Best friend quiz: 70 questions to find out who really knows you

A best friend quiz is a simple idea with a lot of range. At its smallest it is two friends on the sofa finding out who remembers more. At its biggest it is a party game where everyone guesses the answers about the guest of honour. Either way the fun comes from the same place: the gap between what people think they know about each other and what they actually do.

That gap has a lot to do with time. Jeffrey Hall, a communication researcher at the University of Kansas, estimated in the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships that it takes roughly 50 hours together to go from acquaintance to casual friend, around 90 hours to become real friends and more than 200 hours to become close friends. Hours spent working side by side did not seem to count: it was time hanging out, joking around and doing things together that moved people along. The questions below reward exactly that kind of accumulated attention.

Here are 70 questions sorted into seven rounds you can pick and mix, plus four ways to run the quiz for a group so nobody is left watching.

How to score it

Pick the rounds you want and give a point per correct answer. For two players, take turns answering about each other and compare totals. For a group, one person is the subject and everyone else writes down their guesses; the subject then reveals the truth and everyone marks their own sheet. Ten questions per round is plenty.

Round 1: The basics

Start here with newer friends: the facts anyone who has spent real time with you should know. Our pick: What did I want to be when I grew up?, the one basic that newer friends almost never know.

Round 2: Favourites

Favourites change over the years, so this round catches out friends who stopped paying attention a while ago. Our pick: What is my go-to takeaway order?, because only a close friend gets it exactly right, sides included.

Round 3: Habits and quirks

The small, slightly embarrassing details you only pick up by being around someone a lot. Our pick: What is my irrational fear?, which usually comes with a story.

Round 4: This or that

Read out the pair and your friend guesses which one you would pick. It is the fastest round, so it works well as a warm-up, and there are plenty more pairs in our list of this or that questions. Our pick: Call or text?, which says more about a person than it looks.

Round 5: Memory lane

Shared history is where long friendships pull ahead. Both players can answer these, so compare notes as well as scores. Our pick: What is a running joke only the two of us understand?, because it is impossible to fake.

Round 6: Deeper questions

Save these for a close friend. They are less about scoring and more about the conversation they start. Our pick: What is something you admire about me that I do not see?, the question people remember long after the quiz.

Round 7: Birthday and party edition

Ideal when the quiz is about one person and a whole group is guessing. For more ways to fill the evening, see our birthday party games. Our pick: What is their signature dance move?, because the answer usually gets demonstrated.

Four ways to host a best friend quiz for a group

The two-player version needs nothing but a pen. For a party or a work social, a few interactive slides in AhaSlides make it playable for everyone at once, with guests answering on their phones.

Run the guessing round as a scored quiz. A Pick Answer quiz slide lets you set each question with the real answer as one of the options. Everyone taps their guess, and the answers appear on screen as soon as you reveal them.

Scoring and ranking happen automatically, which turns "who knows the birthday person best" into a proper contest with a winner.

Collect answers with a word cloud. Ask everyone the same question about the subject, such as "where do you think they grew up?", and the most common answers grow largest on screen. It is a fast way to see whether the group agrees, and the same slide works for describing the subject in a single word.

Gauge opinions with a rating scale. Pose a light question like "how competitive is the birthday person, from one to five?" and the group's average appears instantly, usually to laughter and mild protest from the subject.

Open the floor with an Open Ended slide. Ask for a favourite memory of the subject and let people submit as many as they like, then read the best ones aloud. It gives quieter guests a way to join in without taking the floor.

Tips for a quiz that stays fun

• Match the round to the friendship. The basics and favourites suit newer friends; save memory lane and the deeper questions for people who have logged those 200 hours.
• Keep the pace up. Ten questions a round, answers revealed at the end and a quick tally before the next round keeps the energy high.
• Let the subject react. Half the entertainment is the birthday person protesting that they do not say that word too often, or that their dance move is iconic. Leave room for it.
• End on something warm. Finish with the word cloud or the favourite-memory round so the quiz lands on affection rather than a scoreboard.

If you want a version played in pairs, our who knows me better questions are built for exactly that.

Frequently asked questions

How many questions should a best friend quiz have?

Around 20 to 30 in total, split into two or three rounds, is the sweet spot: long enough to feel like a real test, short enough to keep everyone engaged.

Can I play a best friend quiz online?

Yes. On a video call, share your screen and have players tap their guesses on their phones, so friends in different places can still compete.

What makes a good best friend quiz question?

One that rewards genuine attention rather than a lucky guess. Favourites, habits and shared memories work better than facts a stranger could find online.

Is a best friend quiz good for a birthday party?

Very. The birthday edition makes the guest of honour the subject and the whole room the contestants, which is one of the easiest ways to get a party going.