It is the most-run icebreaker in existence, and it is genuinely awkward over a video call: someone reads three things aloud, everyone talks over each other, and the shy person who went first never gets a proper vote. Doing it in a browser fixes all of that. Everyone votes at the same time, privately, and the reveal shows exactly who fell for what.
How it works
- Everyone gets a turn as the storyteller, in rotation.
- On your turn you write three statements about yourself and mark which one is the lie. You get 75 seconds, and a few prompt ideas if you freeze.
- The statements are shuffled and shown to everyone else, so the lie is never sitting where you typed it.
- Everyone votes on which one they think is false. You cannot vote on your own.
- The reveal shows the lie, who spotted it and who got fooled.
Scoring
- 300 points for spotting the lie.
- Up to 500 points as the storyteller, scaled by the share of the room you fooled: fool everyone and you take the full 500, fool half and you take 250.
That scaling is deliberate. Paying the storyteller a flat amount per person fooled would make a turn in a 60-person room worth twenty times the same bluff in a small one, so a turn is worth the same wherever you play it.
Nobody can peek. Which statement is the lie never leaves the server until voting closes. The list your browser receives is just three sentences, in a shuffled order: there is nothing in it to inspect.
What makes a good lie
The instinct is to invent something dramatic, and it is almost always wrong. Outlandish statements get picked immediately because they do not sound like the rest of your life. The strongest lies are boring in exactly the way your truths are boring:
- Match the tone of your two truths. If your truths are small and specific, your lie should be too.
- Stay close to real. “I worked in a bakery” beats “I once met the King.”
- Make your truths sound suspicious. The best turns are the ones where a real fact takes the votes.
- Avoid anything checkable by the people in the room, unless you enjoy being caught instantly.
Two Truths and a Lie ideas
Pick three, change the details so they fit you, and turn one of them into the lie. The best rounds of 2 Truths and a Lie use statements that are all equally ordinary, so nobody can spot the fake by tone alone.
For work and team meetings
- My first job was selling shoes.
- I have worked a night shift in a hospital.
- I once replied-all to the whole company by accident.
- I have given a presentation to more than 500 people.
- I learned to code from library books.
- I have worked for a company that no longer exists.
- I once got locked inside the office after hours.
- I applied for this job from my phone.
- I have taught an evening class.
- I have been a guest on a podcast.
- I once worked three part-time jobs at the same time.
- I shared an elevator with the CEO of a famous company.
- My first paycheck went entirely on a bike.
- I have interviewed for a job in another country.
- I have never used a standing desk.
Funny ones for friends
- I have been chased by a goose.
- I can't whistle.
- I once ate a whole large pizza on a dare.
- I have fallen asleep in a movie theater three times.
- I have never seen a Star Wars film.
- I got lost in IKEA as an adult.
- I can name every country in Europe.
- I once won a dance competition.
- I have broken my nose.
- I am scared of balloons.
- I have sung on a stage in front of strangers.
- I have been mistaken for a celebrity.
- I never learned to ride a bike.
- I got a parking ticket on my birthday.
- I can solve a Rubik's Cube.
Getting to know a new team or class
- I have lived in four different cities.
- I speak three languages.
- I have a twin.
- I have run a marathon.
- I have never been on a plane.
- I grew up on a farm.
- I have met a famous athlete.
- I play an instrument in a band.
- I own more than 20 houseplants.
- I have been scuba diving.
- I was on TV as a kid.
- I have read every Harry Potter book twice.
- I have climbed a 10,000-foot mountain.
- I have a pet tortoise.
- I was born in a different country from my parents.
In the game itself you also get a few prompts on your turn if you freeze, so nobody needs to prepare in advance.
Why it works for teams
It needs no skill at all (not drawing, not trivia, not being funny), which makes it the most inclusive game here and the obvious choice for onboarding or a newly-formed team. It is also the only one that leaves people knowing something real about each other afterwards, which is usually the actual point of the session.
Every player gets exactly one turn per round, so nobody dominates and nobody gets skipped. With a large group, set the round count low: a round is one turn each, so ten people and three rounds is thirty turns.
Want something different? Try Bluff Trivia for lying about facts instead of yourself, Draw & Guess, Caption Clash or Tic Tac Toe: same room, same leaderboard.
Looking for a full party pack rather than one icebreaker? Eight free Jackbox alternatives, and when Jackbox is still worth buying.