"Two Truths and a Lie" is the ultimate ice breaker game. Just like sharing fun facts, this game allows participants to share unique tidbits about themselves, offering glimpses into their personalities and experiences.
Of course, if you aren't prepared, your lack of a poker face could give you away, or you could get caught stalling when trying to think of the lie. But this should be fun, not stressful. To make sure you're ready and not worried about thinking of a good lie on the spot, here's a guide on how to play the game, plus 100 example lies that are safe for work.
- How to play "two truths and a lie"
- Strategies for your truths and lies
- Deciding what two truths to share
- Lies about likes and dislikes
- Lies about your skills
- Lies about your experiences
- Lies about your wishes
- Lies about your family
- Lies about your childhood
- Random lies
Read more: Office Icebreaker Games That Aren’t Even That Cheesy
How to play "Two Truths and a Lie"
The premise is simple. Each member of a group introduces themselves with three statements—two truths and one lie. They can be about any aspect of their lives, such as hobbies, experiences, or achievements. After each person shares their statements, the other participants take turns guessing which statement they think is the lie. They can ask questions or discuss their reasoning before making their guess.
Once everyone has made their guesses, the person who shared the statements reveals which one was the lie. It’s an ideal game for a small to medium size of people, and you can easily break a larger crowd into smaller groups to play during a networking or team bonding event. Remember, the goal is to get to know each other better and have fun in the process.
Strategies for your truths and lies
There are different strategies depending on how you want to play. Some people prefer to make both of their truths unbelievable so that their lie seems relatively normal in comparison. For example, a *super cool* player could say, “I’ve been camel riding (truth), I’ve had coffee with Sandra Oh (truth), and I have two brothers (lie).” Others like to make two boring statements (one of which is the lie) and just one outlandish truth to throw the other players off. AKA, “I love vanilla ice cream (truth), I studied finance in college (lie), and I’ve acted in a Hollywood movie (truth).”
Here are some more tips:
- Choose a diverse range of topics for your statements, including personal experiences, hobbies, skills, travels, or achievements. This variety makes it more challenging for others to guess the lie and adds depth to your sharing.
- Incorporate specific details or anecdotes into your truths and lies to make them more convincing. Specificity can enhance the authenticity of your statements and make it harder for others to distinguish between truth and fiction.
- Don't be afraid to think outside the box and come up with unexpected statements. Surprising others with unconventional truths or lies can make the game more exciting and unpredictable.
What two truths to share
Keep in mind that your statements don’t have to be super deep or revealing about your personal life. You can use any hobby, interest, or past experience to describe yourself. You can review these funny conversation starters to get ideas on what to share that's coworker-friendly.
And if others share truths that are extremely personal, don't feel pressure to do the same unless you are comfortable with them. Remember if you're playing with coworkers, you'll have to see them every day.
Safe-for-work lies (or truths, if any of these are true for you!)
At work, it can be tough to decide what’s appropriate or not to share about yourself in an ice breaker game. If you’re struggling for inspiration, draw from this list of 100 work-approved lies. Have fun!
Lies about likes and dislikes
1. Elephants are my favorite animal.
2. I love super spicy food.
3. I can't stand it when people don’t walk up escalators.
4. My favorite place in the world is San Francisco.
5. I hate all desserts.
6. My favorite band is The Beatles.
7. Grape is my favorite flavor of all candy.
8. My favorite smell is chocolate chip cookies.
9. I prefer overnight flights.
10. I can’t stand anything with cilantro on it.
11. I’m obsessed with reality TV shows.
Lies about your skills
12. I can play the banjo.
13. I'm really good at cooking homemade pasta.
14. I can juggle with my eyes closed.
15. I can do a backflip.
16. I never learned how to ride a bicycle.
17. I can dunk a basketball.
18. I host a puppet show once a month.
19. I’m a ventriloquist.
20. I can hold my breath for five minutes underwater.
21. I’m a trained scuba diver.
22. I’m a marathon runner.
23. I’m a professionally trained ballet dancer.
24. I do stand up comedy every weekend.
Read more: How to Decide What Skills to Put on a Resume
Lies about your experiences
25. I went to Antarctica in high school.
26. I've met Rihanna.
27. I've never seen any of the Harry Potter movies.
28. I’ve gone cage diving with sharks.
29. I've eaten fried scorpion.
30. I've never gotten a speeding ticket.
31. I’ve been to Disney World every year since I was born.
32. I’ve read 40 books this year.
33. I’ve been published in three magazines.
34. I’m the first person in my family to go to college.
35. I’ve been mistaken for a celebrity.
36. One of my original songs was played on the radio once.
37. I can speak four languages fluently.
38. I have a yoga YouTube channel.
39. I got a call back for American Idol.
40. I’ve never been hiking.
41. I have an autograph from Paul McCartney.
42. I’ve driven a monster truck.
43. I’ve gone skydiving more than 20 times.
44. I’ve never broken a bone.
45. I’ve never driven a car.
Lies about your wishes
46. When I was younger, my dream job was to be an astronaut.
47. I've always wanted to try bungee jumping.
48. I want to travel to Thailand.
49. I hope to eventually run a marathon.
50. I want to learn how to do graphic design.
51. I hope to be interviewed on the news one day.
52. If I could, I would pay to visit the moon right now.
53. I want to be TikTok famous.
54. One day, I hope to write an autobiography.
55. I want to visit 50 countries before I turn 50 years old.
56. Las Vegas is my top travel destination.
57. Visiting Pompeii is on my bucket list.
Lies about your family
58. I’m related to a famous person.
59. I’m the youngest of six siblings.
60. I have a pet lizard named Lucas.
61. I have 31 first cousins.
62. My aunt ran for president.
63. I’m a triplet.
64. I’m adopted.
65. My sister is 15 years younger than me.
66. My mom was a professional surfer.
67. My brother has a Guiness World Record for [insert record].
68. I have the same middle name as my father.
69. My sister was an extra in Pirates of the Caribbean.
Lies about your childhood
70. I was extremely shy as a kid.
71. When I was a child, I wanted to be a famous tennis player.
72. I was stung by a jellyfish four times when I was five.
73. I broke both my wrists when I fell off the monkey bars at school.
74. I used to be left-handed, but now I’m right-handed.
75. I lived in seven different cities before I turned 12.
76. When I was a kid, I was in a commercial for sunscreen.
77. I had two dogs, three cats, one bird, and two snakes while growing up.
78. I was born with eleven fingers.
79. I took ice skating lessons when I was seven years old.
80. I was born in Alaska.
Random lies
81. I’m colorblind.
82. I own a huge collection of Furbies.
83. I’m allergic to peanuts.
84. I am deathly afraid of spiders.
85. I am incredibly superstitious.
86. I’ve never tried coffee.
87. I’ve introduced myself with the wrong name during an interview.
88. I’ve never used an iPhone.
89. I won a hot dog eating contest last year.
90. I’m a vegan.
91. I’ve only ever watched black and white movies.
92. I’ve dyed my hair every color of the rainbow.
93. I sang a song for my 8th grade talent show.
94. I love watching apartment tour videos on YouTube.
95. My most prized possession is my grandma’s cookbook.
96. I ran out of gas this morning on the way to work
97. The last thing I ate was a doughnut from Dunkin.
98. I’ve never watched anything on Netflix.
99. I’ve never gone to bed past midnight.
100. I’m not allergic to bee stings.
Read more: 99 Work-Friendly Questions That’ll Spice Up Breaking the Ice
