Two Truths and a Lie: the rules, 50 examples and how to play it on phones

The rules in 30 seconds

1. Players take turns sharing three statements about themselves: two true, one false. Any order works — the lie doesn’t have to come last.
2. The group can ask the storyteller a couple of follow-up questions, then everyone votes on which statement is the lie.
3. The storyteller reveals the answer. Everyone who spotted the lie gets a point, and the storyteller gets a point for each person they fooled.
4. Pass the turn. Once everyone has had a go, add up the points and crown a winner.

You need nothing but people. Three players is enough, but the sweet spot is five to fifteen: the more voters, the more fun it is to see how many of them your lie fooled. One rule of etiquette: every statement is about yourself, never about someone else.

How to play with friends, at work and online

With friends

Old friends think they already know everything about each other, which is exactly why they play the hardest. Add one house rule: after the reveal, the storyteller gets thirty seconds to explain both truths. “Yes, I really did get stuck overnight at O’Hare — here’s what happened” turns one round into a story everyone will repeat later. With a big crowd, split into circles of five or six, then have each circle nominate its most unbelievable true fact for a final vote.

At work

Two truths and a lie for work is a classic icebreaker for a team meeting, new-hire onboarding or the first hour of an offsite. Set the boundaries up front: hobbies, travel, childhood and harmless everyday mishaps. That way nobody has to agonize over what is okay to share with coworkers. For a team of 8–10, give one minute to prepare and about ninety seconds per person — fifteen to twenty minutes total. With twenty-plus people, have everyone write their three statements on a sticky note; the host reads them anonymously and the room guesses both the lie and the author.

Online, on a video call

The classic version stalls on a call: chat voting is clunky, answers show up instantly and everyone copies the first vote. A simple fix is a simultaneous reveal — on “three”, everybody holds up one, two or three fingers to the camera. Even easier is letting phones handle the voting, as described below. For more call-friendly formats, see our list of games for video calls.

How to write a lie that actually fools people

A weak lie gives itself away instantly — nobody believes “I’ve been to the moon.” The trick is backwards from what most people expect: your lie should be boringly believable, and your truths should be the weird ones.

• Shift a real fact. Went to Denver? Say Boise. Did swim team? Say water polo. A detail that sounds lived-in beats an invention from scratch.
• Match the level of detail. If your two truths are short and the lie comes with a date, a city and the weather, it’s busted in a second.
• Hide your strangest truth. A real fact that’s hard to believe is your best weapon: everyone will vote for it as the lie.
• Don’t lie about what people already know. If your team knows you don’t drive, “I passed my road test on the first try” won’t last long.
• Keep a flat voice. Say all three at the same pace and tone. Most people speed up or smirk on the made-up one.

50 two truths and a lie examples

Treat these as prompts. Pick the ones that are true for you, then twist one into a lie by changing a city, a number, an animal or a year. Every example is family-friendly, so they work at a company event and at a kids’ birthday alike.

Funny ideas

• I’m more scared of geese than of dogs.
• I once got locked in a fitting room at the mall.
• I have a houseplant that’s older than my car.
• I can wiggle my ears.
• I once got a piece of mail addressed to my cat.
• I can say the alphabet backwards without stopping.
• As a kid, I wanted to be a dolphin trainer.
• I’ve never made it to the end of Titanic.
• A parrot at a pet store once bit me.
• I sneeze when I walk into bright sunlight.

For work

• My first job was waving a sign while dressed as a hot dog.
• I haven’t been late to a meeting in two years.
• I type over 100 words per minute.
• A button popped off my blazer during my first job interview.
• The CEO of my old company once called me by mistake.
• The plant on my desk has survived three office moves.
• I know more than 50 spreadsheet keyboard shortcuts.
• My first paycheck came from mowing my neighbor’s lawn.
• I spent a summer working as a camp counselor.
• My inbox is at zero unread right now.

For friends

• I once ate a two-pound burrito in one sitting.
• I’ve gone skydiving.
• I got into the school choir and was asked to leave a week later.
• I’ve seen the northern lights in Alaska.
• I won my school spelling bee in fourth grade.
• I have never won a single game of Monopoly.
• I once slept overnight at an airport gate.
• I was an extra in a TV show — you can see the back of my head.
• I can name all 50 state capitals.
• I once walked 25 miles in a single day.

For couples and first dates

• On my first ever date, we got stuck in an elevator.
• I can bake banana bread without a recipe.
• I still have a notebook of poems I wrote at fourteen.
• I cry at The Lion King every single time.
• I genuinely like pineapple on pizza.
• I took ballroom dancing for six years as a kid.
• My longest train ride lasted three days, coast to coast.
• The only song I can play on guitar is “Happy Birthday.”
• I’ve never been in the front row at a concert.
• I once won a giant teddy bear from a claw machine.

For family

• My parents once left me at a gas station for ten minutes.
• My first pet was a hamster named Meatball.
• My grandma taught me to knit.
• I got a ribbon at the science fair in fifth grade.
• I broke the same arm twice — both times on a bike.
• I share a birthday with my grandpa.
• My first word was “cookie.”
• There’s a photo of my bowl cut still hanging at my parents’ house.
• As a kid, I ate peanut butter straight from the jar with a spoon.
• My family once had a pet goat named Daisy.

Scoring variants

Tip: with the liar’s bonus, add a story bonus too. If a truth is so wild that everyone votes against it, the storyteller gets one extra point. That nudges people to share something interesting instead of something safe.

How to play on phones with Party Box

In Party Box, Two Truths and a Lie is one of three formats. The host opens a room and shares the link or room code, and guests join from their phones right in the browser — no app, no sign-up. For a shared screen, open playparty.live/tv on a TV or laptop and enter the room code.

1. The game picks a round hero at random. Nobody repeats until everyone has had a turn.
2. The hero has 75 seconds to fill in three boxes: truth, truth, lie (up to 120 characters each). The order is shuffled automatically, so there’s no need to think about where to hide the lie.
3. Everyone else has 25 seconds to secretly tap the statement they think is false. Once everyone answers, the round closes early.
4. The reveal shows which one was the lie and who picked what. +1 for every correct guess, and +1 to the hero for every player fooled.

If the hero runs out of time, the game drops in ready-made facts from its deck — two real, one invented, like “an octopus has three hearts” — and everyone guesses, the hero included. The lie never reaches the TV before the reveal, so no peeking at the big screen.

The host can tap “Next” when everyone is ready before the timer ends. For the warm-up format in the same box, see our who is most likely to questions. And don’t confuse this with Bluff Club: there everyone writes fake answers to a real but obscure fact, while here you only lie about yourself — more in our bluffing party game guide.

Mistakes that ruin the game

• Facts about other people. It’s a game about you. “My brother is afraid of the dark” is gossip, not a turn.
• Too personal. Health, money, relationships and looks are off the table — especially at work.
• An obvious lie. “I used to be an astronaut” gets spotted by everyone and wastes the round.
• Slow turns. More than two minutes per person and the room drifts. In Party Box, the timer keeps the pace.
• Skipping the stories. The best part is hearing about the truths after the reveal. Don’t rush past it.

If you’re planning a whole evening for coworkers, our office party games guide has a run-of-show for both an office with a TV and a fully remote team. To start right now, open Party Box and drop the link in your group chat.

FAQ

How do you play two truths and a lie?

Each player shares three facts about themselves — two true, one made up. Everyone else votes on which is the lie. Correct guessers score a point, and the storyteller scores one for each person fooled.

How do you come up with a good lie?

Take a real fact and change one detail: the city, the number or the year. Make the lie sound ordinary, and keep your most surprising truth in the mix — that’s the one people will vote for.

What are good two truths and a lie examples for work?

First jobs, unusual hobbies, travel, and skills like fast typing or playing an instrument. Stay away from health, money and personal relationships.

How many players do you need?

At least three. It plays best with 5–15 people, and Party Box supports 3 to 16 players.

Can you play two truths and a lie online?

Yes. In Party Box everyone joins by link from their own phone, and the statements, timer and reveal show on every screen, so it works on a video call too. It’s free and needs no sign-up.