100 question ideas for BETRAYAL

Stuck when it is your turn to ask? Here are 100 ready-made questions for the four categories in the game: places, countries, jobs and fruits. Every question works with any word in its category, so you can use them in any round without giving the secret away.

What makes a good question?

A good question does two jobs at once. It is specific enough that only someone who knows the secret can answer it well, and open enough that the answer doesn't hand the secret to the spy. “Is it the airport?” fails the second test. “Do you like it?” fails the first.

Closed yes/no questions (“Is it noisy there?”) are quick, but they are easy for the spy too: a 50/50 guess is often right, and a single word reveals nothing about who is lying. Open questions (“What would you hear there?”) force a real answer with details. The spy has to make those details up, and that is where they slip. Use mostly open questions, and keep closed ones for a fast follow-up.

📍 Places (30 questions)

Senses

1. What is the first thing you hear when you walk in?
2. What does it smell like?
3. Is it bright or dark there, and why?
4. What would you touch there without thinking?
5. Is it a place you would rather go in summer or winter?

People

6. Who would you take with you?
7. Who would you never take with you?
8. How do people usually behave there?
9. Who is in charge there?
10. Would you go there alone? Why?

Time

11. How long do people usually stay?
12. What is the best time of day to go?
13. When did you last go there?
14. Would you spend a whole day there?
15. When is it most crowded?

Money

16. How much money would you take?
17. What do people spend money on there?
18. Can you go there for free?
19. Who pays when you go with friends?
20. What would you buy as a souvenir?

What you do there

21. What do you wear to go there?
22. What would you put in your bag?
23. What is the most boring thing about it?
24. What is forbidden there?
25. How do you get there?

Feelings and memories

26. How do you feel when you leave?
27. Does it make you nervous or relaxed?
28. What do children think of it?
29. Tell us a short memory you have from there.
30. What would you change about it?

Civilian answer vs spy answer: secret place “hospital”.

• “What does it smell like?” Civilian: “Clean, almost too clean.” Spy: “Hmm… depends on the day.”
• “How do you feel when you leave?” Civilian: “Relieved, usually.” Spy: “Happy, it was fun!” (Too generic, and wrong in mood.)

🌍 Countries (25 questions)

Food and drink

31. What would you eat on your first night?
32. Is the food there spicy, sweet or simple?
33. What drink would you order?
34. Would you bring any food back home?
35. Do they eat late or early?

People and culture

36. How do people greet each other there?
37. Would you understand the language?
38. What are people there proud of?
39. What music would you hear in the street?
40. Which famous person comes to mind?

Travel

41. How long is the trip from here?
42. Would you go for a honeymoon or with friends?
43. What would you pack?
44. Would you need a visa?
45. Which city would you visit first?

Landscape and weather

46. Sea, mountains or desert?
47. What would the weather be like this month?
48. What would your holiday photos show?
49. Is it a big or a small country?
50. What animal do you picture there?

Everyday life

51. Is life there expensive?
52. Would you like to live there? Why?
53. What sport do people watch there?
54. Do you know anyone who has been there?
55. What would you miss from home while you were there?

Civilian answer vs spy answer: secret country “Japan”.

• “How do people greet each other?” Civilian: “Very politely, with no hugs.” Spy: “Like everywhere, they say hello.”
• “How long is the trip?” Civilian: “Long. Bring a book, or two.” Spy: “Not too long, I think.” (The “I think” gives it away.)

💼 Jobs (25 questions)

A working day

56. What time does the working day start?
57. Do you sit or stand most of the day?
58. Indoors or outdoors?
59. What is the hardest part of the day?
60. Do you work at weekends?

Tools and clothes

61. What do you wear to work?
62. What tool could you not work without?
63. Do you use a computer much?
64. Do your hands get dirty?
65. What is always in your pocket?

People

66. Do you work alone or in a team?
67. Who are you happy to see at work?
68. Do people thank you?
69. What do people often ask you at parties?
70. Who would you never want to meet at work?

Money and career

71. Is it well paid?
72. How many years of study does it take?
73. Would you want your child to do it?
74. Is it a job that will still exist in 50 years?
75. Could you do it as a side job?

Skills and feelings

76. What skill matters most?
77. Is it a stressful job?
78. What mistake would be the worst?
79. What do you like most about it?
80. Did you dream of it as a child?

Civilian answer vs spy answer: secret job “chef”.

• “What is the hardest part of the day?” Civilian: “The rush, when everyone wants everything at once.” Spy: “Getting up in the morning.” (True for every job, so it says nothing.)
• “Do your hands get dirty?” Civilian: “All the time, but I wash them a hundred times.” Spy: “Sometimes, yes.”

🍎 Fruits (20 questions)

Senses

81. What colour is it inside?
82. Is it soft or hard?
83. Does it have a strong smell?
84. Sweet, sour or both?
85. Can you eat it with one hand?

Eating it

86. Do you peel it?
87. Does it make a mess when you eat it?
88. How would you serve it to guests?
89. Juice, dessert or straight from the bowl?
90. Would you put it in a salad?

Buying it

91. How many would you buy at once?
92. Is it expensive?
93. How do you know a good one at the market?
94. How long does it last at home?
95. Where would you keep it?

Seasons and memories

96. When is the best season for it?
97. Do children like it?
98. Does it remind you of someone?
99. Did you eat it often when you were little?
100. Would you give it as a gift?

Civilian answer vs spy answer: secret fruit “watermelon”.

• “How many would you buy at once?” Civilian: “One, and I need help carrying it.” Spy: “A kilo or so.”
• “Can you eat it with one hand?” Civilian: “A slice, yes, the whole thing, no way.” Spy: “Yes, easily.”

🚫 Questions to avoid (too revealing)

A simple test: if the question makes sense for only two or three words in the list, don't ask it. More on balance in our tips.

🕵️ Tips for the spy: safe questions

• Ask about feelings and people. “Would you go there alone?” or “Do people thank you?” sound natural for any word, and the answers teach you a lot.
• Only ask what you could answer yourself. Sooner or later someone will ask you something similar, so stick to topics where a short, confident answer works for many words.
• Repeat the details you hear. If two players mention “waiting” and “a uniform”, build your answer on those words.
• Avoid money and time questions early. Numbers are easy to get wrong, and a wrong number is easy to catch.
• Don't ask too many questions in a row. A spy who only asks and never commits looks like a spy.

Want to go further? Read the spy guide and how to catch the spy, or look at the full word lists for places, countries, jobs and fruits. Ready? Start a game.