What if questions are brilliant and effective conversation starters. Who doesn’t like an interesting or funny hypothetical question? I know I do!
The great thing about what if questions to ask one another is how open-ended they are. You can include them as part of a game or just general conversation and they can lead to full-blown conversations.
They’re also a fantastic way to get to know someone if you’ve only just met them. The answers to these questions can be revealing and will tell you a lot about the character and beliefs of the person answering.
What if questions are simple but versatile. This list will provide you with a wide variety of questions you can use in several situations to spark thought-provoking conversations!
What If Questions Game
Playing a ‘what if’ questions game is easy. It’s also a fun way to get to know people or to use it as a game in the classroom. The premise of the game is simple: you take turns asking ‘what if’ questions. After this, you have a few options.
You can opt to rotate the questions around with no clear winner; the aim is to hear everyone’s answers rather than declare a winner. Another method is to get everyone to vote on who has the best answer. Once the game has finished the player with the most votes is the winner.
Whatever you decide to do, playing a what if scenarios game is a great icebreaker that will offer many different talking points and keep conversations flowing long after the game has finished.
Best What If Questions
What if questions are like a single-choice version of Would You Rather Questions. Instead of two choices, you’re presented with one and you have to consider the implications of what would happen.
We believe these are some of the best what if scenarios you’ll come across and will spark a lot of fruitful and interesting conversations.
- What if there was no disease?
2. What if peace was universal?
3. What if you could see into the future?
4. What if you could travel back in time? Would you?
5. What if you were the President of the United States?
6. What if plastic was banned?
7. What if you were a famous musician?
8. What if aliens landed? What would happen?
9. What if you won $1,000,000? What would you do?
10. What if we cannot have happiness without sadness?
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- This or That Questions
- Would You Rather Questions
- Hypothetical Questions
- Critical Thinking Questions
- Unanswerable Questions
11. What if we could travel to distant galaxies?
12. What if could have one superpower? Which one would you choose?
13. What if you were shipwrecked on an uninhabited island?
14. What if you woke up and discovered you were the only person on earth?
15. What if you could be a superhero? Who would you be?
16. What if you could live forever?
17. What if you could travel to the edge of the universe?
18. What if you could speak every language?
19. What if poverty was eradicated? Would the world be a better place?
20. What if you could download all of the knowledge in the world into your brain?
21. What if you could change one important thing about society? What would you choose to do?
22. What if you could date one famous person? Who would it be?
23. What if we discovered dinosaurs living on a remote island?
24. What if you could say a sentence the whole world would hear? What would it be?
25. What if you were given three wishes? What would you wish for?
26. What if you were given a chance to go to the moon? Would you?
27. What if you could be a part of a trip to Mars but there was no possibility you could return to earth? Would you go?
28. What if you found a suitcase with $100,000? What would you do?
29. What if you could move anywhere? Where would you go?
30. What if you had to pick one person to live with forever?
31. What if you could be an Olympic athlete? What sport would you compete in?
32. What if the sun were half as big?
33. What if another advanced species existed?
34. What if monkeys replaced us as the dominant species on the planet?
35. What if the moon wasn’t there?
Next: Hardest Questions to Answer
36. What if you could read all of the books in the world?
37. What if you could communicate with other people by using your mind?
38. What if money grew on trees?
39. What if you had to live in either the Sahara or Antarctica? Where would you rather live?
40. What if you could have complete knowledge of 3 skills? What would they be?
Deep What If Questions
Along with a couple of Philosophical Questions, these deep what if questions are great to use if you want to start conversations about wide-ranging topics with big implications.
41. What if everything we do has been predetermined?
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42. What if we’re living in a simulation?
43. What if life is just the first in a series of infinite lives?
44. What if there are parallel universes?
45. What if free will is an illusion?
46. What if we could upload our consciousness into a machine?
47. What if you could redesign the human species? What would you change?
48. What if Jesus returned to earth? What would happen?
49. What if you lost the ability to see all colors apart from one? Which one would it be?
50. What if you found out you only had 24 hours left to live?
Funny What If Questions
51. What if you could only eat burgers for the rest of your life?
You might also like: Dumb Questions
52. What if you were a monster? Which monster would you be?
53. What if you could only walk on your hands?
54. What if you could fly?
55. What if you could communicate with animals?
56. What if you could only drink coca-cola for the rest of your life?
57. What if you had a tail?
58. What if could cats could bark and dogs meow?
59. What if you switched places with your partner?
60. What if you could only wear one set of clothes for the rest of your life? What set would you choose?
61. What if you went to use a public toilet but there was no toilet paper? Would you use it?
62. What if zombies were real?
63. What if you could only eat one food for the rest of your life? What would it be?
64. What if everything you see is just a hallucination because you’re inhaling oxygen?
65. What if everyone had a personal companion to journey with them through life like Shrek and Donkey? Who would be the person you choose?
66. What if the ground could squeak or talk every time you took a step?
67. What if you could wear your 12th b’day outfit at your wedding?
68. What if your last kiss had to be the only kiss you’d remember for the rest of your life? Who would you kiss?
69. What if you woke up only to find yourself in your best friend’s body and his body in yours?
70. What if you were turned into a tree?
Interesting What If Questions
71. What if all the cats suddenly died?
Next: Existential Questions
72. What if the universe stopped expanding and started to decrease in size?
73. What if you met your doppelgänger?
74. What if electricity wasn’t invented?
75. What if there was a nuclear war? What would the world look like?
76. What if déjà vu and hypnosis were actually the tells that led to a true understanding of the mind?
77. What if you could turn water into wine?
78. What if life has no meaning?
79. What if we’re the most advanced species in the universe?
80. What if we were a silicon-based lifeform instead of carbon?
What If Questions For Any Occasion
81. What if you could pause time whenever you decided to?
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82. What if you could work in any job? Which one would you choose?
83. What if you could go into space? Would you?
84. What if aliens landed in your garden?
85. What if you had to choose between great wealth or great wisdom?
86. What if you found a way to get really rich very quickly that was highly illegal?
87. What if you discovered you could heal diseases?
88. What if humans could swim underwater without needing to come up for air?
89. What if a ghost haunted your bedroom during the night?
90. What if you could read minds?
91. What if you woke up and were twenty years younger? Or you woke up twenty years older? What would you do?
92. What if you hit a car in a car park and nobody saw you? Would you drive off?
93. What if you were dreaming about your teeth falling out, and you woke up to find that they had?
94. What if you could decide how you were going to die?
95. What if you woke up with a stranger in your house?
96. What if you saw someone steal from the place where you work? Would you do it?
97. What if you could change one thing about your past?
98. What if you could be one animal? Which one would it be?
99. What if trees understand what we say when we speak to them?
100. What if you have to sacrifice yourself for the sake of someone you love?
What Would You Do If Questions
101. What would you do if you had superpowers?
Next: Self-Reflection Questions
102. What would you do if your friends and family no longer trust you?
103. What would you do if a celebrity gives you a shoutout on Instagram without you asking for it?
104. What would you do if you lose all you have worked for in life overnight?
105. What would you do if the police arrested you when you haven’t committed a crime?
106. What would you do if you woke up and realized that you couldn’t move your body anymore?
107. What would you do if someone found out your biggest secret?
108. What would you do if you were offered everything in life for free, but you have to live alone without the internet?
109. What would you do if you had five years to live?
110. What would you do if money didn’t matter?
111. What would you do if you were invisible?
112. What would you do if you can make dreams a reality?
113. What would you do if everyone disappeared into thin air?
114. What would you do if you were a god?
115. What you do if you could change one law?
116. What would you do if you never had to sleep again?
117. What would you do if you could prevent one event in history from happening?
118. What would you do if all drugs were legal?
119. What would you do if you were left on a deserted island?
120. What would you do if you didn’t have any anxiety?
Looking For More Questions?
Thought-Provoking Questions – If you’re looking for some questions that will have you stroking your chin, this is the list for you.
Mindblowing Questions – Ask these questions to your friends and watch their heads explode as they try to come up with some answers!
Tom is a travel writer and Co-Founder of Questions About Everything. He grew up in the UK and enjoys spending his time traveling to new places, supporting Liverpool FC, and blogging about his adventures. He spent two years teaching English in Barcelona and frequently utilized question games and conversation starters as part of his lesson plans. Learn more about Tom on our About page.