This prompt is very often misused. Never Have I Ever is a popular drinking game in some English-speaking countries – where people end up admitting to things that the HAVE done. The use of this prompt in dating apps is actually a conversation opener where you can sarcastically admit to something you HAVE indeed done.
For example, you might answer – Never Have I Ever…:
- Joined a dating app (obviously a lie)
- Been arrested (you give a hint here that there is a story to be heard)
- Drunk too many glasses of wine
- etc…
The Drinking Game
Here is a little explainer about the game that we have taken from Wikipedia.
“Never have I ever“, also known as “I’ve never…” or “ten fingers“, is a drinking game in which players take turns asking other players about things they have not done. Other players who have done this thing respond by taking a drink.
The verbal game starts with all players forming a circle. The first player starts by saying a simple statement about something they have never done before starting with “Never have I ever”. Anyone who at some point in their life has done the action that the first player says, must drink. Then the game continues around the circle, and the next person makes a statement.
An additional rule indicates that the player is allowed to change the question after drinking all players’ cups. If there is no one taking a drink, then the one who said the particular “Never have I ever…” statement must take a drink. This rule often forces the players to strategize more and makes for less disposable or pointless suggestions.
A further variation holds that whenever only one person is drinking, that person must give a detailed account of why they are drinking. Another variety of this game involves putting up five or ten fingers, putting one down whenever something mentioned has been done. Those who end up putting down all of their fingers must take several successive drinks.
Conversation games such as this one can help to build friendships, and players often admit to things that they previously had not. As with truth or dare?, the game is often sexual in nature. In some variations, the game may be incorporated into other drinking games, such as kings.