Truth or Dare tips for hosts

Hosting truth or dare is less about the rules and more about the room. The same game can be a highlight of the evening or fall flat, depending on the cards you pick, the pace you set and how comfortable the quietest person feels. This tutorial walks through a first game on one phone, then covers choosing decks for different groups, writing your own truths and dares, and keeping the game fun for shy players. If you need the rules first, read the complete truth or dare rules.

What you will learn

• How a game on one phone flows, from setup to the results
• Which decks and settings suit kids, families, teens and mixed groups
• How to write custom truths and dares that land well
• How to keep shy or younger players comfortable
• When to change the mix, and when to end the game

Your first game, step by step

1. Gather everyone where they can see the screen. A phone flat on the coffee table works well; for a big group, a tablet or laptop is easier to read.
2. Type the names. Real names make the spinner more fun than “Player 3”, and they show on every card.
3. Pick the decks. Family is chosen by default. Add Kids for young children or Friends for teens and adults.
4. Choose the length. Endless is the default. For a first game, try 3 rounds so it has a clear finish.
5. Press Start. The phone spins through the names and lands on the first player.
6. Truth, Dare or Random. The player chooses; someone reads the card out loud. The card is big enough for the whole table.
7. Done or Skip. After the answer or the dare, tap Done. If the player would rather not, tap Skip. Then the phone spins again.
8. The results. After the last round, the results show how many truths and dares each player did, with no winner and no loser. Rematch plays again with the same names and decks, dealing new cards.

Three ground rules to say before the first spin

A few words from the host before the first turn set the tone for the whole game:

1. Anyone can skip, and nobody asks why.
2. Dares stay in the room: no calls, messages or photos of anyone.
3. What is said in the game stays in the game.

It takes ten seconds, and it tells the quieter players that the game is meant to be fun for them too.

Choosing decks for your group

The decks are the biggest choice you make as a host. Pick for the youngest or most cautious person in the room, not the boldest.

Young children (about 6 to 9)

Choose Kids only, play In order so nobody wonders when their turn is coming, and give two or three skips each. Keep it to 3 rounds. An adult reading each card aloud helps children who are still learning to read, and acting along with a dare (everyone walks like a penguin) turns shy moments into group fun.

Older kids (about 10 to 12)

Kids and Family together give more variety. Spin mode adds suspense, and one or two skips each is plenty. Older kids often enjoy the Random button, which takes the decision off their hands.

Family game night

The Family deck is written for every age at once: memories, favorites, what-ifs and gentle performance dares. With young children at the table, add Kids. With teenagers, add Friends for questions about opinions, habits and stories. Endless with an End when dinner is ready suits a relaxed evening.

Teens and adults

Friends is the most social deck: opinions, habits, funny confessions and creative dares such as pitching a ridiculous invention. It is still clean and kind, so it works at a mixed party too. Combine it with Family for a broader range, or add your own cards for the group.

A mixed crowd

When you don’t know everyone well, choose Family plus Friends, keep one skip each, and play 5 rounds. Nobody goes twice in a row in Spin mode, so nobody ends up in the spotlight too often.

Writing good custom prompts

Tap Add my prompts on the setup screen to write your own. Custom cards are where a game becomes your game: questions about a trip you all took, a dare that suits your living room, a running joke. A few guidelines:

• Ask open questions. “What was the best part of the camping trip?” gets a story; “Did you like the camping trip?” gets a yes.
• Keep dares short and safe. Under a minute, where you are, with nothing to eat or drink and nothing that could hurt anyone or break anything.
• Make the dare about the player. Good: “Do your best impression of our dog seeing the vacuum.” Not good: dares that ask someone to touch another person, or to message someone outside the room.
• Write for the shyest player. If you would hesitate to answer it yourself, leave it out.
• Balance truths and dares. If you write only one kind, the Family deck fills in the other.
• Keep them short. Each card can be 3 to 140 characters, and shorter cards are easier to read out.

You can keep up to 100 cards on this device. Pick the My prompts deck to play them, on its own or mixed with the built-in decks. To edit or delete a card, tap Edit my prompts on the setup screen.

Keeping it fun for shy players

Some people love the spotlight; others dread it. A good host makes room for both:

• Say it out loud at the start: anyone can skip. Hearing it once from the host makes it easier to use later. Choose two skips each if your group is new to the game.
• Use In order. Knowing exactly when your turn comes is calmer than waiting for the spinner.
• Suggest Random. It takes the decision away, so nobody has to choose “the brave option” in front of everyone.
• Join the dare. When a shy player gets a performance dare, offer to do it with them. Silly is easier in company.
• Never push. Don’t count skips aloud or tease anyone for using one. If someone runs out and still would rather not, tap Done and move on.
• Celebrate small answers. A one-line truth is a fine answer. Follow-up questions should be friendly, and only if the player seems happy to say more.

Reading the room

Watch the group, not the cards. Signs that the mix is wrong: lots of skips, long silences, or the same people doing all the talking. If the cards feel too young or too old, end the game and start a new one with different decks. If the energy drops, switch to dares for a round or two by suggesting Random. And end while people are still laughing: a short game everyone enjoyed beats a long one that dragged.

Undo is there for mistakes, too. If someone taps Done or Skip by accident, Undo brings the card back, and a used skip comes back with it.

Quick reference for hosts

Ready? Start a game of Truth or Dare. For more games the whole group can play on one screen, see our party games, family games and games for kids.