Looking for what if questions to ask your partner, friends, colleagues, and family? Well, what if I have something in store for you? (Pun intended).
I’ll be as straightforward as I can. Asking boring questions and small talk is greatly overrated. If you want to spark a great conversation and impress the other person, then you need to ask interesting questions that will make them think.
Thought-provoking questions have the power to tickle our brains, create engaging discussions, and make us overthink (but in a good way).
What If Questions Game
This game is a fun way to get to know your friends, loved ones, your significant other, you name it. It is also a great way to learn something new and start an engaging discussion.
What’s best of all (or not) is that this game has no winners or losers. It’s primarily created for fun and boosting your critical thinking. Honestly, there is no better way to learn new things than through playing games.
You can play it both indoors and outdoors. If there are kids involved, below you will find some questions suitable for them as well. You can create your own questions or improvise with the following (or above) ones.
In the what if questions game, everyone takes a turn both asking and answering a question. That’s about it for the rules, so let’s see the questions:
1. What if you never had to work a day in your life again? What would you do?
2. What if we were living in a world where people could only communicate via texts?
3. What if you had to choose between financial security or love? Which one would you choose?
4. What if you were at a store and robbers came in?
5. What if filters were banned from being added to photos on social media?
6. What if you could magically change one thing about yourself? What would it be?
7. What if you could watch a movie about your life? Would you enjoy watching it?
8. What if we were only allowed to talk in rhymes?
9. What if you had to delete all your social media profiles except one? Which one would you leave?
10. What if you could invent a new food?
11. What if you were allowed to wear only one color for the rest of your life? Which one would you choose?
12. What if you spoke to everyone around you the same way you talk to your best friend?
13. What if you were the only person who could stop time whenever you wanted?
14. What if toilet paper became the new currency?
15. What if you lost everything you have tomorrow?
16. What if you could be any politician in the world? Who would you choose to be and why?
17. What if you had the chance to get your dream job under one weird condition, and that is shaving your head for the rest of your life?
18. What if your house was infested with snakes?
19. What if you were a cat? What is the first thing you would do as a cat?
20. What if someone offered you $10,000 every time they punched you in the face? How many times would you ask them to hit you?
21. What if you could design a planet? What would it look like?
22. What if you could be born again in any country? Which would you choose?
23. What if you had to be haunted by a ghost for the rest of your life, but you could choose which dead person the ghost would be? Who would you choose and why?
24. What if you were required by law to get a full-body tattoo? Would you do it, and what would you get tattooed?
25. What if you could put wings on any animal? What animal would you choose?
See also: 175 Questions With No Answers That Will Blow Your Mind
Best Hypothetical Questions To Make You Think
The best hypothetical questions are a combination of philosophical questions and a sense of humor. This extensive list of hypothetical questions will help you inspire some deep conversations and keep a conversation going:
1. What if you were the President of the United States?
2. What if you were shipwrecked on a desert island?
3. What if you could only view one website for the rest of your life? What would it be and why?
4. What if you were offered the opportunity to go into space?
5. What if you woke up and found that you can’t speak your native language, but only one that neither you nor people around you understand?
6. What if you woke up and realized you were the only person on earth?
7. What if you woke up and found you had switched bodies with your best friend?
8. What if you could be a famous person for one day? Who would you choose to be and why?
9. What if you could remember everything that happened to you from the time you were born?
10. What if you could spend your life without sleeping ever again?
11. What if you had to choose someone else to make decisions for you? Who would you choose and why?
12. What if the law of attraction exists?
13. What if you could be invisible in only one place? Where would it be?
14. What if you could live forever and remain the same as you are right now?
15. What if you had the power to change the entire world? What would you do?
16. What if you could find a cure for a disease?
17. What if you could choose any superpower? What would it be and why? (Example: Super speed, so I’m no longer always late.)
18. What if you had to choose between not sleeping or not eating ever again? What would you choose?
19. What if someone made a movie about you? Would it be a comedy, thriller, horror, or something else?
20. What if robots took over the world?
21. What if you had the gadgets to control the whole world? What would you do?
22. What if you could shape your own future to your preferences?
23. What if you could go back and uninvent something? What would it be?
24. What if you could abolish certain laws?
25. What if you were a food? What would you be?
26. What if you were the CEO of any company in the world? Which one would you choose?
27. What if you found a million dollars?
What If Questions For Any Occasion
Every single one of us needs to have a list of what if questions for any occasion because you never know when you’re going to need one.
From a zombie apocalypse to being a dictator of a small country, here are some good questions for any occasion that will spark great conversation:
1. What if you were forced to live in a zombie apocalypse? Where would you go?
2. What if you could live in a TV show for one week? Which show would you choose?
3. What if the whole world could hear you talking for a minute? What would you say to us?
4. What if you were given 5 wishes? What would you wish for?
5. What if you woke up and your house was on fire? Which three things would you take with you?
6. What if you had to choose one person to live with forever right now? Who would it be?
7. What if you had to choose between gazing at the stars or looking at the bright sky your whole life? What would you choose?
8. What if you had to choose to be constantly surrounded by one aroma? What would it be?
9. What if you were a dictator of a small country?
10. What if money no longer existed?
11. What if people cared more about doing the right thing than doing things right?
12. What if birds aren’t actually singing but screaming because of their fear of heights?
13. What if you could walk into a mirror?
14. What if we are capable of breathing in space, but others are trying to convince us that we aren’t so that we stay here?
15. What if we have multiple souls in our bodies and not just one?
16. What if you were reincarnated as an animal in accordance with your personality? What animal do you think you would come back as?
17. What if we don’t have a soul at all?
18. What if everything happening right now is not real?
19. What if coffee no longer existed?
20. What if you had to choose between drinking tea or coffee for the rest of your life? Which one would you choose?
21. What if you could erase someone from your memory? Who would it be?
22. What if you were given a chance to rename any five objects? What would you rename, and what would be the new names of these objects?
23. What if you could choose to be born at another time? When would you be born?
24. What if you could know the internet history of anyone you know? Who would it be?
25. What if you were asked to redesign the human species? How would you do it?
26. What if you could bring one fantasy creature into the real world? What fantasy creature would you choose?
27. What if you could make any non-edible thing edible to humans? What would you choose?
Funny What If Questions
Fun questions, riddles, and jokes can brighten anyone’s day. Laughing helps us feel better and also look better, so why wouldn’t we use every opportunity we can to simply laugh with people close to us?
These questions are guaranteed to make you laugh out loud while thinking of the most hilarious scenarios:
1. What if we had to rhyme or sing our conversations? Which one would you choose and why?
2. What if you switched places with your pet?
3. What if cats could bark and dogs meow?
4. What if you could fly but only to one place in the world? Which one would it be?
5. What if you lost your bathing suit while swimming? What would you do?
6. What if you used a public toilet only to discover that there was no toilet paper? What would you do?
7. What if you could only sit 5 minutes per day?
8. What if you found out that all this time, you were living in a coma?
9. What if you could neglect brushing your teeth or shaving without any negative effects on your health? Which one would you choose?
10. What if you were allowed to eat only one food for the rest of your life? Which one would you choose and why?
11. What if one day you found out you were a robot all this time?
12. What if you were only allowed to make love in public places?
13. What if you had to dream about your biggest enemy every single night for the rest of your life?
14. What if sugar actually isn’t sweet, but we think it is?
15. What if humans lost all their hair every winter?
16. What if you’re in a movie and there are people watching the entire time, but you’re not aware of it?
17. What if you were forced to spend a year in the exact same position you are in right now?
What Would You Do If Questions
What would you do if something unexpected and weird happened to you? Life is full of surprises, and you never know what will happen next. These great questions perfectly define what would you do if moments, and they will surely make you laugh:
1. What would you do if you could choose your dreams every single night before going to sleep?
2. What would you do if someone broke your heart?
3. What would you do if someone said “no” to your proposal?
4. What would you do if your loved one lied to you about something vital?
5. What would you do if your favorite celebrity mentioned you on social media?
6. What would you do if you could buy love in a store?
7. What would you do if weekends no longer existed?
8. What would you do if you had the power to change one event from your past?
9. What would you do if your biggest enemy became your boss?
10. What would you do if a stranger punched you in the face and ran away?
11. What would you do if the police tried to arrest you for no reason?
12. What would you do if you won the lottery?
13. What would you do if the internet collapsed for good?
14. What would you do if you could live life as you want, but you had to give up one thing, and that is the internet?
15. What would you do if you had one year to live?
16. What would you do if you weren’t afraid of anything?
17. What would you do if you caught your significant other in the act of cheating?
18. What would you do if you found out your partner cheated on you with your best friend?
19. What would you do if those closest to you no longer trust you?
20. What would you do if you experienced the worst day of your life over and over again?
What If Questions For Couples
Looking for some interesting questions to ask your partner? Do you want to impress them with your way of thinking and make your conversations a little bit spicier? Asking these questions will help you achieve these goals:
1. What if people could be invisible while making love in public places?
2. What if I kissed you right now?
3. What if you could trade lives with someone? Who would it be?
4. What if you had one day left to live? What would you do?
5. What if we could spend 2 hours in one exotic place? Where would you want to go?
6. What if you could change one thing about me? What would it be?
7. What if you had to stay home with the kids while I work?
8. What if I asked you to tell me one thing no one knows about you?
9. What if people could only teleport when they’re truly in love with someone?
10. What if you could ask me anything you want? What would it be?
11. What if I’m your soulmate?
12. What if you had to choose between spending one day with me and a week with anyone you want? What would you choose?
13. What if I told you that I’m pregnant? (Reserved for women only.)
14. What if I broke your heart?
15. What if we were stuck in a box in this position?
16. What if I told you that I never loved you? (Tip: Be careful about this one.)
17. What if I was the ugliest thing on earth?
18. What if you found out that you’re not the father/mother of your child(ren)?
19. What if I had PMS the whole year? (Reserved for women only.)
20. What if there is life after death?
21. What if we were able to repeat any of our dates so far? Which one would you choose?
22. What if our family members caught us in the act of lovemaking?
23. What if I was a narcissist in disguise?
24. What if I could be someone else for an hour? Who would you want me to be?
25. What if lovemaking resulted in your hair falling out? Would you still do it?
What If Questions For Kids
A child’s brain truly is like a sponge. They absorb everything around them, and their answers to the most difficult questions never cease to amaze.
If you want to help children improve their critical thinking skills and boost their imagination, then ask them these questions:
1. What if you could be invisible for an hour only? What would you do?
2. What if you could visit one planet? Which one would you choose to visit?
3. What if you had your own restaurant? What would you serve?
4. What if you could choose to eat ice cream or pizza for a month? Which would you choose?
5. What if you were a cartoon character? Who would you be?
6. What if you were a book? What would your title be?
7. What if you could only celebrate one holiday for the next five years? What would it be?
8. What if you could go anywhere with your best friend right now? Where would you go?
9. What if your teacher at school was actually your mum or dad? How would you feel?
10. What if you could sit anywhere in the class? Where would it be?
11. What if you could achieve anything in the world without lifting a finger? What would it be?
12. What if you could change anything about your family? What would you change?
13. What if you could only bring two things when traveling? What would they be?
14. What if you could have any pet you want? What would you choose?
15. What if you had to name a new planet? What would you call it?
16. What if I asked you to describe yourself in five words? What would you say?
17. What if you had to change your name? Which name would you choose?
18. What if you could be your role model for a week? Who would you be?
19. What if you had to choose to play in the rain or snow for the rest of your life? Which would you choose?
BONUS #1: Best ‘How’ Questions
When you get tired of what if questions, then you can switch to the best ‘how’ questions! These questions will help you keep the conversation going, and they will tell you a lot about someone’s personality:
1. How do you like your coffee?
2. How could I help you become the best version of yourself?
3. How could we improve our relationship?
4. How did you fall in love with me?
5. How do you evaluate new people?
6. How do you plan on achieving your goals?
7. How often do you use social media?
8. How do you deal with negative people?
9. How are you feeling right now?
10. How would you describe your perfect date?
11. How do you like your eggs?
12. How did you meet your best friend?
13. How much time do you spend doing nothing?
14. How do you deal with stressful situations?
15. How would you react if someone punched you all of a sudden for no reason?
16. How would you react if your boss fired you right now?
17. How would you describe your dream vacation?
18. How would you describe me?
19. How long do butterflies live?
BONUS #2: Would You Rather Questions
Would you rather this or that? Would you rather questions are always trendy, and you simply can’t go wrong with them. If you want to impress other people and get some interesting answers, consider asking them these questions:
1. Would you rather lose the ability to talk or the ability to see?
2. Would you rather always be five minutes late or always be ten minutes early?
3. Would you rather be in a committed relationship for 2 years or single for the rest of your life?
4. Would you rather be able to talk to land animals or animals that live under the water?
5. Would you rather travel the world for a year on a budget or stay in one place for a year but live in luxury?
6. Would you rather only be able to use a fork or a spoon?
7. Would you rather get married at this very moment or not marry at all?
8. Would you rather have a jealous partner or someone who acts indifferent?
9. Would you rather be a famous singer or a famous actor?
10. Would you rather live a year without the internet or live five years without AC and heating?
11. Would you rather be beautiful/handsome but stupid or intelligent but not so beautiful/handsome?
12. Would you rather be forced to eat only your favorite meal for six months or eat different food you don’t like for six months?
13. Would you rather never be able to wear a T-shirt or never be able to wear pants?
14. Would you rather live a year on the beach or a year in the woods?
15. Would you rather be able to fly for one day or be completely invisible for one day?
16. Would you rather give up the internet for two months or give up bathing for two months?
17. Would you rather type/text fast or read ridiculously fast?
18. Would you rather lose all of your friends except your best friend or only your best friend?
19. Would you rather never run out of battery power for your phone or always have free Wi-Fi wherever you go?
20. Would you rather have a constant runny nose or constantly dry eyes?
21. Would you rather find your soulmate or a suitcase with six million dollars inside?
22. Would you rather spend the rest of your life alone or always be surrounded by toxic people?
Benefits Of What If Questions
If you need more convincing on why you should use these questions (and I’m sure you do), here are a few benefits of what if questions that will surely make you think:
What if questions are great conversation starters
We all need a few icebreakers and great conversation starters up our sleeve. Well, what if questions are perfect for that because they will instantly intrigue the other person and help you create an engaging discussion. Awkward silences will be minimized.
They are incredibly versatile
From light, funny to slightly disturbing, these questions are incredibly versatile. You can use them in many different settings and with different types of people. If you want to make someone laugh, then choose funny questions.
If you want to spice things up a little bit, then start with something light and gradually switch to something deeper.
They can create ongoing, engaging debates
When asking these questions, you will feel like time has stopped. It’s because they create ongoing, engaging debates that can last (literally) forever.
I know for a fact that I had to continue some conversations over the phone because we couldn’t stop talking even though we had to go home. I bet the same thing will happen to you, and you will enjoy it.
They can help you learn a lot about others
They say that if you want to learn about other people, you need to ask the right questions. A person’s answer can tell you a lot about their way of thinking and their overall personality.
Choosing unique questions for unique individuals will help you learn a lot about them. You could spend an eternity with a certain person, but if you don’t ask them the right questions, you will never be able to connect and understand how their mind works.
They build and boost critical thinking skills
These questions are perfect for improving thinking outside the box and boosting critical thinking skills. Why? Because they give you the opportunity to express your creativity and give unique answers.
I bet there is no better way to improve your thinking skills than asking and answering thought-provoking questions. If you ask me, a meaningful and engaging conversation is like food for the soul.
They teach respect for other people’s opinions
Asking different questions means getting lots of different answers from others. Sometimes, their answers will shock you or contradict your opinion, but this is good.
They will teach you respect for other people’s opinions, and you will not have problems accepting differences regarding different aspects of life.
They help you learn about anything and everything
When I started digging deeper into these questions, I realized that there are lots of things I haven’t even heard about before.
People’s answers will teach you different perspectives, and all you need to do is absorb and store information in your brain compartment. Easy, right?
They make you wiser and more flexible
Not a single person becomes wise overnight. Well, asking meaningful questions can help you boost your wisdom and make you more flexible in conversations.
Great conversationalists know lots of things about just about anything, and by asking the right questions, you will become one of them. Of course, maybe you already are a great conversationalist, but you can always step up your game, right?
In Conclusion
I truly hope that this is the only list of what if questions you’ll ever need. These questions are great when you want to learn something new about people you already know (or people you’ve just met).
However, don’t overdo it. Use these questions sparingly and don’t cross other people’s boundaries. You don’t want to turn into that one person who annoys others with such questions all the time.
There is a place and time for what if questions and answers, so just keep it natural. Pay attention to how others react, and you’ll know which questions they enjoyed most.
Also, don’t just ask questions but be ready for a discussion. Remember that it takes two to create an interesting and meaningful conversation. Enjoy!