Two truths and a lie: more great “lies” ideas to play as a team

Two truths and a lie: the perfect icebreaker to start your workshops

If you're looking for a fun game to play with your friends, family or people you've just met, 2 Truths & A Lie is a great choice. Here's everything you need to know about this classic game for kids and adults. No game pieces or equipment are required. Plus, we've included even more 2 Truths & A Lie ideas for every situation: your childhood, your family, your favorite food, your achievements, your hidden talents and more.

How to play Two truths and a lie

Two truths and a lie is usually played with a small group of people, but it can also be played with just two people or a giant group of people.

To begin, one person must make three statements about themselves to the rest of the group. The trick is that not all statements will be true - two of the statements given should be; and one should be a lie.

Once you are done, everyone should guess which statement they think you made up. Once everyone has made their guess, reveal which statement was your lie.

How does it work?

This simple, classic team building activity works well with small or medium sized teams. You can repeat it multiple times with the same group to help people get to know each other.

If you’d like to make the game a bit competitive, introduce a challenge based on points. Every time someone correctly finds out  the “lie” of another player, they get a point. Whoever has the highest score once everyone has shared their three statements is the winner.

2 steps:

1. Each person takes a maximum of 3 minutes to think of 2 truths and 1 lie about them, either professionally or personally. It should be emphasized that the goal is to deceive the group, so that the exercise is funnier. For example: I speak 5 languages / I play the trumpet / I once shared a coffee with Samuel Etoo.
2. In turn, each person states their 3 facts, in the order they like. The rest of the group must then guess which statement is a lie, by asking questions to the person being questioned (tip for the facilitator: think about timeboxing to avoid this going on too long).

Why try this icebreaker?

This icebreaker is an important moment to create a good atmosphere in a group and to create connivances. It may be an opportunity for some participants to discover common ground. For a facilitator, it is also an opportunity to understand the personalities of each participant, which is important for the development of the workshop that follows this icebreaker.

It can also be interesting to play in a group that already knows each other, as it can reveal new facets of each person's personality.

This “Two truths and a lie” team-building activity is very simple and can be quite effective. Through it, people get the chance to learn some true (and usually fairly interesting) facts about each other. This helps them build relationships and improves team cohesion. The activity is light-hearted and often quite funny, and we all know the power of laughter for team building.

Overall, this is a great, easy activity that team leaders or facilitators should know. It takes hardly any materials and you can easily do it at short notice. If you keep it in your back pocket, it will come in handy at some point!

Like anything else where the goal is to win, it requires strategies that are effective.

What are some of the effective strategies in this game?

Effective Strategies

Strategy #1

Use two outrageous statements and then something simple for the lie. This will throw off your opponents greatly — they remain focused on the two outrageous statements believing one of them HAS to be a lie. Simple and effective.

Strategy #2

Try to keep all statements around the same level in terms of believability. This averages out the probability of your friend guessing correctly. This is not really a strategy but is commonly used nevertheless. 

Strategy #3

Play with facts slightly switching the names of places, for example, Burger King might not sell my favorite cookie but MacDonald does. Be careful with this tactic, as it can annoy the players.

Strategy #4

Pick a good statement that sounds like a lie, but can't be because it is too obvious. This one is used to confuse your friends by making them doubt themselves. Try not to change your tone of voice when saying these statements (this applies to all strategies as well). Especially with this strategy, the players often have a tendency to giggle.

Some more general strategies...

1. Start with a simple truth, then an outrageous statement, then a simple lie so the second statement sounds like a lie (Example #1).
2. Choose a lie that could be true.
3. Of course, mix up your strategies as you play more rounds, or your friends will figure it out and start to defeat you!
4. Do not choose a too obvious statement. This will make the game too easy for your friends to guess.
5. Also, try not to let your statements include too much technical vocab.

Once the strategy is in place, one can proceed with ideas of lies which randomly include:

Lie ideas about your childhood/family

For instance:

• Where I used to live
• Who was the first person in my family to go to college?
• If I cut my brother’s/sister’s hair once.
• Whether I am left-handed like my dad or my mum.
• Whether I was in a commercial when I was little.
• Is English my family’s second language?
• Does my dad have his pilot’s license?
• Does my mom have a twin?
• Does my family go to Disney World every year?
• Did my family move houses every 2-3 years when I was growing up?
• The number of cousins I have.
• The number of dogs I had growing up.
• Whether my mom/dad and I have the same middle name.

Lie ideas about food

• The food you are allergic to.
• The way you prefer having your cereal.
• Whether you hate chocolate-based food.
• Food-related contests you once won.
• Did you work in a restaurant in the past?
• What makes you gag?
• The drink you have never tried.
• Whether you are a vegetarian.
• The kind of pizzas you always order.
• Do you try to eat gluten-free or not?
• The kind of pizza you’ve never tried.
• I’ve eaten a bug before.
• I can eat an entire watermelon in one sitting.
• I’ve never tried brownie batter.
• I’ve never had McDonald’s.
• I drink 2 cups of coffee every morning.
• I hate the smell of wine.
• I was vegan for 2 years.
• My Starbucks order is a grande half-caf latte.

Lie ideas about achievements

• I got into all of my top college choices.
• I was given a college scholarship.
• I got a perfect score on the English portion of the SAT.
• One of my videos went viral.
• I skipped a grade in middle school.
• I’ve read over 400 books.
• I own my own house.
• I dropped out of college and then went back and finished a few years later.
• I am a self-published author.
• I’ve gotten every job I’ve interviewed for.
• I was my school’s spelling bee champion.
• I have paid off all my college loans.
• I have two different degrees.
• I graduated a semester early.
• I was my school’s valedictorian.
• I was the Homecoming queen.
• I’ve fostered 10 kittens in the last 2 years.
• I was voted “Most likely to succeed” in high school.
• I have met the President.
• I was promoted twice at work last year.

Lie ideas about your skills and hidden talents

• I can name all the members of BTS.
• I can do a one-handed cartwheel.
• I ran the NYC marathon once.
• I have an Etsy shop.
• I can hold my breath underwater for two minutes.
• I know how to juggle.
• I can do a back handspring.
• I know how to change a tire.
• I can drive a stick shift.
• I’ve taken salsa-dancing classes.
• I’ve been skydiving twice.
• I competed in chess tournaments before it was cool.
• I can fit 19 marshmallows in my mouth at once.
• I have my scuba diving license.
• I know how to knit a scarf.
• I didn’t learn how to ride a bike until I was 20.
• I can’t swim.
• I have bowled a perfect 300.
• I’ve taken trapeze-flying lessons.

 Lie ideas that make you sound fun/interesting

• I’ve swum with dolphins before.
• I don’t have a Netflix account.
• I have traveled to 4 different countries.
• I have never had surgery.
• I know how to fishtail braid.
• I have a selfie with Taylor Swift on my phone.
• I have to take a bubble bath every night.
• I have never dyed my hair.
• I’ve been trapped in an elevator before.
• I’ve never had anything waxed.
• I go to the gym before work each day.
• I still sleep with a stuffed animal at night.
• I have never been a bridesmaid.
• I’ve been to a nude beach.
• I’m scared of roller coasters.
• I only wear natural deodorant.
• I have over 100k followers on Instagram.

A good lie is one that's ultimately believable: It'll sound like something you might have done or might want to do (but haven't actually done). A lie that's too far fetched will clearly sound fake, so try to think of lies that are similar to truths to make them as plausible-sounding as possible.

For example, don't say, "I can speak 22 languages." This statement is clearly a lie (unless you're a famous polyglot!). Rather, say, "I can speak three languages fluently." This statement is just plausible enough to make people doubt whether you're telling the truth or not.

When it comes to telling truths, you'll want to tell the truth in such a way that others think you're lying even though you're not. Therefore, a good truth will sound like something you usually wouldn't do or wouldn't want to do (but have actually done).

Two truths and a lie template

Try our template on the Workshop Platform and start playing Two truths and a lie with your team!