How it works
A speed friending icebreaker has to work in one short round between two strangers. These 97 questions are written for that: quick openers, tastes, free time, short stories, things to find in common and a closer before you move on.
Read the full guide
Run the rotation
Seat people in two rows that face each other. Read one card to the room and start your timer. Each pair asks and answers until it rings; then one row moves one seat along and the other stays put. Stop when the moving row is back where it began: by then everyone in it has met everyone opposite.
A question for each part of a round
Open with Quick openers: Sweet or salty, and what is the proof? Midway, Find something in common gives the pair a job: Find a day trip you would both say yes to. Near the end, Before you move on closes the round: What should we do if we meet again?
- With an odd number, seat one group of three. It moves along like a pair.
- Change the topic every few rounds, so the tenth pairing does not sound like the first.
- For questions on every table, press Print 97 cards and cut the slips apart.
Questions and answers
What are good questions to ask during speed friending?
Ones both people can answer inside the round and that hint at a plan: What would you sign up for if a friend came too? Which hobby would you start tomorrow if you had the gear? What is your idea of a perfect low-effort hangout?
What makes a good speed friending icebreaker question?
It is short enough to read in one breath, both people can answer it, and the answer leaves something to ask next. Which season do you defend against all critics? is one. Which snack would you cross town for? is another.
Which questions does the deck leave out?
Work, age and where anyone is from: every pairing would open the same way. The 13 cards in Would we get along? ask what kind of friend you are instead: After a busy day, do you want company or quiet?