This or That Icebreaker Questions With a Follow-Up for Every Pair: how it works
These this or that icebreaker questions are 125 short pairs for people who just met, such as Early bird or night owl and Storyteller or question asker. A pick takes a second, so nobody freezes. Tap a side to vote and the card shows how the room split. The list under the deck prints one follow-up question beside every pair.
Vote on the card, ask the follow-up from the list
Read both options aloud, count hands and tap once per hand. The card shows the two options and the split, nothing else. The follow-up sits beside each pair in the list under the deck, so keep that list open on a second screen or print it. Ask one person from each side, then press Next question.
Eight chips, from First-minute warm-ups to Bigger picks
First-minute warm-ups holds 14 pairs about right now, such as Hot drink in hand or cold drink in hand, so nobody has to remember anything. Growing up has 17 pairs like Band kid or art kid. How you get things done suits a new team: Deadline sprinter or steady pacer says more than a job title. Save the 17 Bigger picks for later.
Tips
Open on Easy: 63 picks any newcomer can make in a second. Hold the 25 Hard pairs, such as Job you love or city you love, until the group has talked a little.
In a big room, vote with your feet: first option to the left wall, second to the right. Everyone lands beside someone who agrees, and the follow-up gives them something to talk about.
Let anyone pass. An icebreaker works when it is relaxing and has no wrong answers, so a pick with no story is a fine turn.
Questions and answers
Where is the follow-up question for each pair?
In the list under the deck. All 125 pairs are printed there under the same 8 headings as the chips, each with its follow-up beside it. Storyteller or question asker, for one, comes with: What is a question you love being asked?
What makes a this or that pair a good icebreaker?
Anyone can answer in a second, there is no wrong answer, and the pick hints at a story. Nothing here asks for personal information: no pairs about money, health, faith, politics or relationships. Nobody has to share more than they want to.
Can I run these pairs on a video call?
Yes. Share your screen with the deck open, read the pair and ask everyone to type 1 or 2 in the chat. Tap the totals into the card so the split shows, then call on one person from each side. For a staff meeting, try the work deck.
Calm day so far or hectic day so far?What is one thing you already got done today?
Comfy shoes today or dress shoes today?What is the story behind the shoes you have on?
First time here or been here before?What brought you here today?
Full battery or running on fumes?What would top up your energy today?
Go first or go last?When did you last volunteer to go first at something?
Here early or here just in time?What is the one thing you are never late for?
Hot drink in hand or cold drink in hand?What are you drinking right now, and is it your usual?
Know everyone here or know hardly anyone?Who in this group have you known the longest?
Learn something today or meet someone today?What is one thing you hope to walk out with?
Missing last weekend or ready for next weekend?What was the best part of last weekend, or what is the plan for the next one?
Monday energy or Friday energy?What usually gives you that Friday feeling?
Song in your head or quiet in your head?What is the last song that got stuck in your head?
Speak up early or warm up slowly?What helps you feel at home in a new group?
Sunny-day mood or rainy-day mood?What is the weather doing where you are right now?
Mornings and nights 13
Bed by ten or up past midnight?What keeps you up on the nights you do stay up late?
Book before bed or show before bed?What last kept you up one chapter or one episode too long?
Breakfast at home or breakfast on the go?What breakfast would you eat every day if you could?
Coffee shop regular or home brew loyalist?What is your usual order, or your usual cup at home?
Early bird or night owl?What do you do with the quiet hours when nobody else is up?
Guard your mornings or guard your evenings?Which hour of the day do you protect, and what is it for?
Ideas in the shower or ideas on a walk?Where were you the last time a good idea showed up?
News first or music first?What is the first thing you read or listen to most mornings?
Same mug every day or whichever mug is clean?What is printed on the mug you reach for first?
Saturday sleep-in or Saturday early start?What is worth getting up early for on a Saturday?
Steady routine or every day different?Which part of your routine would you never give up?
Sunday night planner or Monday morning planner?What is the first thing you sort out at the start of a week?
Walk to reset or nap to reset?What resets you in the middle of a long day?
Weekends and downtime 15
Afternoon alone or afternoon with a crowd?What do you do with an afternoon that is all yours?
Bake something or build something?What is the last thing you made with your hands?
Cook for friends or meet friends out?What do you make when you want to impress someone?
Day trip or day on the couch?Where is your favorite place to go within an hour of home?
Full calendar or empty calendar?What is one thing coming up that you are looking forward to?
Host at your place or guest at theirs?What is your go-to move when people come over?
Learn a recipe or learn a song?Which recipe or song would you start with?
Live music or live sports?What is the best live event you have ever been to?
Long hike or long lunch?Where was the best one you ever had?
Make the plans or get the invite?Who is the planner among your friends, and what do they plan?
Museum afternoon or ballgame afternoon?Which museum or stadium would you go back to?
New restaurant or old favorite?Which old favorite would you send a visitor to?
One big hobby or many small hobbies?Which hobby has stuck with you the longest?
Project weekend or rest weekend?What project are you in the middle of right now?
Puzzle on the table or game on the table?What game or puzzle comes out most often at your place?
Places and trips 16
Best local pizza or best local tacos?Where is it, and what do you order?
Big city weekend or small town weekend?Which city or town would you show a first-time visitor?
Booked months ahead or booked last week?What is the most last-minute trip you have pulled off?
Chat with your seatmate or headphones on?Who is the most interesting person you have met on a trip?
Cold lake swim or warm pool float?Where is the best place you have ever gone swimming?
Long flight far away or short drive nearby?Which place was worth every hour it took to reach?
Mountain trail or beach boardwalk?Which trail or stretch of coast would you go back to tomorrow?
One year abroad or ten short trips?Where would the year be, or which trip comes first?
Play tourist or play tour guide?What would be the first stop on your tour of your town?
Point at the menu or ask the server?What is the best dish you ordered without knowing what it was?
Ski lodge or surf shack?Which would you be worse at, skiing or surfing?
Sleeping bag or room service?What is your best or worst night of camping?
Street market or quiet museum?What do you head for first in a new city?
Travel for the food or travel for the views?Which meal or view from a trip do you still talk about?
Trip planner or happy passenger?What part of a trip do you always end up in charge of?
Visit old friends or visit somewhere new?Who would you travel a long way to see?
Growing up 17
Band kid or art kid?What did you play or make, and do you still?
Bike to school or bus to school?How did you get to school, and who went with you?
City kid or country kid?What could you do there that kids elsewhere could not?
Class clown or teacher's helper?What would your third-grade teacher remember about you?
Family recipe or restaurant favorite?Which dish from your family would you put on a menu?
Family road trips or family game nights?What is one tradition from growing up that you kept?
Favorite teacher or favorite coach?What did that person teach you that stuck?
Field day or book fair?Which school day did you look forward to all year?
First job outdoors or first job indoors?What can you still do because of your first job?
Future astronaut or future veterinarian?What did you want to be when you were eight?
Kept a collection or kept a diary?What did you collect, or what would the diary have said?
Library card or arcade tokens?Where did your free afternoons go as a kid?
Saturday cartoons or Saturday sports?What show or team did you never miss?
School play or school team?What part or position did you play?
Summer camp or summer at home?What is your clearest summer memory from childhood?
Tree climber or bookworm?What was your favorite spot to disappear to as a kid?
Walkie-talkies or secret notes?Who was your best friend at ten, and what did you two get up to?
How you get things done 16
Big whiteboard or small notebook?Where do your best plans get written down?
Borrow the tool or buy the tool?What is the last thing you borrowed or lent out?
Busy cafe table or quiet library desk?Where do you get your best work or studying done?
Celebrate the finish or start the next thing?What was the last finish line you celebrated, and how?
Deadline sprinter or steady pacer?What is the closest you have ever cut a deadline?
Fix it today or live with it?What small broken thing have you been living with?
Go with your gut or make a pros list?What snap decision turned out well for you?
Hardest task first or easiest task first?What task do you always put off?
New tools often or same tools for years?What tool or app would you never give up?
Rough draft fast or polished draft slow?What is something you made that you are proud of?
Set goals or build habits?What is one habit you are building this year?
Short daily practice or long weekly session?What are you practicing at the moment?
Spreadsheet or sketch?What is the nerdiest spreadsheet or sketch you have ever made?
Talk it through or write it down?Who do you call when you need to think out loud?
Tidy as you go or one big cleanup?What does your desk or kitchen counter look like right now?
Watch a how-to or read a how-to?What is the last thing you learned from a video or a manual?
You in a group 17
Bring the main dish or bring the dessert?What do you bring when you want to take home an empty dish?
Cheer from the stands or coach from the sideline?Who cheered for you or coached you at the right moment?
Compliment giver or compliment dodger?What is a compliment you still remember?
Explain the rules or learn as you play?What game do you always end up teaching people?
Give the speech or clap for the speech?What occasion would get you up to say a few words?
Group chat poster or group chat reader?What is your most active group chat called?
Group photo organizer or group photo hider?Where was the last group photo you were in taken?
Introduce yourself or get introduced?Who introduced you to someone who became a good friend?
Karaoke volunteer or karaoke audience?What song would you pick if you had to?
Long catch-up call or quick check-ins?Who are you overdue to catch up with?
Meet everyone or find one good chat?What makes a first conversation easy for you?
Name tags or no name tags?What is your trick for remembering names?
Peacemaker or friendly debater?What friendly argument do you never get tired of?
Plan the party or run the music?What job do you end up with at every gathering?
Small talk or deep talk?What subject could you talk about for an hour with no notes?
Storyteller or question asker?What is a question you love being asked?
Team captain or secret weapon?When did a team you were on really click?
Bigger picks 17
Chef for a year or pilot for a year?What would you cook first, or where would you fly first?
Dream house or dream trip?What is the first detail you would plan?
Great at a sport or great at an instrument?Which sport or instrument would you pick?
Host a podcast or write a column?What would your first episode or column be about?
Invent something or discover something?What problem do you wish someone would solve?
Job you love or city you love?What would you want to keep from where you are now?
Letter to past you or letter to future you?What is one line the letter would include?
Meet a hero or be someone's hero?Who would you love to thank in person?
More time or more energy?Where would the extra time or energy go first?
Museum named for you or park named for you?What would be inside it?
Never forget a name or never get lost?Which one would have saved you last month?
Relive a great day or preview a future day?Which day would you pick to relive?
Run a bookshop or run a bike shop?What shop does your town need?
Start a band or start a bakery?What would you name it?
Teach a class or take a class?What could you teach a room of beginners in ten minutes?
Write a book or build a house?What would the book be about, or where would the house stand?
Year of adventure or year of rest?What would the first month look like?
How this list was compiled: Written for this site by the editors; nothing was copied from another list. Every card is a pair of options of one to four words, so both fit on a button, and every pair comes with one follow-up question written for that pair. A pair was kept only if any adult in the room could pick a side in a second and if the pick leads to a short story rather than a yes or a no. Each pair and each follow-up was read against the site's family-safe rule: nothing sexual, no alcohol or drugs, no self-harm, no dares, no risky food, nothing illegal, no real people, no brand names, and nothing about bodies, money, health, faith, politics or relationships. The whole list was run through a word blocklist on 2026-09-19 and came back clean. Every pair and every follow-up was compared by script on 2026-09-19 with every other deck on this site, including data/this-or-that-questions.json, data/this-or-that-generator.json, data/would-you-rather-questions.json, data/icebreaker-questions.json and data/icebreaker-generator.json: no pair and no follow-up appears word for word in any of them. The definition of an icebreaker, and the advice that one should be relaxing and non-threatening, have no right or wrong answers, and never require personal information or make anyone feel compelled to take part, were checked on https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Icebreaker_(facilitation) on 2026-09-19. The cards state no other outside facts. No card has a right answer. Difficulty is an editor's judgment: easy is a pick any newcomer can make in a second, medium comes with a short story, and hard suits a group that has already talked a little. Licence: own work