This or That — questions, rules, and how to play
This or That is a quickfire party game for 2–20 players in which two options are put side by side — coffee or tea, early bird or night owl — and everyone commits to one, with no third option and no explaining.
- Players
- 2–20 players
- Length
- ~10 minutes
- Type
- Icebreaker
- Type
- Relaxed
- Type
- Adult-optional
Runs in your browser · no download · no account
The rule that makes This or That work is the one people fight hardest against: you cannot say "it depends". Two options, pick one, move on. Everything interesting happens in the two seconds before somebody caves.
There are 915 pairs here, from the genuinely trivial (window seat or aisle) to the ones that reveal something (save money or spend money). The trivial ones are not filler — a room that agrees on everything important will still split down the middle on whether the toilet roll goes over or under, and that is the argument you actually wanted.
Three modes run off the same pile. Split the room places everyone on a side and scores it. Rapid fire throws a new pair every four seconds and scores nothing, because there is no time. Couples has two people answer privately and then tells them exactly how compatible they are, which is either a lovely moment or a long car ride home.
What you need
- One phone, held by whoever is happy to run it
- 2 to 20 players, or exactly 2 for Couples mode
- Enough room for people to physically pick a side, if you want
- About 10 minutes
How to play This or That
Pick your players, then pick a mode: Split the room, Rapid fire, or Couples. Choose how many pairs you want — 15, 30 or 50.
Every round puts two things side by side. Coffee or tea. Window seat or aisle. There is no third option and no "it depends".
Split the room: read both options out, everyone calls their side, and whoever holds the phone taps each player onto A or B. Then reveal the split.
Choose who scores before you start. Minority wins gives a point to the smaller side, so having taste nobody shares pays. Majority wins rewards reading the room. Or turn scoring off and just argue.
Rapid fire: a new pair every four seconds, nobody scores, everyone points at their side and shouts. Pause any time, and the end screen tells you how many pairs you survived.
Couples: two players answer one at a time in private, then find out whether they matched. Every match extends your streak, and the end screen gives you a compatibility score.
Mis-tapped someone? On the reveal, tap any player to move them to the other side — the split, the points and the scoreboard all update.
Scoring and winning
- Minority wins: a point to every player on the smaller side. Having taste nobody shares pays.
- Majority wins: a point to every player on the bigger side. Reading the room pays instead.
- An even split pays nobody — there is no smaller side to reward.
- No scoring is a supported option, and it is the right one for a group that just wants to argue.
- Rapid fire never scores. The end screen reports how many pairs the group got through.
- Couples is cooperative: a match extends your streak, and the end screen gives you a matched-out-of-answered score.
- On the reveal, tapping any player moves them to the other side and re-scores the round.
This or That strategy and tips
- Open with the trivial pairs. A group that has already argued about pineapple on pizza will answer the personal ones honestly ten minutes later.
- In Minority wins, the winning move is not being contrarian — it is spotting which option is quietly the popular one and taking the other. Being different on purpose is obvious and people vote against you.
- Run Rapid fire first for five minutes, then switch to Split the room. The pairs that caused shouting in rapid mode are the ones worth scoring properly.
- In Couples mode, answer what you actually prefer rather than what you think they will say. Groups that try to game it consistently score worse, because they both guess and both guess wrong.
- Let the phone-holder place people from what they hear, not from asking each person in turn. The count is more honest and the round is three times faster.
- When the room splits perfectly evenly, stop and make each side defend it for thirty seconds. That is the whole game and it costs you one pair.
Variants and house rules
Rapid fire
Built in as a mode. A new pair every four seconds, no scoring, everyone points at their side. Pause when an argument breaks out, which it will.
Couples / Duo
Two players answer in private, one after the other. Matches build a streak and the end screen gives you a compatibility score out of everything you answered.
Physically split the room
House rule: option A stands on the left, option B on the right. The phone-holder just counts. Works brilliantly at parties and terribly in a car.
Defend the minority
Whoever ends up alone on a side gets thirty seconds to argue for it. Anyone they convince to switch scores them an extra point on the house.
Spice it up
Pairs follow the global spice setting. Family keeps it clean, Party opens up the cheeky ones, and After Dark is bolder without ever being explicit.
This or That FAQ
How do you play This or That?
Two options appear side by side and every player commits to one. In Split the room the phone-holder places everyone on side A or B and the split is revealed and scored. There is no third option and no "it depends".
How many players do you need?
Two minimum and twenty maximum. Couples mode uses exactly two players, chosen during setup, while the other modes scale to the whole room.
What is the difference between Minority wins and Majority wins?
Minority wins gives a point to everyone on the smaller side, rewarding unusual taste. Majority wins gives it to the bigger side, rewarding whoever reads the room. An even split pays nobody either way.
What is Rapid fire mode?
A new pair every four seconds with no scoring at all. Everyone points at their side and shouts, and the end screen tells you how many pairs the group survived. You can pause at any point.
How does Couples mode work?
Two players answer each pair privately, one after the other, then the phone reveals whether they matched. Matches build a streak and the end screen gives you a score like "You matched 18 of 25".
Can you fix it if somebody gets put on the wrong side?
Yes. Tap that player on the reveal screen to move them across, and the split, the points and the scoreboard all update.