First Date Questions
Easy, curious questions for the first hour together, or for recreating it.
- Time
- 15–45 min
- Players
- Two players, no turns
- Best for
- First dates and coffee dates
- Deck
- 100 questions in 5 categories
How to use these first date questions
- Pick a category from the menu under the card, or keep “All categories”.
- Read the question on the top card aloud and both answer it.
- Swipe the card away, or tap “Next question”, for the next one. Questions do not repeat until you have seen the whole category.
- Tap the heart to save a question on this device, or tap “Make a 10-question list” for a list you can copy.
When to use first date questions
First dates go best when both people get to talk. These questions are easy to answer and easy to ask back, so the conversation keeps moving in both directions.
Coffee or a walk
Favorites and Places and travel are light enough for a short first meeting and give you plenty to follow up on.
A second or third date
Growing up and Small dreams go a little further, once you know you like talking to each other.
Your anniversary
Ask each other the questions you would have asked on your first date, and compare with what you remember.
Ways to use first date questions
Read a few before you go
Look through the list on your way to the date and keep two or three in mind. You will not need them all, but knowing they are there takes the pressure off.
Recreate your first date
Already together? Go back to where you first met or somewhere like it and ask each other these as if it were the first time. Some answers will have changed.
Ask, then share yours
After your date answers, give your own answer too. A first date should feel like a conversation, not an interview.
Making a first date conversation easy
- Follow the answer, not the list. A good follow-up beats a new question.
- Keep it light. Questions about exes, salaries and five-year plans can wait.
- Start with Favorites. Every answer there is a good one.
All 100 first date questions by category
The complete list, grouped by category. The cards above draw from the same list, so you can read ahead here and play there.
Favorites
Easy picks to warm up with, where every answer is a good one.
- What’s your favorite way to spend a free Saturday morning?
- What’s a song you never skip when it comes on?
- What’s the best thing you’ve eaten this month?
- What’s your usual order at a coffee shop?
- If you could only have one dessert for the rest of your life, which would you pick?
- What kind of weather puts you in the best mood?
- What’s a movie you’d happily recommend to just about anyone?
- What’s your favorite thing to do on a warm summer evening?
Show all 20 in FavoritesShow fewer
- What’s your favorite spot in town when you want to slow down?
- What’s the best thing you’ve bought for under twenty dollars?
- What’s a board or card game you’re always happy to play?
- What’s your favorite way to spend time outdoors?
- Do you have a favorite word, and why that one?
- Which animal would you most love to see in the wild?
- What topic could you happily hear someone talk about for hours?
- What’s a dish you love making for other people?
- What’s the best live show or performance you’ve ever seen?
- What’s a color you’re drawn to, and where does it show up in your life?
- What’s the most interesting thing you’ve learned this week?
- What’s a small thing that made you laugh recently?
Places and travel
Trips you’ve taken, trips you’re dreaming of, and places that feel like home.
- What’s the best trip you’ve ever taken, and what made it so good?
- If someone handed you a plane ticket for tomorrow, where would you want it to go?
- On a trip, do you like to plan every day or figure it out when you get there?
- What’s a place you visited that turned out better than you expected?
- What’s a small town or neighborhood you think deserves more visitors?
- What’s a local dish you’d happily travel back just to eat again?
- Which city or country have you been curious about since you were young?
- What’s your favorite way to get around a new city?
Show all 20 in Places and travelShow fewer
- What’s the best part of coming home after a trip?
- Do you like exploring a new place early in the morning or late in the evening?
- What’s a journey you’d love to take by train someday?
- What’s a place near here that you think everyone should see at least once?
- What’s a travel habit you picked up somewhere and kept?
- How would you spend the first evening of a vacation?
- Which famous landmark would you most like to see in person?
- What kind of vacation leaves you feeling the most rested?
- If you could live in another city for one month, which would you choose?
- What’s the ultimate road trip snack, in your expert opinion?
- What’s a place you’ve been that felt like a whole different world?
- Where’s your favorite place to watch the sun go down?
Work and everyday
What fills your days, and how you like to spend the hours in between.
- What does a really good day at work look like for you?
- What’s a part of your work that people wouldn’t expect?
- How did you end up doing what you do now?
- What’s a lesson from an early job that you still use today?
- How do you like to unwind at the end of a long week?
- What are you learning at the moment, just for fun?
- What’s a skill from your work that comes in handy in everyday life?
- What does your ideal lunch break look like?
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- What’s the best piece of work advice anyone has given you?
- If you could try any job for one week, which would you pick?
- What do you listen to on the way to work, if anything?
- How do you like to spend a weekday evening with nothing planned?
- What’s a small routine that keeps your week running smoothly?
- What’s a project you’re excited about right now?
- What’s the best team you’ve ever been part of, at work or anywhere else?
- What’s a tool or gadget you use every day and couldn’t do without?
- What hobby helps you switch off after work?
- How do you like to celebrate a small win?
- What’s something you’ve gotten better at recently?
- What does a typical breakfast look like for you on a workday?
Growing up
Light, happy stories from when you were small.
- What kind of cartoons did you watch on weekend mornings as a kid?
- What did you love building or making when you were little?
- What was your favorite game to play at recess?
- What’s the best birthday party you remember from when you were a kid?
- What was the best school field trip you ever went on?
- What did a perfect summer day look like when you were ten?
- What was your favorite after-school snack?
- What’s the first book you remember really loving?
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- What’s a hobby you had as a kid that you’d happily pick up again?
- Were you the kid who climbed everything, read everything or organized everyone?
- What did you think grown-ups did all day when you were small?
- What’s something you learned as a kid that you still use all the time?
- What sport or activity did you try as a kid, and how did it go?
- What’s the first concert, play or show you remember seeing?
- Where did you and your friends like to hang out after school?
- What’s a toy you wish they still made?
- What’s the best present you got as a kid?
- Where was your favorite place to ride your bike?
- What was your favorite day of the year when you were little?
- What did you and your friends pretend to be when you played make-believe?
Small dreams
Little plans and curiosities you’d like to get to someday.
- What’s a small adventure you’d like to have this year?
- What’s something you’d love to learn to make with your hands?
- What instrument would you love to be able to play?
- What would your dream weekend look like if anything were possible?
- What’s a sport you’d love to try just for fun?
- What’s a festival or event you’ve always wanted to go to?
- What creative project would you start if you had a free month?
- What would you love to grow in a garden someday?
Show all 20 in Small dreamsShow fewer
- What recipe would you like to master?
- What’s a challenge you’d like to take on, like a long walk or a race?
- What view would you love to wake up to one day?
- If you could borrow any talent for a day, which would it be?
- What’s a cozy dream you have, like a reading nook or a porch swing?
- What’s something new in your city you’ve been meaning to try?
- What would you love to see in the night sky, like the northern lights or a meteor shower?
- What would you love to be really good at by this time next year?
- If you wrote a book someday, what would it be about?
- What’s a hobby you’d love to have a regular group for?
- If you could volunteer anywhere for a week, where would you go?
- What’s a place in nature you’d love to camp or hike in someday?
Frequently asked questions
How many first date questions are there?
There are 100 questions, 20 in each of five categories: favorites, places and travel, work and everyday life, growing up, and small dreams. The cards and the list on this page use the same set.
What questions should you avoid on a first date?
Anything that asks for more than a stranger would want to share: past relationships, money, health, or long-term plans like marriage and children. None of the cards here go there.
Is it awkward to use a list on a date?
Not if you use it before the date. Read a few, remember the ones you like, and ask them in your own words when the moment comes.
Are these good for couples who have been together for years?
Yes. Couples often stop asking each other easy questions. Try Small dreams over dinner and see how many answers surprise you.