72 couples trivia questions with a scoreboard for two

How the night works: points, turns and one fair rule

One sheet of paper, two pens, forty minutes. Draw a line down the middle and write a name on each side.

Take turns, and the reader sits out. In the world sections, one of you reads, the other answers, then you swap; the answer is printed in the text. In the memory and how-many sections, you both write an answer and check after.

World questions pay 2, 1 or 0. Right on the first try: 2 points. Right after a hint (the first letter, or two possible answers): 1. A miss is 0, with no penalties.

Estimates: closest takes 2, exact takes 3. If you’re both equally close, 1 point each.

Memory: write first, then check. You both write an answer at once, then find the proof. Matches it: 2 points. Half right, like the right place but the wrong month: 1. If you both miss, read the real story off the photo out loud. No proof anywhere: 1 point each.

One strong topic each. Before you start, each of you names the topic you know best: food, the night sky, geography. A question from it, asked to that person, pays 1 point instead of 2. That keeps the score fair when one of you knows a lot more.

One double bet per round. Say “double” before the question is read. Right doubles your points. Wrong costs 1.

No timers. Stuck? Ask the reader one question about the question, then answer or pass.

Every question here has a right answer. To guess each other’s habits instead, try the how well do you know me questions, or the couples quiz deck for a quick round on one phone.

Sam: Food was my strong topic, so those questions paid half. Then I blanked on what makes bread rise, and I bake every Sunday. Anna took the full two on the next question without looking up.

We were there: questions your phone can settle

• The oldest photo of you two on either phone. Which month and year? — Proof: scroll the gallery all the way back.
• Your first chat. Who texted first, and what was the first word? — Proof: scroll to the top of the chat.
• The first movie you saw together in a theater. What was the title? — Proof: the ticket email.
• Your last birthday dinner together. Where was it, and what was the dessert? — Proof: the photos from that night.
• The last trip you took together. What date did you leave? — Proof: the booking confirmation or the boarding pass.
• The last takeout you ordered for two. Which restaurant, and how many dishes? — Proof: the order history in the app.
• The first gift one of you gave the other. What was it? — Proof: a photo of it, or the thank-you text.
• The last show you finished together. What was the final episode called? — Proof: the streaming app’s history.
• Your first concert or game as a couple. Who was playing? — Proof: the ticket or the photos.
• The first nickname one of you used in a text. What was it, and roughly when? — Proof: search the chat.
• Your latest grocery run together. How many items on the receipt? — Proof: the receipt or the store app.
• Your shared playlist. Which song was added last? — Proof: open the playlist.

Anna: Sam swore we had tacos on our first night out. I swore pizza. The photo showed both: tacos on his plate, a slice on mine. One point each.

How many? Closest wins

• The stairs from the street to your front door. How many steps? — Check: count them on the way out tonight.
• The mug shelf in your kitchen. How many mugs are on it right now? — Check: open the cabinet.
• The spice rack or spice drawer. How many jars? — Check: count them.
• Your bed and your fridge. How many steps from one to the other? — Check: walk it.
• Light switches in your home. How many in total? — Check: walk room to room.
• The books on your shelves. How many, to the nearest ten? — Check: count shelf by shelf.
• A piano in a hotel lobby. How many keys does a standard piano have? — Answer: 88.
• A pair of dice on the table. How many dots are on one die in total? — Answer: 21.
• A deck of cards with the jokers taken out. How many cards are left? — Answer: 52.
• A US flag on a neighbor’s porch. How many stripes does it have? — Answer: 13.
• A skeleton costume on a hook. How many bones in an adult human body? — Answer: 206.
• The clock on the oven. How many minutes are in one day? — Answer: 1,440.

Sam: I guessed forty steps to our door. Anna said fifty-one. She’d counted them the day we carried a dresser up, and she was exact. Three points, and she still brings it up.

While dinner is cooking: food and things around the stove

• The pasta water starts to roll. At sea level, at what Fahrenheit temperature does water boil? — Answer: 212°F.
• A pinch of saffron goes into the rice. Which part of which flower is it? — Answer: the stigmas of the saffron crocus.
• A kiwi sits in the fruit bowl. Which country is the fruit originally from? — Answer: China.
• The peanut butter jar is open. Botanically, is a peanut a nut? — Answer: no, a legume, like beans.
• The pasta box says “cook until al dente.” What does al dente mean in Italian? — Answer: “to the tooth.”
• Vanilla extract goes into the batter. Vanilla comes from which kind of plant? — Answer: an orchid.
• A cinnamon stick curls like a scroll. Which part of the tree is it? — Answer: the inner bark.
• The bread dough is rising under a towel. Which gas puffs it up? — Answer: carbon dioxide, made by the yeast.
• The recipe wants a tablespoon; you only have a teaspoon. How many teaspoons make one? — Answer: 3.
• Brown sugar goes into the cookie dough. What’s in it that white sugar doesn’t have? — Answer: molasses.
• A ball of mozzarella di bufala sits on the cutting board. Whose milk is it made from? — Answer: the water buffalo’s.
• A block of tofu waits in the fridge. What is it made from? — Answer: soybeans.

Out on the balcony after dark: sky, animals, weather

• The first bright point appears low in the west after sunset. Which planet is called the evening star? — Answer: Venus.
• You spot the Big Dipper. Which constellation is it part of? — Answer: Ursa Major, the Great Bear.
• You follow the two stars at the end of the Dipper’s cup. Which star do they point to? — Answer: Polaris, the North Star.
• On a winter night, three stars sit in a short straight row. Whose belt is it? — Answer: Orion’s.
• A streak of light crosses the sky. What is a shooting star? — Answer: a meteor, a bit of space rock burning up in the air.
• The Moon is a thin crescent tonight. About how many days from one full moon to the next? — Answer: about 29.5.
• The Sun went down an hour ago. About how long does sunlight take to reach Earth? — Answer: about 8 minutes.
• Mars glows orange-red over the rooftops. What gives it that color? — Answer: iron oxide, which is rust, in its dust.
• Fireflies blink over the grass. What’s the word for light made by a living thing? — Answer: bioluminescence.
• A bat swoops past the streetlight. Bird or mammal? — Answer: mammal.
• Lightning flashes far off and you start counting. About how many seconds of counting add up to one mile? — Answer: about five.
• A cricket chirps under the balcony. Which ones chirp, males or females? — Answer: the males.

Over a map: cities, rivers, words

• A paper map of Paris is spread on the table. Which river runs through the city? — Answer: the Seine.
• A postcard from Australia is on the fridge. What’s the country’s capital? — Answer: Canberra.
• You’re planning a drive into Canada. What’s its capital city? — Answer: Ottawa.
• A friend just moved to New Zealand. What’s the capital there? — Answer: Wellington.
• A travel show climbs to Machu Picchu. Which country is it in? — Answer: Peru.
• The boat tour sails up to Niagara Falls. Which two countries share the falls? — Answer: the United States and Canada.
• A ferry crosses the Bosphorus. Which two continents does Istanbul sit on? — Answer: Europe and Asia.
• You trace the Danube with a finger. Which sea does it flow into? — Answer: the Black Sea.
• A bag of avocados is on the counter. Which language does the word “avocado” come from? — Answer: Nahuatl, the Aztec language, by way of Spanish.
• A robot vacuum bumps into your foot. Which language gave us the word “robot”? — Answer: Czech.
• A coastline warning flashes on the news. What does the Japanese word “tsunami” mean? — Answer: “harbor wave.”
• Your jeans are on the chair. The word “denim” comes from which French city? — Answer: Nîmes.

Together against the questions: beat your own record

No winner here. You answer together and count how many of the twelve you get, with two hints for the whole round. Write the number and the date on a sticky note inside a kitchen cabinet door.

• The sushi menu lists octopus. How many hearts does an octopus have? — Answer: three.
• A gold ring catches the light. What’s the chemical symbol for gold? — Answer: Au.
• A telescope photo shows a giant storm. Which planet has the Great Red Spot? — Answer: Jupiter.
• An old newspaper shows a boot print in gray dust. What year did people first walk on the Moon? — Answer: 1969.
• A postcard shows the hand of God reaching for Adam. Who painted the Sistine Chapel ceiling? — Answer: Michelangelo.
• A magnet of the Statue of Liberty is on the fridge. Which country gave the statue to the US? — Answer: France.
• A clock face uses Roman numerals. Which numeral stands for 500? — Answer: D.
• An engagement ring sparkles in a shop window. Which element is a diamond made of? — Answer: carbon.
• A blood drive poster hangs at work. Which blood type is called the universal donor? — Answer: O negative.
• “Ode to Joy” plays in a movie. Which composer set it to music in his Ninth Symphony while deaf? — Answer: Beethoven.
• A friend posts a selfie in front of a small portrait behind glass. Which museum has the Mona Lisa? — Answer: the Louvre, in Paris.
• You stop at the corner. How many sides does a US stop sign have? — Answer: eight.

Anna: Our first team score was 7 out of 12. The sticky note lives inside the pasta cabinet. Two weeks later we got 10, and Sam wrote it in red.

When the last question is read: a tie, a prize and a record to beat

Add up the sheet out loud, together. A tie is the best ending: the strong-topic rule did its job and nobody ran away with the night.

The prize is small. The winner picks the music for the rest of the evening, and the other one reads the first question next time. No money, no “loser does the dishes.”

Keep the record. Your team score is the number to beat next time.

Change the menu next week. Play the sections you skipped, or write memory questions from last month’s photos. To laugh with no score at all, try these fun questions for couples. When you’d rather talk than count, the 21 questions for couples game goes slower and deeper. More lists for two are in our articles.