Hard would you rather questions

A hard would you rather question works when both options cost you something you care about. Would you rather know when you'll die or how? Save one person you love or a hundred strangers? These questions are uncomfortable, and that's the point. They reveal priorities faster than any personality test.

Use the impossible and body sections for fun debates with friends. The moral dilemma and adult sections are better for thoughtful groups, philosophy classes and long dinners. For lighter questions, try our funny would you rather questions.

Looking for every category in one place? See the full list of would you rather questions.

Tap an option to make your pick. Then ask the group what they'd choose.

No good answer, no easy way out. These take real thought.

• Would you rather know when you'll die or know how you'll die?
• Would you rather lose all your memories or never be able to make new ones?
• Would you rather be able to see the future or be able to change the past?
• Would you rather be feared by everyone or be ignored by everyone?
• Would you rather lose your sense of taste or lose your sense of smell?
• Would you rather never be able to speak again or never be able to read again?
• Would you rather give up your phone forever or give up your car forever?
• Would you rather live without music or live without movies and TV?
• Would you rather be alone forever or always be surrounded by people?
• Would you rather never be able to lie or never be able to tell when someone is lying?
• Would you rather have more time or have more money?
• Would you rather be the smartest person in the world or the happiest?
• Would you rather know every secret about your friends or have them know every secret about you?
• Would you rather lose your best friend or lose your partner?
• Would you rather be stuck in a job you hate forever or be unemployed forever with enough money?
• Would you rather save one person you love or save one hundred strangers?
• Would you rather never leave your home country or never be allowed to return to it?
• Would you rather forget who you are or forget everyone you know?
• Would you rather live one wonderful year or fifty ordinary years?
• Would you rather give up all technology or give up all human contact for a year?

Choose one. Both options are equally tough.

• Would you rather never hear music again or never see a sunset again?
• Would you rather never be able to hug anyone again or never be able to walk in nature again?
• Would you rather live in total darkness or total silence?
• Would you rather always be cold or always be hot?
• Would you rather be hungry all the time or tired all the time?
• Would you rather never need to sleep but always feel a little tired or never need to eat but always feel a little hungry?
• Would you rather live in a world without color or a world without music?
• Would you rather be trapped in a room with no windows or a room with no door?
• Would you rather be stuck in an elevator for a day or in a car for a week?
• Would you rather always be lost or always be late?
• Would you rather have no friends but a loving family or have great friends but no family?
• Would you rather live under the sea or live on the moon?
• Would you rather lose every photo you've ever taken or every message you've ever sent?
• Would you rather lose ten years of your life or lose ten years of your memories?
• Would you rather be stuck in one day forever or live every day in fast forward?
• Would you rather never be able to go outside or never be able to be inside?
• Would you rather feel every emotion twice as strong or feel every emotion half as strong?
• Would you rather have your thoughts broadcast for one hour a day or never be allowed to speak for one day a week?

Ethical dilemmas that reveal what people value.

• Would you rather tell a friend a painful truth or keep a secret that could hurt them later?
• Would you rather be rich through luck or be moderately successful through hard work?
• Would you rather report a friend for cheating or stay silent and let them get away with it?
• Would you rather take credit you didn't earn or lose credit you did earn?
• Would you rather save your beloved pet or save a stranger you'll never meet?
• Would you rather return a wallet with $1,000 in it or keep it and donate it all to charity?
• Would you rather break a promise to help a stranger or keep the promise and let them struggle?
• Would you rather live a long, safe life or a short, meaningful one?
• Would you rather forgive someone who never apologized or hold a grudge against someone who did?
• Would you rather be honest and unpopular or be dishonest and loved?
• Would you rather have a perfect life with no free will or an imperfect life with full choice?
• Would you rather know the truth and be sad or believe a lie and be happy?
• Would you rather end world hunger or end all disease?
• Would you rather stop one war or cure one illness?
• Would you rather be remembered as a hero who lied or a villain who told the truth?

What would you give up, and for what?

• Would you rather give up social media forever or give up takeout food forever?
• Would you rather give up hot showers or give up air conditioning?
• Would you rather give up your favorite food or your favorite drink?
• Would you rather give up sweets forever or give up bread forever?
• Would you rather give up traveling or give up going out with friends?
• Would you rather give up your weekends or give up your vacations?
• Would you rather give up the internet at home or the internet on your phone?
• Would you rather never read another book or never write another word?
• Would you rather give up your favorite hobby or your favorite TV show?
• Would you rather give up coffee for a year or give up sleeping in for a year?
• Would you rather give up your car or give up your bed?
• Would you rather never celebrate your birthday again or never celebrate another holiday?

Bizarre but seriously difficult choices.

• Would you rather have no sense of touch or no sense of taste?
• Would you rather never feel pain or never feel pleasure?
• Would you rather have perfect vision or perfect hearing?
• Would you rather lose your sense of touch in your hands or lose your balance forever?
• Would you rather be allergic to water or allergic to sunlight?
• Would you rather always have a headache or always have a sore throat?
• Would you rather never be able to run or never be able to swim?
• Would you rather grow six inches taller or lose ten years of age in looks?
• Would you rather have a perfect memory or perfect eyesight forever?
• Would you rather sleep 12 hours a night or sleep 2 hours and feel fine?

Grown-up dilemmas about life, love and responsibility.

• Would you rather marry for love and struggle financially or marry for money and be comfortable?
• Would you rather have a great career and no family or a great family and no career?
• Would you rather move across the world for your dream job or stay home for the people you love?
• Would you rather know your partner's past or never know it?
• Would you rather spend your life caring for others or have others care for you?
• Would you rather tell your family a hard truth or protect them with a lie?
• Would you rather raise ten kids or never have children?
• Would you rather live in the perfect house with no view or a tiny house with the perfect view?
• Would you rather be famous after you die or be famous while you're alive but forgotten after?
• Would you rather see everything your kids will go through or see nothing and trust them?

Would you take the money? These are tougher than they look.

• Would you rather get $1 million but never see your best friend again or stay friends and get nothing?
• Would you rather earn $10 million but never travel again or earn $100,000 and travel whenever you want?
• Would you rather have $50,000 every year for life or $1 million today?
• Would you rather be rich but work 80 hours a week or be comfortable and work 20 hours a week?
• Would you rather find $10,000 on the street or get a $10,000 raise?
• Would you rather give $1 million to a stranger or $100,000 to your best friend?
• Would you rather live in a mansion alone or a small home full of people you love?
• Would you rather never pay taxes again or never pay rent again?
• Would you rather be the richest person in a poor town or the poorest person in a rich town?
• Would you rather be paid to do nothing you enjoy or paid little to do what you love?
• Would you rather win the lottery and have everyone know or win and keep it secret forever?
• Would you rather lose all your money or lose all your memories from the last five years?

Tough choices that are still school appropriate.

• Would you rather fail a class or lose your best friend?
• Would you rather be really popular for one year or have one loyal friend for life?
• Would you rather lose your phone forever or lose your social media accounts forever?
• Would you rather get into your dream school with no friends there or go to a worse school with all your friends?
• Would you rather have your parents read your texts or have your teachers read your journal?
• Would you rather be the smartest in your grade or the best athlete in your grade?
• Would you rather never get a driver's license or never go to college?
• Would you rather be stuck with one friend group forever or change friend groups every year?
• Would you rather move to a new town or have your best friend move away?
• Would you rather know who your future partner is now or be surprised later?

How to use these questions

• Add a rule: you get 30 seconds to decide. Rushing makes hard questions harder.
• After everyone answers, ask "What would make you switch?" It keeps the debate going.
• Moral dilemmas work well as debate warm-ups in high school and college classrooms.
• Mix in funny questions between hard ones so the mood doesn't get too heavy.

Frequently asked questions

What is the hardest would you rather question?

Many people say "Would you rather lose all your memories or never be able to make new ones?" is the hardest. Others struggle most with "Would you rather save one person you love or one hundred strangers?"

What makes a would you rather question hard?

Both options have to cost something meaningful, like time, love, memory, money or health, so there's no clear winner.

Are these hard questions OK for teens?

The hard questions for teens section is written for them. Some sections, like hard questions for adults, deal with marriage and family choices better suited to grown-ups.

What are some impossible would you rather questions?

Try "Would you rather live in total darkness or total silence?" or "Would you rather be stuck in one day forever or live every day in fast forward?"