texts or funny memes?
• Stay in or go out?
• Music or movies?
• Early bird or night owl?
• Pizza or burgers?
• Travel or shopping?
• Long texts or short texts?

You can also send one question at a time instead of dropping a huge list. That makes the conversation feel more natural.

This or That vs. Would You Rather

Although the two games are related, they are not exactly the same.

This or That	Would You Rather
Usually gives two direct choices	Usually gives two hypothetical situations
Often focuses on preferences	Often focuses on dilemmas
Quick to answer	May require more thought
“Coffee or tea?”	“Would you rather never drink coffee or never drink tea?”
Great for rapid-fire games	Great for debate and storytelling

Both can be fun. This or that is generally better when you want fast answers, while would you rather can create longer hypothetical discussions. Current guides and game sites make a similar distinction between the two formats.

Tips for Creating Better This or That Questions

A good question should make both options interesting.

Instead of:

Would you rather eat pizza or a completely unpleasant food?

Try:

Pizza or tacos?

The second question is better because neither choice is obviously bad.

Keep these tips in mind:

• Make both choices reasonably appealing.
• Keep the wording short.
• Mix easy and challenging questions.
• Match the questions to your audience.
• Avoid overly personal questions with people you do not know well.
• Ask “Why?” when you want deeper conversation.
• Use rapid-fire questions when the group wants a fast game.
• Save deeper questions for people who are comfortable sharing.

The format works because the barrier to answering is low: two choices are easier to respond to than a broad question such as “Tell me about yourself.” Current guides also emphasize the speed and simplicity of the format as a key part of its appeal.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are good this or that questions?

Good this or that questions give you two interesting choices without making one answer obviously better. Examples include beach or mountains, coffee or tea, texting or calling, movies or books, and sunrise or sunset. For deeper conversations, use choices involving lifestyle, values, relationships, or future goals.

How do you play this or that?

One person reads a question with two options, and everyone chooses one. You can answer quickly or explain your choice. In a group, everyone can answer together. With a partner or friend, you can guess their answer first and then compare it with their actual choice.

Are this or that questions the same as would you rather?

Not exactly. This or that questions usually present two direct preferences, such as cats or dogs. Would-you-rather questions generally create hypothetical situations, such as choosing between two unusual experiences. This or that is usually faster, while would-you-rather often encourages more explanation.

Can you play this or that over text?

Yes. This or that questions are especially easy to play over text because each prompt can be answered with one word or phrase. Send one question at a time, compare your answers, and ask a follow-up question when an answer surprises you.

Conclusion

This or that questions are simple, but they can create surprisingly good conversations. You can use them to break the ice with new people, laugh with friends, connect with your partner, entertain a party, or keep a text conversation moving.

Start with easy choices such as coffee or tea or beach or mountains, then move into funny, personal, or deeper questions when the mood feels right. The most important rule is simple: choose one, have fun, and let the conversation take you somewhere unexpected.