There is a reason "would you rather" never gets old. It is two choices and a question mark. No equipment, no setup, no rules to remember. A kid can play it at the dinner table, in the back seat, in a hospital waiting room, on a hike, or right before bedtime when they will do anything to stay up five more minutes.
The questions below are written for ages 5 to 9, the years when kids have just enough imagination to picture "a pet hamster the size of a horse" and just enough opinions to defend their choice for the next ten minutes. Each question is a small puzzle. Pick a side, then explain why. The defense is where the real conversation lives.
The 200 questions are organized into ten categories, from easy warm-ups to harder choices about who they want to be. Skip around. Pick the category that matches the mood. There is no right way to play.
How to Play
There is no scoreboard. There is no winner. There is just a question and what your kid does with it.
Three things work every time.
Read the question with energy. Sell both options. The funnier or more thoughtful you make the question sound, the harder your kid will think about their answer.
Pick your own answer too. Kids engage twice as hard when it is a back-and-forth instead of a one-sided interview. Go second, but commit.
Let the tangent happen. If a question about pet dragons turns into a ten-minute conversation about whether dragons would prefer pizza or tacos, follow it. The question is just a doorway.
1. Easy Warm-Ups
Start here. These are low-stakes preference questions that get the game going without overthinking. They also tell you a lot about your kid in two seconds.
1. Would you rather have ice cream or chocolate cake for dessert?
2. Would you rather swim in a pool or in a lake?
3. Would you rather watch a movie or read a book?
4. Would you rather have a tall glass of lemonade or a hot mug of cocoa?
5. Would you rather wear pajamas all day or fancy clothes all day?
6. Would you rather draw with markers or paint with watercolors?
7. Would you rather go to the beach or go to the mountains?
8. Would you rather pet a puppy or pet a kitten?
9. Would you rather have pancakes or waffles for breakfast?
10. Would you rather build a sandcastle or build a snowman?
11. Would you rather play tag or play hide and seek?
12. Would you rather have summer all year or winter all year?
13. Would you rather wake up early or stay up late?
14. Would you rather go to the zoo or go to the aquarium?
15. Would you rather have a backyard pool or a backyard treehouse?
16. Would you rather get a present or give a present?
17. Would you rather see a rainbow or see a shooting star?
18. Would you rather have a long summer break or a long winter break?
19. Would you rather sing a song or dance to a song?
20. Would you rather be tall when you grow up or strong when you grow up?
2. Animals
Animals work because kids already love them. The trick is in the comparison. Big animal versus small. Wild versus tame. Real versus imaginary. The choice tells you something about which world your kid lives in.
21. Would you rather be a fish in the deep ocean or a bird in the highest sky?
22. Would you rather be a wolf in a pack or an eagle that flies alone?
23. Would you rather have a pet that lives 100 years, or a pet that can talk for just one day?
24. Would you rather understand every animal but only when they whisper, or only one animal but you can hear it from miles away?
25. Would you rather be the fastest animal on land or the fastest swimmer in the sea?
26. Would you rather raise a baby kangaroo in your pocket or a baby parrot on your shoulder?
27. Would you rather see a real living dinosaur in the wild, or meet a unicorn in a forest?
28. Would you rather have a horse that flies just for you, or a dog that can speak ten languages?
29. Would you rather train wild squirrels to bring you mail, or train friendly bees to make any flavor of honey?
30. Would you rather ride on the back of a whale once, or on the back of an elephant for a year?
31. Would you rather have a friendly tiger in your backyard, or a wise owl in your bedroom?
32. Would you rather camouflage like a chameleon or hop like a kangaroo?
33. Would you rather hibernate all winter like a bear, or migrate every season like a goose?
34. Would you rather have a pet that thinks it is a human, or be a human that everyone thinks is a pet?
35. Would you rather have a horse that only gallops sideways, or a giraffe that only walks in zigzags?
36. Would you rather meet a friendly Bigfoot or a real Loch Ness Monster?
37. Would you rather be a hummingbird for one day or a sea turtle for one day?
38. Would you rather train a dragonfly to deliver messages, or train a snail to win races?
39. Would you rather have a herd of tiny ponies the size of cats, or one giant cat the size of a horse?
40. Would you rather have a butterfly that lands on you when you are sad, or a frog that sings when you are happy?
3. Food and Drinks
Food is its own conversation universe. Kids have strong food opinions and love defending them. Mix in a twist (a fountain of chocolate milk, a sandwich that changes flavor every bite) and you will be at the table ten minutes longer than usual.
41. Would you rather eat only foods that are red for a week, or only foods that are green?
42. Would you rather have a kitchen that only makes pasta, or a kitchen that only makes desserts?
43. Would you rather give up cheese forever or give up sugar forever?
44. Would you rather drink soup with a fork, or eat spaghetti with a spoon?
45. Would you rather only eat with chopsticks for a year, or only eat with your hands for a year?
46. Would you rather have breakfast for every meal, or dessert for every meal?
47. Would you rather invent a new ice cream flavor or a new pizza topping?
48. Would you rather only ever taste sweet things, or only ever taste salty things?
49. Would you rather pick fruit from a magic tree that grows whatever you imagine, or have a refrigerator that never runs out of snacks?
50. Would you rather eat a sandwich with no bread, or a hot dog with no bun?
51. Would you rather always eat dessert before dinner, or eat dinner twice?
52. Would you rather be a chef in a fancy restaurant, or own an ice cream truck?
53. Would you rather try every food in the world once, or only eat your top five favorite foods forever?
54. Would you rather drink milk through a licorice straw, or eat cereal with a cookie spoon?
55. Would you rather eat a meal upside down, or eat a meal blindfolded?
56. Would you rather grow a giant pumpkin in your backyard, or a giant strawberry on your windowsill?
57. Would you rather have a magical lunchbox that always packs your favorite lunch, or a thermos that always pours your favorite drink?
58. Would you rather eat one giant pancake the size of your bed, or 100 tiny pancakes the size of coins?
59. Would you rather discover a new fruit nobody has ever tasted, or invent a new vegetable that everyone loves?
60. Would you rather have a birthday cake every Tuesday, or a holiday meal every Sunday?
4. Magic and Powers
Once magic opens, the answers get longer. Kids work out the rules. They check the loopholes. They argue about which power would actually be the best. Settle in.
61. Would you rather get three wishes from a friendly genie, or one wish from a wise dragon?
62. Would you rather make any plant grow with a touch, or stop any rain with a clap?
63. Would you rather find a key that opens any door once, or a map that shows where every treasure on earth is hidden?
64. Would you rather have a magic bookshelf that brings any book you imagine, or a magic toy box that contains any toy you wish for?
65. Would you rather have a cloak that makes you invisible for one hour a day, or boots that let you walk through walls for one minute a day?
66. Would you rather be able to talk to the moon every night, or talk to the sun every morning?
67. Would you rather have a flying broomstick, or a magic carpet?
68. Would you rather have a wand that turns vegetables into candy, or a wand that fixes broken toys?
69. Would you rather find a magical paint set that brings drawings to life, or a magical pen that makes any story come true?
70. Would you rather have a pet phoenix that bursts into harmless rainbow flames every birthday, or a pet dragon the size of a kitten?
71. Would you rather find a hidden door in your bedroom that leads to a magical world, or a tunnel in your backyard that leads to ancient treasure?
72. Would you rather be invisible whenever you wanted, or be able to fly?
73. Would you rather have super strength, or super speed?
74. Would you rather be able to read minds, or see the future?
75. Would you rather have laser vision, or freeze breath?
76. Would you rather stop time for one minute every day, or rewind time for ten seconds every hour?
77. Would you rather have stretchy arms that reach across a room, or bouncy feet that jump over a house?
78. Would you rather control fire safely, or control water safely?
79. Would you rather shrink to the size of a bug, or grow as tall as a house?
80. Would you rather walk on walls, or breathe underwater?
5. Travel and Adventure
The travel category opens up when kids start to think about places they have never been. Some kids will pick the safe option (camping in the backyard). Some will pick the wildest one (deep sea, outer space). Both answers are correct.
81. Would you rather visit every country in the world for one day each, or live in one country forever and explore every inch?
82. Would you rather take a hot air balloon ride over a city, or a submarine ride to the bottom of the ocean?
83. Would you rather go on a safari in Africa, or hike a glacier in Antarctica?
84. Would you rather travel to outer space for a day, or travel to the deep sea for a week?
85. Would you rather take a train across the entire country, or a road trip across the entire country?
86. Would you rather visit the top of the tallest mountain on Earth, or the bottom of the deepest cave?
87. Would you rather explore an ancient pyramid, or explore an underwater shipwreck?
88. Would you rather get lost in a giant hedge maze, or get lost in a giant library with thousands of rooms?
89. Would you rather ride a zip line across a canyon, or ride a roller coaster that loops three times?
90. Would you rather sleep in a treehouse for a week, or sleep in an igloo for a week?
91. Would you rather visit a place where it rains every day, or a place where the sun never goes down?
92. Would you rather travel back in time to meet your grandparents as kids, or forward in time to meet your grandkids?
93. Would you rather discover a hidden island, or discover a new planet?
94. Would you rather visit a magical forest where the trees can talk, or a magical desert where the sand can sing?
95. Would you rather go on an adventure where you solve riddles, or one where you find hidden treasures?
96. Would you rather be a pirate searching for treasure on a wooden ship, or an astronaut searching for stars on a rocket ship?
97. Would you rather take a road trip with your whole family for a month, or a vacation with just one friend for a week?
98. Would you rather visit a museum that lets you touch everything, or a zoo that lets you feed every animal?
99. Would you rather have a treasure map that leads to one giant chest of gold, or a map that leads to ten small chests with one different treasure each?
100. Would you rather choose your family's next vacation, or have your family surprise you with where you are going?
If a deck of conversation questions sounds easier than flipping through 200 in a list, that is what Tell Me Cards is. A 107-card conversation deck for kids ages 5 to 9, shaped by a child psychologist. One card, one question, one moment at a time.
6. School and Friends
The school category is where you find out who your kid is at school. Which teacher they secretly love. Which subject they actually want more of. Which friend they would build a fort with. The answers tell you their week.
101. Would you rather have a teacher who tells the best jokes, or a teacher who gives the best homework?
102. Would you rather be the funniest kid in your class, or the kindest?
103. Would you rather have a recess that lasts all day, or a snack break every hour?
104. Would you rather sit at the front of the classroom, or the back?
105. Would you rather pack your own lunch every day, or eat whatever the school cafeteria serves?
106. Would you rather have a best friend who is also your neighbor, or a best friend you only see at school?
107. Would you rather invite three friends to your birthday, or plan three different birthday parties for yourself?
108. Would you rather have a school day that starts at noon, or a school day that ends at noon?
109. Would you rather always know the answer but never raise your hand, or always raise your hand but sometimes get it wrong?
110. Would you rather have art class every day, or PE class every day?
111. Would you rather take a field trip to a science museum, or a field trip to a chocolate factory?
112. Would you rather have a friend who is your age, or a friend who is in a different grade?
113. Would you rather have a substitute teacher every day, or your same teacher for ten years?
114. Would you rather design your own classroom, or design the school playground?
115. Would you rather have homework every weekday but no homework on weekends, or no homework on weekdays but homework all weekend?
116. Would you rather be the teacher for a day, or the principal for a day?
117. Would you rather make a brand new friend every week, or have one best friend for your whole life?
118. Would you rather have a friend who is always making you laugh, or a friend who always listens to you?
119. Would you rather have your favorite teacher follow you up to every grade, or get a brand new teacher every year?
120. Would you rather skip a grade, or repeat a grade?
7. Family and Home
The family category sometimes turns into "let me tell you all the things I would change about our house," which is genuinely useful information. Mostly though, it just gets kids dreaming about the version of home they would build if they were in charge.
121. Would you rather live in a giant treehouse, or in a castle with a moat?
122. Would you rather have a backyard with a swimming pool, or a backyard with a soccer field?
123. Would you rather have your own bedroom, or share a bedroom with your sibling forever?
124. Would you rather have ten cousins, or one really cool aunt?
125. Would you rather have a house with a slide instead of stairs, or a house with a fireman's pole?
126. Would you rather have a basement that is a movie theater, or an attic that is a game room?
127. Would you rather take a family vacation every year, or have a big family reunion every two years?
128. Would you rather plan your family's dinner one night a week, or plan your family's weekend once a month?
129. Would you rather live in a house made of cake (but you cannot eat it), or a house made of gummies (where you can eat one piece a day)?
130. Would you rather have your bedroom be on the roof, or have a hidden room behind your bookshelf?
131. Would you rather live next door to your best friend, or next door to a candy store?
132. Would you rather have a pet all your siblings share, or your own pet nobody else can touch?
133. Would you rather have a sandbox in your house, or a ball pit in your house?
134. Would you rather be the oldest kid in the family, or the youngest?
135. Would you rather have a family tradition you do every Friday, or one you do once a year?
136. Would you rather live somewhere it snows in the winter, or somewhere it never snows at all?
137. Would you rather have a window that looks out at a forest, or a window that looks out at an ocean?
138. Would you rather have a grandparent who teaches you to bake, or a grandparent who teaches you to build things?
139. Would you rather have a tiny house that is just yours, or a big house with your whole extended family?
140. Would you rather have a family game night every Friday, or a family movie night every Saturday?
8. Your Body and Senses
This category goes weird fast. Kids will instantly tell you they would rather have eyes that change color than super speed. They have already made the choice. They just need someone to ask.
141. Would you rather have eyes that change color depending on your mood, or hair that grows three inches a day?
142. Would you rather have hands the size of dinner plates, or feet the size of skateboards?
143. Would you rather lose your sense of smell, or your sense of taste?
144. Would you rather have a really good memory, or a really good imagination?
145. Would you rather sleep for sixteen hours a day, or only sleep four hours and never feel tired?
146. Would you rather hold your breath for ten minutes, or run for ten miles without stopping?
147. Would you rather have hiccups for an hour, or sneezes for ten minutes?
148. Would you rather write with both hands at the same time, or read two books at once?
149. Would you rather have super flexible joints, or super strong muscles?
150. Would you rather be ticklish everywhere, or never ticklish at all?
151. Would you rather have teeth that glow in the dark, or fingernails that change color every day?
152. Would you rather always have a perfect haircut, or always wear shoes that are perfectly comfortable?
153. Would you rather see colors that nobody else can see, or hear sounds nobody else can hear?
154. Would you rather always know exactly what time it is without a clock, or always know exactly where north is?
155. Would you rather have eyelashes long enough to braid, or curls so long they reach your toes?
156. Would you rather have a voice that sounds like a singer's, or a voice that sounds like your favorite cartoon character?
157. Would you rather have a yawn that is contagious to everyone, or a laugh that is contagious to everyone?
158. Would you rather have a heart that glows when you are nervous, or one that hums a tune when you are calm?
159. Would you rather lose your sense of touch on your fingertips, or on your toes?
160. Would you rather have arms long enough to reach the ceiling, or legs long enough to step over a car?
9. Tough Choices
These questions are still playful but a little harder. They are the ones where kids actually pause. They take a breath. They give an answer that tells you something real about who they are becoming. Don't rush past these.
161. Would you rather be famous all over the world, or have one true best friend forever?
162. Would you rather be the smartest kid in your class, or the funniest?
163. Would you rather always know what other people are thinking, or have them always know what you are thinking?
164. Would you rather be really good at one thing forever, or pretty good at every single thing?
165. Would you rather win every game you ever played, or lose sometimes but learn something every time?
166. Would you rather be the leader of a group, or the helper who makes the leader's job easier?
167. Would you rather get a brand new toy every week, or share your favorite toy with friends every day?
168. Would you rather always tell the truth even when it is hard, or always tell a kind lie when it would protect someone?
169. Would you rather always know the right answer, or always know how to find the right answer?
170. Would you rather be the smartest, the strongest, or the kindest?
171. Would you rather be good at making people laugh, or good at making people feel safe?
172. Would you rather have a special talent everyone notices, or a quiet talent only you know about?
173. Would you rather be remembered for one really brave thing you did, or for being someone who was kind every day?
174. Would you rather be the kid that everyone wants to sit next to, or the kid who always notices when someone needs a friend?
175. Would you rather give your favorite toy to someone who really needs it, or share your favorite snack with someone who is hungry?
176. Would you rather solve a really hard puzzle yourself, or solve it with a team?
177. Would you rather be loved by your pet, or respected by your sibling?
178. Would you rather always know how to fix a problem, or always know how to comfort someone with a problem?
179. Would you rather be brave for yourself, or be brave for a friend?
180. Would you rather have a year of perfect adventures, or a year of perfect peace?
10. Wild Cards and What-Ifs
These are the questions that do not fit anywhere else. They are the ones that turn into thirty-minute tangents. They are also often the ones a kid will bring up two days later out of nowhere because they cannot stop thinking about the answer.
181. Would you rather every door in your house lead to a different room every time, or every window show a different view every morning?
182. Would you rather have rain that tasted like your favorite drink, or snow that smelled like your favorite food?
183. Would you rather discover your stuffed animals are alive but only at night, or your books are alive but only when you read them?
184. Would you rather live in a world where everyone has to whisper, or a world where everyone has to sing?
185. Would you rather wake up on a different planet every morning, or in a different country every week?
186. Would you rather live in a world made of LEGO, or a world made of pillows?
187. Would you rather your shadow moved differently than you did, or your reflection answered your questions?
188. Would you rather have a remote control that pauses anything in the world, or one that fast-forwards through any boring moment?
189. Would you rather every step you took on grass made a tiny flower bloom, or every leaf you touched made a small wind chime sound?
190. Would you rather have a watch that tells you the weather in another country, or a watch that tells you how someone you love is feeling?
191. Would you rather find out your room turns into a forest at night, or your bed flies a few feet off the ground while you sleep?
192. Would you rather find a portal in your closet that leads to a candy world, or a portal under your bed that leads to a dinosaur world?
193. Would you rather have a robot best friend, or an alien best friend?
194. Would you rather live a day backwards (waking up at bedtime), or live a day where everything is in slow motion?
195. Would you rather have a pet that is just a glowing ball of light, or a pet that is just a singing cloud?
196. Would you rather wake up to find your toys have rearranged themselves overnight, or your books have rewritten their stories overnight?
197. Would you rather slow down time when you are excited, or speed up time when you are bored?
198. Would you rather have a magic mirror that shows what you will look like in twenty years, or a magic notebook that tells you what you will be doing in twenty years?
199. Would you rather have a phone that can call any animal in the world, or a phone that can call you at any age you have ever been?
200. Would you rather wake up tomorrow with one new skill you cannot pick, or wake up tomorrow remembering one secret you cannot tell anyone?
The Habit, Not the Game
Two hundred questions is more than any one family will ever get through in order. That is the point. This is not a checklist. It is a permanent set of doors you can open whenever the conversation needs one.
The would-you-rather habit is small. One question on the drive home. One at dinner. One at bedtime when they are stalling. Over a year, that is hundreds of small moments where your kid had to pick a side, defend it, and listen to yours. That is not a game. That is how a kid learns to think out loud.
If you want these on physical cards (so the question is already picked for you and you can stop scrolling through a 200-question list), Tell Me Cards is the conversation deck for kids ages 5 to 9, shaped by a child psychologist.
For a different style of two-choice game, see our This or That Questions for Kids post. For more questions in the same spirit but specifically silly, see our 100 Funny Would You Rather Questions for Kids post. For the broader list of conversation prompts across ages 5 to 9, our 200 Questions to Ask Kids post covers the full range.