Side quest ideas: small adventures alone or with friends
The main quest is work, laundry, groceries. Important, sure. But the days you will remember in ten years were usually side quests.
What is a side quest in real life?
The term comes from video games: next to the main mission there are small optional tasks you do not have to do, but they are what make the game great. In everyday life a side quest is exactly that. A small, slightly absurd mini mission that does not need to achieve anything except a good story.
Good side quests are short, cheap and come with a clear rule. “Go outside for a bit” does not count. “Ride the tram to the last stop and try the first café you see” does.
Side quests on your own
Last stop
Take a line you never ride and go to the end. You have one hour there. Rule: no checking your phone to find out what is around.
The 5 euro bakery tour
Three bakeries, a five euro budget, one ranking. At the end you know where the best croissant in the neighbourhood is.
Library without a plan
Go to the library and take the third book from a shelf you would never look at. Read twenty pages in the reading room.
One photo per street
Walk a route you normally drive or ride and take exactly one photo per street. Just one. You suddenly look at things very differently.
Side quests with friends
Dice city
Roll a die at every junction: even means left, odd means right, six means you stop for a drink. After an hour, see where you ended up.
Supermarket picnic
Everyone gets ten euros and ten minutes in the supermarket. Nobody knows what the others are buying. Then you picnic, whatever happens.
Sunrise with breakfast
Get up properly early once, go somewhere high with a view and drink coffee from a flask. It is hard. It is worth it.
The menu dare
Everyone orders the dish they know least on the menu. You still share.
When it is dark or raining
Evening walk with a theme
Tonight you only count lit windows with plants in them. Or neon signs. Sounds odd, turns out to be surprisingly calming.
Museum after dark
Lots of museums stay open late one evening a week. One room, half an hour, one favourite painting. That is it.
Rainy cinema roulette
Go to the cinema and just pick whatever film starts next. No trailers, no reviews beforehand.
Why side quests feel so good
Everyday life often runs on autopilot. Side quests break that up for a moment without you having to plan a whole weekend. The rule makes it easy: you do not have to decide anything, you just have to start.
And they do not need to be Instagram worthy. Sometimes the best side quest is simply walking down the side street next to your flat for the first time.
Collecting side quests and picking one
A list just for side quests
When an idea crosses your path, in a Reel, in a conversation, on a poster, add it to its own list. Then on Saturday you have twenty ideas instead of none.
Let chance decide
In Swiva you create a list like that and swipe until an idea grabs you. With friends you can do it together, and what everyone likes wins.
A few quick answers
What are good side quest ideas for doing alone?
Ride to the last stop, a bakery tour on a five euro budget, a random library book or one photo per street. Short, cheap and with a clear rule.
What are side quests with friends?
Small missions to go out on together: dice city, a supermarket picnic with surprise shopping or everyone ordering the least familiar dish.
Do side quests have to cost anything?
No. Lots are completely free, a themed walk or a sunrise, for example. A small budget as a rule often makes it more fun.
How do I come up with my own side quests?
Take something everyday and give it a rule. A place you know plus a constraint: walking only, ten euros only, only things you have never done.
Is there an app for side quest ideas?
In Swiva you can collect side quests from Reels, TikToks and your own ideas in one list and then swipe to pick one, alone or with friends. There are public lists from other people for inspiration too.
Your next good idea gets to stay.
Save it to Swiva and come back to it when you actually have time for it.
Free to download, for iPhone and Android.