Credit: Truth or Dare movie 2012
Truth or Dare is one of the greatest party games of all time. Infinitely adaptable, you can tailor it to the style and level of just about anyone. Need to babysit a slumber party full of fourth-graders? This game can accommodate, and do so in a safe, kid-friendly fashion. On the other hand, Truth or Dare goes down just as well at a college frat party. It can get as crazy, bizarre, hilarious, and raunchy as the participants are willing to make it, and it’s precisely that facility for testing limits and revealing truths (even when they aren’t specifically demanded by the rules of the game) that has allowed this game to endure with such popularity across the span of years. To see ten fabulous suggestions for ten fabulous dares, just keep reading.
1. The Gender Swap
This one is a fun dare for a mixed-gender crowd, assuming that all present can at least loosely be called adults. Simply put, it involves things like shaving the legs of a random male player if you’re a girl, or having to wear frilly underthings, makeup, and so on (and nothing but that!) if you’re a guy. Be creative!
2. The Truth or Dare Diet
Ever wanted to go on a diet guaranteed to make you lose weight? Well, now you can! After eating raw eggs, coffee grounds, toilet water, various uncut spices (cinnamon, cayenne pepper, hot sauce, raw garlic, etc.) on the basis of a dare, you probably won’t want to eat anything else for weeks! This dare is great for groups of all compositions and age ranges. Just make sure the “alternative snack foods” on offer are safe - check for food allergies among the contestants and don’t offer anything overtly harmful / inedible! - and dig in!
3. The Love Connection
This one’s a classic, but it goes without saying that it’s only for adults unless you can find a way to tone it down for teenage consumption. To be succinct, it involves all the classics, like daring someone to make out with a randomly selected player of indeterminate gender, the skinny dipping dare daring someone to ask a complete stranger for their phone number, Facebook, etc., as well as modern additions like daring someone to call their crush and confess all right there on the spot or dares involving Tinder and related social media.
4. The Stranger Surprise
If you have access to a large group of people, like a shopping mall or a college campus, compelling someone to interact with a total stranger in various hilarious or confusing ways makes for another great dare for people of all ages. Daring someone to bark at random passersby (or, if they happen to be there, their dogs!), daring someone to make LDS / Jehovah’s Witness style overtures about the Flying Spaghetti Monster, or daring a player to offer the first person he or she happens to see a piggyback ride are all examples of this trope taken to completion.
5. The Prankster
This one is almost beautiful in its simplicity. The dared player has to pick a random person (either from another player’s contact list, a phone book, or some other list of names and numbers), call them, and prank them. This can take many forms - try to keep them on the line as long as you can by using funny accents, try to sell them something, send the local pizza guy to their house with a delivery, it doesn’t matter - the only things you need to worry about are imagination and Caller ID!
6. Body Modification
Feeling brutal? Why not dare the person to your left to shave his or her head? What about daring someone to pick another player and duct taping / Saran Wrapping them together for the rest of the game? If kids are involved, try dares that involve spreading foods on others’ faces - PB & J, chocolate syrup, and similar substances work well. In fact, the messier the outcome, the better!
7. Acrobatics
Relatively tame, these dares involve tests of physical skill and endurance. Dare someone (preferably a guy) to do the splits. Dare someone to hold his or her breath as long as they can. Dare someone to Moonwalk - or to walk on their hands if you think it’s something they can do - anywhere they have to go for the rest of the game.
8. The Gross-Out
It’s just what it sounds like. Dare someone to burp in another player’s mouth. Dare someone to fart as loudly as possible, either right then and there or while in a public place (with in-game witnesses, of course!). If it’s gross and you can think of it, it’s fair game!
9. The Exhibitionist
This is another dare that can go through a lot of incarnations depending upon the ingenuity (or depravity) of the players. Have the dared person blindfolded, then let the person immediately to his or her left write whatever they want to on their forehead with permanent marker, where it must remain for 24 hours. Dare someone to pour their heart, soul, and dignity into a karaoke video, then publish said video on YouTube (and make sure as many people as possible know about it!). The kiddie version would involve lots of impressions - celebrities, animals, other players, it’s all fair game - the showcasing of dance moves, and so on. Think of these dares like an audition for American Idol, just without any of the fame, glory, or money.
10. The Ticking Truth Bomb
This one’s as simple as it gets, but it requires some level of basic trust and sportsmanship (not to mention adulthood / legal age). The dare is this: The dared person must either get naked or give a full and honest answer to a truth question from every person in the circle / group.