This or That is the ultimate “no rules, no setup” game. One person says two things. The other person picks. The conversation that follows — the wait, why’d you pick that? — is where the real fun lives.
We spend every week turning real science and history into laugh-out-loud learning on the Who Smarted? podcast, so writing questions kids actually want to answer is our day job. This 2026 update adds Smarty Facts that turn favorite picks into wow moments, a four corners version for classrooms, and two tools you can play with right on this page.
This list is built differently from most. Instead of dumping 600 questions in random topic buckets, we sorted these 150 by where you’ll actually use them — classroom warm-ups, road trip survival, dinner table starters, party games, plus a “Tough Calls” tier for older kids who like a brain workout. There’s a quick facilitator guide at the bottom (how many questions for what, age-band notes, ways to extend the game), so you can grab what you need and run.
No answer is wrong. The only rule: pick fast and explain why.
Jump to a category:
Food · Animals & Pets · Classroom · Road Trip · Dinner Table · Party & Sleepover · Imagination · Sports & Outdoors · Tech & Entertainment · Tough Calls · Smarty Facts · How to Play · Four Corners · FAQ
The This or That Spinner
Pick your categories, hit the button, and let the spinner choose your next question.
Just for fun. Your picks stay right here in your browser and are never sent or saved anywhere.
Food
Easiest tier — works with kids as young as 4. Great for warm-ups when nobody’s quite ready to talk yet.
1. Pizza or tacos?
2. Ice cream or cake?
3. Apples or oranges?
4. Pancakes or waffles?
5. Chocolate chip cookies or oatmeal raisin?
6. Hot dogs or hamburgers?
7. Mac and cheese or grilled cheese?
8. Strawberries or blueberries?
9. French fries or onion rings?
10. Crunchy peanut butter or smooth peanut butter?
11. Pepperoni pizza or cheese pizza?
12. Chocolate milk or strawberry milk?
13. Sweet snacks or salty snacks?
14. Breakfast for dinner or dinner for breakfast?
15. Watermelon or pineapple?
16. Spaghetti or ramen?
Animals & Pets
Best for ages 5–10. The “real animal vs. fantasy animal” pairs (#23, #29) are great for sparking actual debate.
17. Cats or dogs?
18. Lions or tigers?
19. Dolphins or sharks?
20. Pet hamster or pet bird?
21. Eagle or owl?
22. Frogs or turtles?
23. Horses or unicorns?
24. Penguins or polar bears?
25. Butterflies or bees?
26. Pet snake or pet lizard?
27. Elephant or giraffe?
28. Octopus or jellyfish?
29. A pet that talks but lies, or a pet that’s quiet but understands you?
30. Tiny puppy that stays tiny forever, or huge puppy that grows even bigger?
Classroom
Tested with morning meeting and homeroom warm-ups. The school-day specifics (#34, #38, #42) work especially well for getting quiet kids to talk.
31. Reading or math?
32. Group projects or solo projects?
33. Recess or art class?
34. Pencils or pens?
35. School lunch or packed lunch?
36. Library books or new books?
37. Computer time or playground?
38. Field trip to a museum or a field trip to a zoo?
39. Spelling tests or math tests?
40. Show-and-tell or class presentation?
41. Sit at the front of the class or sit at the back?
42. A teacher who’s strict but fair, or a teacher who’s relaxed but a little chaotic?
43. Homework right after school or homework right before bed?
44. Be the line leader or the caboose?
Road Trip
Built for the car. These pair well with the kind of long, zoned-out hours a long drive produces. Cycle through them with built-in breaks.
45. Window seat or aisle seat?
46. Audiobook or music?
47. Snacks every hour or one big meal?
48. Long bathroom stop or quick gas station?
49. License plate game or 20 questions?
50. Fly to your destination or drive there?
51. Mountain views or beach views?
52. Pack heavy with everything you might need, or pack light and buy stuff there?
53. Stay at a hotel or camp in a tent?
54. Day trip or week-long vacation?
55. Drive through the night or stop at a motel?
56. Visit ten places quickly or one place slowly?
57. Roadside diner or fast food drive-through?
58. Get there fast or take the scenic route?
Dinner Table
Built for “how was your day” conversations that actually go somewhere. Works with the whole family — kids and grown-ups.
59. Sit at the head of the table or sit between two people you love?
60. Spaghetti night or taco night?
61. Help cook the meal or set the table?
62. Eat outside on a patio or eat inside at the dining table?
63. Tell a story about your day first or hear someone else’s story first?
64. Family movie night after dinner or family game night after dinner?
65. Cook together or order takeout?
66. Big Sunday dinner with everyone or quiet dinner with just family?
67. Pick the music or pick the food?
68. New restaurant you’ve never tried or your favorite restaurant you know by heart?
69. Eat the same favorite meal every week or never eat the same meal twice?
70. Quick weeknight meal or slow weekend meal that takes hours?
Party & Sleepover
High-energy. Best after pizza and before the sugar crash.
71. Pool party or trampoline park?
72. Stay up all night or wake up at sunrise?
73. Movie marathon or board game marathon?
74. Pizza party or ice cream sundae bar?
75. Karaoke or dance party?
76. Telling scary stories or telling funny stories?
77. Build a blanket fort or build a pillow tower?
78. Pajamas with cartoons on them or matching pajamas with everyone?
79. Birthday cake or cupcakes?
80. Surprise party or party you helped plan?
81. Be the host or be the guest of honor?
82. Loud music and dancing or quiet music and crafts?
83. Sleeping bag on the floor or sharing a bed with your friend?
84. Glow sticks or face paint?
Imagination
The weirder the better. These work best when you make the kid commit to the choice and then ask, “Okay, what’s the FIRST thing you’d do?”
85. Live in a treehouse or live in an underwater house?
86. Have a magic wand or a flying broomstick?
87. Be a wizard or a knight?
88. Ride a dragon or ride a unicorn?
89. Time travel to the dinosaur age or to the year 3000?
90. Discover a hidden island or a secret cave?
91. Talk to plants or talk to animals?
92. Live in a fairy tale or live in a superhero comic?
93. Shrink to ant-size for a day or grow to giant-size for a day?
94. A pet dragon the size of a cat or a pet unicorn the size of a horse?
95. Invisible cloak or seven-league boots?
96. Be the hero of the story or the wise sidekick who knows everything?
Sports & Outdoors
Good for kids who’d rather move than talk. The “watch vs. play” pair (#100) is a sneaky way to find out who’s competitive.
97. Soccer or basketball?
98. Swimming or biking?
99. Hiking or skateboarding?
100. Watching a baseball game or playing one?
101. Run fast or jump high?
102. Beach day or pool day?
103. Skiing or snowboarding?
104. Indoor recess or outdoor recess?
105. Climbing a tree or climbing a rock wall?
106. Team sport or solo sport?
107. Win a championship or score the winning goal?
108. Coach or captain?
Tech & Entertainment
The most “current” tier — these will need refreshing every few years. Roblox vs. Minecraft (#116) is the modern equivalent of LEGO vs. K’NEX.
109. Movies at home or movies in a theater?
110. Reading a book or watching the movie version?
111. Cartoons or live-action TV shows?
112. Video games or board games?
113. Watch a magic show or a stand-up comedy show?
114. Concert tickets or sports game tickets?
115. Build with LEGOs or build with Minecraft?
116. Roblox or Minecraft?
117. YouTube videos or TikTok videos?
118. A new movie nobody’s seen or a classic everyone quotes?
119. Make your own video or watch someone else’s?
120. Headphones in your own world or speakers shared with the room?
Tough Calls
For older kids — roughly 9 and up. These are the ones where the conversation starts. Spend more time per question. Don’t rush them.
Try this: For any Tough Call, ask “what would change if you picked the other one?” That’s where the real talking happens.
121. Be invisible or be able to read minds?
122. Have one really close friend or a big group of friends?
123. Be the smartest kid in school or the most popular?
124. Speak every language but only know one fact, or know everything but only speak one language?
125. Always tell the truth or always be funny?
126. Never lose a game or always have fun even when you lose?
127. Have a million dollars now or a thousand dollars every week for the rest of your life?
128. Be the leader who makes the hard calls or the friend who keeps everyone happy?
129. Live somewhere where it’s sunny every day or somewhere with all four seasons?
130. Be remembered for one big thing or loved for a hundred small things?
131. Be the best at one thing or pretty good at everything?
132. Always know what people are thinking about you, or never know?
133. Have unlimited free time but no money, or unlimited money but no free time?
134. Be famous now and forgotten later, or unknown now and remembered forever?
135. Win an argument and lose a friend, or lose an argument and keep the friend?
136. Travel anywhere in the world but only for one day, or travel one place but stay as long as you want?
137. Be the kind of person people listen to, or the kind of person people trust?
138. Try and fail in front of everyone, or never try at all?
139. Get the answer to one question about your future, or stay surprised by everything?
140. Be a great storyteller or a great listener?
141. Have a talent everyone can see, or a talent only you know about?
142. Be early for everything or be late but always have a great excuse?
143. Live a quiet life that feels long, or a busy life that feels short?
144. Know the right thing to say in every moment, or the right thing to do?
145. Be the funniest person in the room or the kindest?
146. Always have to wait your turn, or always go first?
147. A friend who’s honest with you even when it stings, or a friend who’s gentle even when you need the truth?
148. Choose your career, or choose your family — if you could only fully control one?
149. Be admired by strangers or understood by the people closest to you?
150. The same comfortable life you have now, forever — or one chance to risk it for something better?
The Explain-It Debate Timer
Made your pick? Now defend it. Grab a judge prompt, start the clock, and argue your case before the timer runs out.
Press Start to get your first judge prompt.
Just for fun. Nothing you do here is saved or sent anywhere; the timer lives entirely in your browser.
Smarty Facts: Turn Any Pick into a Wow Moment
Here is the move no other question list has: after a kid picks, hand them a fact about the thing they just chose. The pick gets them talking. The fact keeps them talking. Every fact below comes straight from a Who Smarted? episode, so when one lands, there is a whole episode waiting behind it.
- Birthday cake or cupcakes? Cupcakes got their name because early bakers made them in teacups and small pottery cups called ramekins. The first American cupcake recipe appeared back in 1796, in the very first cookbook published by an American author. Hear more on our food episodes for kids.
- Skiing or snowboarding? Team skiing has a head start: the oldest skis ever found date back roughly 10,000 years, which makes skiing one of the oldest ways humans have ever gotten around.
- Roblox or Minecraft? Either way you are part of history. The first home video game console, the Magnavox Odyssey from 1972, had no color and no music, and today at least 3.3 billion people around the world play video games.
- Time travel to the dinosaur age or the year 3000? Dino travelers, pack a shovel: at Dinosaur National Monument you can see a wall holding over 1,500 real dinosaur bones from about 150 million years ago. Warm up with our dinosaur trivia questions for kids.
- Win a championship or score the winning goal? Championships were not always a hot ticket. The very first Super Bowl in 1967 did not even sell out, and seats cost 12 dollars. There is a whole episode on what events were in the very first Olympics, too.
- Swimming or biking? Your muscles are doing either one while being about 79 percent water. More body surprises live in our human body episodes.
- Eagle or owl? Before anyone answers, ask the room: are owls actually strong? Then settle it with the episode Are Owls Super Strong?
- Beach day or pool day? Beach voters, do you actually know what causes ocean waves? Perfect car-ride listening on the way there.
Bonus round for the dinner table: lemonade or iced tea? Everyone picks, everyone defends, and then you find out together which one came first.
Say you try this at taco night. Your 7 year old picks cupcakes over birthday cake, you drop the teacup fact, and suddenly she wants to know what ramekins are, whether you can bake a cake in a mug, and if the microwave counts as an oven. That is the whole trick. Child development researchers at Harvard call this back-and-forth "serve and return," and it is one of the most powerful ways young brains build themselves. A fact is just a really good serve. Read more on Harvard's Center on the Developing Child.
How to Play
The game runs itself, but a little structure helps, especially with bigger groups or younger kids.
How many questions for what occasion
| Setting | Number of questions | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Morning meeting / classroom warm-up | 5–8 | 5–10 min |
| Family dinner | 8–12 | 15–20 min |
| Long car ride | 20–30 | An hour, with breaks |
| Birthday party / sleepover | 30–50 | A full activity block |
| Full classroom icebreaker | 20–40 | 30–60 min |
Age-band notes
- Ages 4–6. Stick to the Food, Animals, and Classroom tiers. Skip anything that requires hypothetical thinking ("if you could…"). Two-second answers are fine — the goal is just talking.
- Ages 7–10. Most of the list works. The Imagination tier is the sweet spot. Tough Calls are too early.
- Ages 9–12. Tough Calls open up. Don't rush them. The point isn't the answer; it's the explanation.
- Mixed ages. Let older kids tackle Tough Calls while younger ones rotate through easier tiers. Or pick a Tough Call and let the younger kids weigh in too — sometimes a 6-year-old's take is better than a 12-year-old's.
Three ways to make the game last longer
Why'd you pick that? The single best extension. Don't let the answer end the turn — make explaining the choice part of playing.
Vote, then debate. In a group, have everyone pick at the same time (thumbs left or thumbs right). Then ask the minority side to defend their pick. Especially good in classrooms.
Ask the other one. After someone answers, ask, "What would have to change for you to pick the other one?" That question alone turns a 30-second game into a real conversation.
Picture a 9 year old on hour three of the drive to her grandparents' house. She picks window seat over aisle seat in two seconds flat. Ask her what would have to change for her to pick the aisle, and suddenly you are twenty minutes deep into her theory of cloud shapes, rest stop strategy, and why the middle seat is a scam. The question was never the point. The explanation is.
What it actually teaches
Kids playing This or That are doing four things at once: making fast preference decisions, explaining their reasoning, listening to others' reasoning, and noticing that others sometimes pick differently for good reasons. Those are the skills behind classroom discussion, friend disagreements, and (eventually) making big calls under pressure. It's a good ten minutes of practice disguised as a game.
Play It as a Brain Break: The Four Corners Version
Teachers, this one is yours. Instead of raising hands, kids answer with their feet. Point to one side of the room for the first option and the other side for the second, read a question out loud, and let everyone walk to their answer. One kid from each side explains the pick, then you fire the next question. Five questions takes about four minutes, nobody has to talk who does not want to, and the wiggle energy gets used instead of shushed.
Match the format to your group. With a class of 20 or more, use the two-sides version and keep the pace fast, since the movement is the point. With a small group of 8 or fewer, skip the walking and go around a circle instead, because crossing an empty room alone can feel like a spotlight. For kindergarten and first grade, stick to the Food and Animals tiers and let kids answer the moment they land instead of waiting to be called on.
Say it is the Tuesday after a long weekend and your fourth graders are melting into their chairs at 1:45. You post "get there fast or take the scenic route?" and 24 kids are suddenly up, moving, laughing at who chose what, and arguing travel philosophy like tiny lawyers. Two minutes later they sit back down with their brains switched on. That is not just a vibe: the CDC recommends building short physical activity breaks into the school day because they help students stay focused and engaged. The details live in the CDC's guidance on physical activity in schools.
FAQ
What's the difference between This or That and Would You Rather?
This or That asks you to pick between two real, simple things — pizza or tacos, cats or dogs. Would You Rather usually leans into hypotheticals or weird scenarios — would you rather have hands for feet, or feet for hands. They're cousins. This or That is faster and works better with younger kids; Would You Rather is goofier and works better with older kids. When your crew is ready to level up into the weird stuff, we keep 135 Would You Rather questions for kids stocked and sorted.
What age is this game best for?
The Food and Animals tiers work as young as 4. The whole non–Tough Calls list is solid for ages 6–11. The Tough Calls tier is built for ages 9 and up — younger kids can answer them, but the conversation around them lands better with older ones.
Can I use these in a classroom?
Yes — that's the most common use. The Classroom tier is built for morning meetings and homeroom, and the Tough Calls tier doubles as discussion-prompt material for older grades. Aim for 5–8 questions for a warm-up or 20–40 for a full icebreaker session.
Can I print this list?
Yes. The numbered format is set up to print cleanly — pick the tier you need, copy the section, paste into a doc, and print. (We're working on a printable PDF version; for now, the copy-paste route is the fastest.)
What if my kid only ever picks the same kind of answer?
That's a good sign, not a bad one. It means they're forming preferences. The "why'd you pick that?" follow-up matters more than the picks themselves — that's where you find out what they actually think.
My kid says "neither" or "both." What do I do?
That's the most common dodge. Two responses work: (1) "Okay, but if you HAD to pick" — which is the rule of the game; or (2) make them pick the one that's less bad. The point of This or That isn't that the choices are great; it's the practice of choosing.
How do I play this with a whole class at once?
Use the four corners version above. Post a choice, have kids move to the side of the room that matches their pick, then ask one kid from each side to explain. For 20 or more kids, moving beats hand-raising every time, and the quiet kids get to answer without saying a word.
Keep the Questions Going with Who Smarted
If your kid liked picking sides, they will love finding out the real answers. Who Smarted? is the funny, fact-packed podcast where curious kids and their grown-ups learn something amazing in every episode, from why quicksand cannot actually swallow you to how cupcakes got their name. Cue one up for the next car ride and browse all Who Smarted? episodes to find your family's first favorite.
