Roomful

Two Truths and a Lie, played on your phones

Everyone writes two true things about themselves and one lie on their own phone. Then each player's three go up on the TV in a shuffled order, the room grills that player out loud, and everyone votes on their phone for the lie. Nobody has to keep score or remember who said what: the TV does it.

Host on this screen

Opens the room set up for Two Truths and a Lie. Phones join with the code it shows.

Start Two Truths and a Lie

Join from a phone

How a game goes

  1. Everyone has two minutes to write on their phone: two true things, then one lie, each in its own box. A nudge such as "a job you had" helps anyone who is stuck.
  2. The big screen picks a player and shows their three, numbered, in a shuffled order, so the lie can be anywhere. It reads them aloud.
  3. For a minute, the room asks that player anything. They answer every question, truths and lie alike, with a straight face.
  4. Everyone else votes on their phone for the number they think is the lie. The reveal shows the truths, then the lie, and who picked what.
  5. Then the next player's three go up, until everyone has had a turn.

Scoring

Two Truths and a Lie: everyone writes two true things about themselves and one lie on their phone. Then each player's three go up on the big screen in turn, in a shuffled order. The room asks that player anything, out loud, then everyone votes on their phone for the lie. Finding it is 2 points, and the player gets 1 point for each friend who picked a truth. A lie that fools the whole room is the best score you can get in a round.

Two truths and a lie ideas

Use these as starting points. Turn each into something true about you, or bend one into your lie.

Travel and places

  • I've been to more than ten countries.
  • I once missed a flight because I was asleep at the gate.
  • I've lived in three different states.
  • I've swum in two different oceans.
  • I got lost in a city where I didn't speak the language.
  • I've slept in a tent for more than a week straight.
  • I've seen the Northern Lights.
  • I once took a 30-hour bus ride.

Childhood

  • I broke my arm falling off a trampoline.
  • I was in a school play and forgot every line.
  • I had an imaginary friend until I was nine.
  • I won a spelling bee.
  • I was sent to the principal's office on my first day of school.
  • I had a pet lizard that escaped and was never found.
  • I once sold lemonade and made over $50.
  • I learned to ride a bike when I was twelve.

Skills and talents

  • I can juggle three balls.
  • I can say the alphabet backward in under ten seconds.
  • I can play a song on the piano without looking.
  • I can touch my nose with my tongue.
  • I can solve a Rubik's Cube.
  • I know how to drive a stick shift.
  • I can whistle with my fingers.
  • I taught myself to knit from videos.

Food

  • I've never had a cup of coffee.
  • I once ate a whole pizza by myself.
  • I've eaten a bug on purpose.
  • I can't stand chocolate.
  • I've worked in a restaurant kitchen.
  • I put hot sauce on almost everything.
  • I've never eaten sushi.
  • I won a cooking contest.

Work and school

  • My first job was at a movie theater.
  • I was voted class clown.
  • I've been fired from a job.
  • I once showed up to an interview a day early.
  • I've had more than ten different jobs.
  • I skipped a grade.
  • I fell asleep during a final exam.
  • I once worked a night shift for a whole year.

Strange but true-sounding

  • I've met someone famous in an elevator.
  • I've been on TV.
  • I've been stung by a jellyfish.
  • I once found money on the street and turned it in.
  • I've ridden a camel.
  • I was born during a snowstorm.
  • I've never seen a Star Wars movie.
  • I have a twin.

For the holidays

  • I once opened all my presents the night before and wrapped them back up.
  • I've burned a Thanksgiving turkey.
  • I still have the first ornament I ever made.
  • I've worked on Christmas Day.
  • I've never built a snowman.
  • I once spent New Year's Eve asleep before 10.

For work icebreakers

  • I've worked at this company longer than anyone in this room thinks.
  • I've never used a fax machine.
  • My first email address was embarrassing.
  • I've given a presentation with my shirt on inside out.
  • I've run a marathon.
  • I can type faster than 90 words a minute.

Tips for a good lie

  • Make the lie ordinary and one truth wild. The room expects the strangest one to be the lie.
  • Keep it specific: "a 30-hour bus ride" sounds more real than "a long trip".
  • Pick a lie you can answer questions about. The room gets a minute to grill you.
  • For a group that knows each other well, use things from before you met.

Questions

How many people can play?

From 3 to 12 phones. With 6 players a game takes about 12 minutes: two minutes to write, then a round of about a minute and a half for each player.

Can the others tell which one is my lie from the screen?

No. The big screen shows your three in a shuffled order, so the lie can be first, second or third, and it marks the lie only at the reveal.

What if someone can't think of anything?

The phone shows a nudge, such as "a trip you took" or "a job you had". The ideas on this page work too.

Does anyone need to install anything?

No. The big screen and every phone just open roomful.hatcherylake.com in a browser.

How many people can play?

From 2 to 12 phones. It's best with 4 to 8 people in one room.

Is it free?

Yes. No account and no app to buy. For a table with no TV, the Printable Party Pack is a $5 download.

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