First Date Questions
15 questions that are not "so what do you do?"
15 questions · Free
What is something you have done recently that you would recommend?
One phone between the two of you — the card says whose turn it is.
About First Date Questions
First date questions fail when they turn into an interview. These 15 are the opposite: each one invites a story rather than a fact, which means the other person gets to be interesting instead of accurate. Pull them up on your phone at the table if it goes quiet.
Sample questions to get you started
- 1What is something you have done recently that you would recommend?
- 2What did you want to be when you were ten?
- 3What is the best thing that has happened to you this month?
- 4What do you spend far too much time on?
- 5What is something you have changed your mind about lately?
- 6What is a strong opinion you have about something unimportant?
- 7What is the best trip you have ever taken?
- 8What did you do before this that you would never do again?
- 9What is something people get wrong about you?
- 10What is the most spontaneous thing you have done?
Show all 15 questions
- 11What is something you are secretly good at?
- 12What would you do with a completely free year?
- 13What is the last thing that genuinely made you laugh?
- 14What is something you are looking forward to?
- 15What made you say yes to tonight?
Tap the game above to play through all prompts.
How to play First Date Questions
- Pick one when the conversation naturally pauses — do not work through them in order.
- Answer it yourself first. Going first makes the other person's answer more honest.
- Follow the tangent rather than returning to the list.
- Three or four across a whole date is plenty.
Why couples love this game
People decide how a date is going based on how they felt talking, not on what they learned. Questions that produce stories make the other person enjoy themselves, and enjoying themselves is the thing they will remember.
Tips to make it more fun
- Never read them out as a list. Use one at a time and put the phone away.
- The follow-up is always better than the next question.
- Skip anything that sounds like a job interview.
- If a question lands, abandon the rest of them.
Frequently asked questions
What are good questions to ask on a first date?
Ones that ask for a story rather than a fact. "What did you want to be when you were ten?" gets you somewhere; "what do you do?" gets you a job title and a pause.
How many questions should you ask on a first date?
Three or four across the whole evening. Any more and it starts to feel like an interview, which is the failure mode these are designed to avoid.
More couple games
Icebreaker Questions for Couples
Low-stakes openers. For a new couple, or an established one having a quiet evening.
Speed Dating for Couples
Play it as though you had just met. Two minutes an answer, no shared history allowed.
Questions to Ask Your Crush
Interested without being obvious. Fifteen questions for the stage before anything is stated.
Conversation Starters for Couples
Openers that go somewhere. For the evenings when "how was your day" has already run out.
20 Questions for Couples
A short, complete set for one evening. Twenty questions and you are done — no marathon required.
Get to Know Your Partner
For a relationship still new enough to be surprising. Fifteen questions past the basics.