What it is: A talking group game, perfect as a get-to-know-you game with people you don’t know well yet (or want to get to know better).
Best for: A group of about 6 to 12 people.
What you need: Nothing!
How to play: The basic game play consists of players telling three facts about themselves. Two of the facts must be true, but the third one should be a lie. Then the other players have to guess which one is the lie.
So here’s how you could set up the game. Have all of your players sit in a circle and choose someone to start, say Mark. Mark would then think of two true facts about himself and one lie, then say them aloud in any order, trying to conceal the lie as a truth. For example, Mark might say, “I can finish a whole large pizza in one sitting…
“…I’ve had my picture in the newspaper…”
“…and I’ve been skydiving.”
Then the rest of the players would be able to think, consult, and decide together which fact about Mark is false. If you want an easy, no-score game, just have the players discuss and guess, and then have Mark reveal the lie. If you really want to keep score, you could let all of the players guess individually. Whoever is right gets a point; whoever is wrong doesn’t. You could also give Mark a point for every person he fooled. Whether you’re keeping score or not, after Mark reveals the lie, then the next player in the circle takes a turn.
Strategies: When you’re giving your three facts, since you’re trying to fool the other players, it’s good to disguise the lie as a truth; that is, something that people would believe you’ve done. Alternatively, you could try to disguise your truths as lies (so say things you’ve done that are kind of unbelievable, kind of like Mark did). Also, I’ve seen people play where they name very common things as their truths and lie, making it pretty difficult to guess. But either way, you’re trying to say things about yourself that others don’t know, making this a good get-to-know-you game.
Variations: If you wanted, instead of having players reveal their lie right away, you could have everyone in the circle say their truths and lie, and then go back around the circle a second time and let people reveal what was true and false.