This or That Questions: 200+ Pairs for Quizzes & Games

This or that questions are the fastest conversation format there is: two options, pick one, no explanation required. And I’ll put my opinion right at the top, because it shaped every list on this page: this or that beats standard icebreaker small talk, and it’s not close. Answering takes 2 seconds, there’s no wrong answer to fear, and the pick still reveals something real about the person.

Below you’ll find 245 rapid-fire pairs sorted by where you’ll actually use them: Instagram stories, work meetings, first dates, classrooms, party rounds, food debates, and pure silliness. There’s also a short section on what separates a pair people argue about from a pair that lands flat. The format only fails one way: when one option is obviously better. And that failure is easy to spot once you know what to look for.

Over at Uplup, the quiz tool I build, this format is a favorite of mine for a mechanical reason: pairs run beautifully as a conversational quiz, one question per card, tap and advance, so a 20-pair round finishes in about a minute.

The rules of a good pair

A good this or that question passes three tests: both options are defensible, neither is the obvious winner, and anyone can answer in about 2 seconds. Miss any one of the three and the pair dies on contact.

Both options are defensible. “Coffee or tea?” works because millions of people happily live on each side of it. “Coffee or lukewarm tap water?” isn’t a question, it’s a setup with a punchline nobody wants to deliver.
No obvious winner. If 90% of the room picks the same side, you’ve written a poll about a fact, not a preference. The pairs that get a whole group arguing sit near 50/50, and the argument is the whole point.
Answerable in 2 seconds. The moment someone says “well, it depends,” the pair is carrying too much baggage. Multi-variable dilemmas belong to would you rather; this format lives on instinct.

I love how much work a 2-second question does: the pick is instant, and the conversation it starts does everything else. That’s also why the math favors it over a go-around icebreaker. “Tell us about your weekend” costs roughly 45 seconds per person, so a team of 8 spends 6 minutes on the opener. Ten this or that pairs at 2 seconds a pick runs the same group in under 90 seconds, and every person participated 10 times instead of once.

Writing your own pairs is easier than it looks once you know the structure to steal. Most great pairs are the same trade-off wearing different clothes: comfort versus novelty (rewatch or new release), speed versus ceremony (text or call), control versus surprise (planned or spontaneous). So pick the trade-off first, dress it for your audience, then test the pair on one person. If they answer instantly and then start explaining themselves unprompted, keep it; if they shrug and pick the same side everyone else would, retire it.

This or that questions for Instagram stories

Story pairs run best as two-frame polls: post the pair with the poll sticker, let it collect votes for 24 hours, then post the split as its own frame. The split is the real content; a near-50/50 result is the fun part, because it pulls replies the original question never would. Cap a run at 5 pairs per day, and lead with your most divisive one, since the first frame decides whether people tap through the rest. Also, keep a note of your splits. Any pair that lands within a few points of 50/50 is proven material. Re-run it in a month, dressed up as a sharper version of the same trade-off.

Coffee or tea?
Sunrise or sunset?
Beach or mountains?
Summer or winter?
Books or podcasts?
Netflix or YouTube?
Sweet or salty?
Gold or silver?
City or countryside?
Dogs or cats?
Texting or calling?
Early bird or night owl?
Sneakers or sandals?
Rain or snow?
Concerts or festivals?
Photo dump or one agonized-over single post?
Stories or grid posts?
Thrifted or brand new?
Minimalist or maximalist?
Road trip or flight?
Hotel or Airbnb?
Full morning routine or snooze until the last possible second?
Bath or shower?
Candles or fairy lights?
Iced coffee or hot coffee?
Curly hair or straight hair?
Denim or leather?
Museum or amusement park?
Picnic or brunch?
Stay in or go out?
Golden hour or blue hour?
Saved posts or 4,000 unsorted screenshots?
Overpacked suitcase or smug carry-on only?
Fresh flowers or house plants?
Polaroids or film camera?

This or that questions for work: meetings and standups

Open a meeting with 3 pairs, no more. Everyone answers at once in the chat, or with a quick hand-raise on a call; three pairs costs under a minute, and quiet teammates get a zero-risk way to say something before the real agenda starts. On remote calls, the smoothest mechanic is typing “1” or “2” into the chat simultaneously, because everyone commits before seeing anyone else’s answer. This or that questions for work should stay firmly on the work-preferences side: opinions about workflows, never about people.

Camera on or camera off?
Morning meetings or afternoon meetings?
Slack or email?
Office or remote?
Standing desk or sitting desk?
Headphones in or speakers on?
To-do list or calendar blocks?
Finish early or right at the deadline?
One monitor or two?
Brainstorm out loud or write it down first?
Walking meeting or coffee meeting?
Keyboard shortcuts or mouse everything?
Inbox zero or inbox 10,000?
Notifications on or notifications off?
Big picture or fine details?
Present first or present last?
Spreadsheet or slide deck?
Async update or live standup?
Work playlist or silence?
Desk plant or desk snacks?
Start early or stay late?
One long break or several short ones?
Voice message or typed message?
Hot desk or assigned seat?
Agenda or open discussion?
Monday planning or Friday planning?
Team lunch or team happy hour?
Window desk or corner desk?
Handwritten notes or typed notes?
Celebrate loudly or celebrate quietly?
Meeting recap in writing or from memory?
Two-minute task now or batched later?
Optimistic deadline or padded deadline?
Elevator or stairs?
First draft fast or first draft polished?

First date and getting-to-know-you pairs

These earn their place on a first date because a preference is a story with the boring parts removed. Ask the pair, wait for the pick, then ask the only follow-up that matters: “why?” The answer to that second question is where the actual getting-to-know-someone happens. One caution: skip any pair that feels like a test with a right answer, because the whole appeal of the format is that there isn’t one.

Big group hangout or one-on-one?
Movie at home or movie in the theater?
Cooking together or ordering in?
Deep talk or light banter?
Spontaneous plans or plans made weeks ahead?
Live music or comedy show?
Breakfast food or dinner food?
Save it or splurge?
Karaoke night or trivia night?
Long walk or long drive?
Sleep in or up early on weekends?
Window seat or aisle seat?
Camping or glamping?
First date coffee or first date dinner?
Love songs or breakup songs?
Board games or video games?
Handwritten note or surprise gift?
Talk it out now or cool off first?
One best friend or a big circle?
Rewatch a favorite or try something new?
Dancing or people-watching?
Late-night talks or morning talks?
Matching outfits or never matching?
Pet person or plant person?
Sunday reset or Sunday do-nothing?
Relaxing vacation or packed itinerary?
Meet the friends first or meet the family first?
Text back instantly or when you get to it?
Share the dessert or order your own?
Old photos or old songs?
Mini golf or bowling?
Stargazing or storm-watching?
Flowers or chocolates?
Public proposal or private proposal?
Same side of the booth or across the table?

This or that questions for kids: the classroom edition

Run this as a movement game: one side of the room for the first option, the other side for the second. Kids answer with their feet, nobody gets put on the spot, and the shy kids vote as loudly as anyone! It also works as a hallway line-up game or a two-minute brain break between lessons, and teachers can sneak curriculum pairs into the mix (fractions or decimals?) once the room is warmed up.

Recess or art class?
Pizza day or taco day?
Coloring books or comic books?
Dinosaurs or dragons?
Chocolate milk or strawberry milk?
Snow day or beach day?
Crayons or markers?
Reading a book or hearing a story?
Slide or swings?
Cartoons or movies?
Pancakes or waffles?
Stickers or stamps?
Robots or aliens?
Sandcastles or snowmen?
Bike or scooter?
Math games or spelling games?
Show and tell or story time?
Hamsters or goldfish?
Bubbles or balloons?
Trampoline or pool?
Ice cream cone or ice cream cup?
Pirates or astronauts?
Zoo trip or museum trip?
Gym class or library time?
Hot lunch or packed lunch?
Glitter or googly eyes?
Jump rope or hopscotch?
Talent show or science fair?
Slime or play-dough?
Costume day or pajama day?
Chalk or finger paint?
Treehouse or blanket fort?
Kickball or tag?
Popsicles or snow cones?
Backpack or rolling bag?

Party rapid-fire rounds

Rapid-fire means rapid: one reader, pairs called out fast, everyone points left or right the instant they hear the options. Hesitate and you’re out; last three standing pick the next playlist! The elimination version gets genuinely funny by about pair five, because pointing fast under pressure is harder than it sounds. For bigger groups, split into two teams and alternate readers; the pause while teams swap is the natural spot to relitigate the closest call of the previous round.

Truth or dare?
Arrive early or fashionably late?
Dance floor or snack table?
House party or night out?
Costume party or dinner party?
Karaoke solo or karaoke duet?
Charades or Pictionary?
Photo booth or group selfie?
Playlist on shuffle or one long queue?
Confetti or streamers?
Midnight snack or midnight swim?
First to arrive or last to leave?
Surprise party or planned party?
Games night or movie night?
Host or guest?
Toast with a speech or toast without?
Fireworks or bonfire?
Slow songs or fast songs?
Themed drinks or the classics?
Icebreaker games or free mingling?
Group photo at the start or at the end?
Cake or cupcakes?
Piñata or party favors?
New Year’s Eve or Halloween?
DJ or live band?
Foosball or ping pong?
Dress up or dress down?
Indoor party or backyard party?
Secret Santa or White Elephant?
Afterparty or straight home?
Costume contest or lip-sync battle?
Sparklers or glow sticks?
Party hats or party horns?
Musical chairs or limbo?
Scavenger hunt or murder mystery?

The food edition

Food pairs carry the highest argument density of any category, because everyone eats and everyone has receipts. Run these at a dinner table and expect dinner to go long; the ketchup-or-mustard divide takes no prisoners. They also do double duty as actual decision-making: reading five of these aloud is a faster way to plan a group order than twenty minutes of “I don’t know, what do you want?”

Pizza or burgers?
Tacos or burritos?
Sushi or ramen?
Fries or onion rings?
Ketchup or mustard?
Bagels or croissants?
Smooth or crunchy peanut butter?
Thin crust or deep dish?
Milk chocolate or dark chocolate?
Cookies or brownies?
Milkshake or smoothie?
Spicy or mild?
Sweet breakfast or savory breakfast?
Coke or Pepsi?
Rice or noodles?
Soup or salad?
Bacon or sausage?
Grilled cheese or quesadilla?
Popcorn or nachos?
Apple pie or cheesecake?
Guacamole or queso?
Brunch or late-night diner?
Maple syrup or honey?
Donuts or muffins?
Chicken or beef?
Mac and cheese or mashed potatoes?
Hot sauce or ranch?
Fresh fruit or dried fruit?
Cooking show or cookbook?
Seconds now or dessert later?
Pretzels or chips?
Lemonade or iced tea?
Cereal or oatmeal?
Takeout or leftovers?
Food truck or sit-down restaurant?

Funny this or that questions

The test changes here: a funny pair just has to produce a mental image. Nobody’s defending a real preference anymore, they’re defending a bit, so the sillier the committed argument, the better the round goes. The one rule that keeps this section working is full commitment: anyone who answers with “neither” buys the next round of snacks.

Toilet paper over or under?
Milk first or cereal first?
Socks with sandals or double denim?
Mullet or bowl cut?
Comic Sans or Papyrus?
Pineapple pizza or anchovy pizza?
Dad jokes or knock-knock jokes?
Air guitar or air drums?
Cape at the office or crown at the office?
Chipmunk voice or robot voice?
Clowns or mimes?
Pajamas at a wedding or a tuxedo at the gym?
Sneeze like a kitten or laugh like a supervillain?
Garden gnomes or lawn flamingos?
Bigfoot or the Loch Ness Monster?
Fanny pack or bucket hat?
Crocs or socks with slides?
Elevator small talk or elevator silence?
Singing in the shower or singing in the car?
Typo in the group chat or tripping in public?
Seventeen alarms or one alarm and pure faith?
Mismatched socks or inside-out shirt?
Warm soda or melted ice cream?
Your texts read aloud or your search history on screen?
Chicken suit or banana costume?
Yodeling or beatboxing?
Balloon animals or face paint?
Slow-motion run or dramatic hair flip?
Laugh-snort or hiccup mid-speech?
Glitter bomb or air horn?
Unicycle or pogo stick?
Kazoo or recorder?
Squeaky shoes or crinkly jacket?
Finger guns or double thumbs-up?
Interpretive dance or dramatic monologue?

Frequently asked questions

People ask the same things about the format, so I’ll answer the way the format itself works: direct pick first, reasoning after.

What are this or that questions?

This or that questions are quick either-or prompts where you pick between two options instantly, with no explanation required: coffee or tea, beach or mountains. The format works because the answer costs nothing to give but still says something true about the person answering.

How do you play the this or that game?

One person reads a pair out loud and everyone picks a side immediately, by pointing, moving to one side of the room, or answering in chat. There’s no scoring and no winning; the game is the reactions, so keep the pace fast and let the arguments breathe for a few seconds before the next pair.

What’s the difference between this or that and would you rather?

This or that asks about real preferences you already hold; would you rather invents hypothetical dilemmas you’ve never faced. That’s why this or that plays faster: you’re reporting an existing opinion in 2 seconds, not reasoning through a scenario about fighting duck-sized horses.

Are this or that questions good icebreakers for work?

Yes, they’re one of the fastest icebreakers available: 3 pairs at the top of a meeting costs under a minute, everyone participates at once, and nobody has to perform. Stick to work-safe pairs about tools, schedules, and food, and skip anything that maps onto real team decisions still being argued about.

How many this or that questions should you ask?

Use 3 to 5 pairs as a warm-up and 10 to 20 for a dedicated round. Past 20 in one sitting, even strong pairs start to blur, so it’s better to bank the rest for next time than to push through the whole list.

Can kids play this or that?

Yes, it’s one of the best classroom games there is, precisely because there are no wrong answers and no reading or writing required. The two-sides-of-the-room version doubles as a movement break, and teachers can slip in curriculum pairs (addition or subtraction?) without the game losing its shine.

How do you use this or that questions on Instagram?

Post one pair per story frame with the poll sticker, then share the final percentage split as a follow-up frame the next day. The split frame is where the engagement lives: people reply to argue with the result, and a 48/52 outcome sparks far more DMs than a lopsided one.

What are good this or that questions for adults?

The strongest adult pairs are lifestyle trade-offs with real stakes on both sides: save it or splurge, office or remote, planned itinerary or spontaneous trip. Skip anything that reads like a personality test question; the format works best when it stays light enough to answer without self-analysis.

Do this next

Shortlist the 10 pairs on this page that best fit your next room: tomorrow’s standup, a classroom, or Saturday’s party. Write them down in the order you’ll read them, strongest pair last, because the final split is the one people keep talking about. If you’d rather run them on screens, load your 10 into a ready-made conversational template, one pair per card (the free plan covers 50 responses a month). Ten pairs, ten tiny arguments, and you’ll walk out knowing the room better than a month of small talk would’ve managed.

This or That Questions: 200+ Rapid-Fire Pairs for Quizzes, Stories, and Meetings