consider something silly and fun - go karts, minigolf, pinball, trivia night, something where you can interact and have a good time.

I usually just grab a couple beers and we walk and chat in the park. If it's not good, short walk. If it's good, longer walk, or maybe shorter walk since my place is nearby...

For me a bad first date would be going to a fancy restaurant.

I usually go for a walk, because you can make it as short or as long as you want. I.e. if the date is not going well, then you can say something and part ways, as opposed to going for dinner, then you are trapped for some hours. If the walk is going well, then you can always keep walking, sit in a park or go for dinner.

mini golf

For me it’s always been dinner and drinks. I like restaurants that are oriented around shared plates, like tapas or some American restaurants. I’ll generally only date-date like that after we’ve connected in conversation and I’m confident that the dinner conversation will be a continuation of how we’ve been connecting before.

Sometimes it falls flat, but we still get drinks and a chat out of it. Sometimes it’s just a great date, and sometimes things move on from there. My thing is that if I’m looking for something serious, I want to have those engaged conversations and interactions from the start.

Go for a run! Maybe a trail?

Or maybe invite him for a cuddle session (movie + cuddle)? (at your place)

I have honestly never been in a date.. I just skip those and go straight for "fun".

Dating can be horrible and awkward, so my strategy is to do something I would enjoy even if I wasn't on a date or if I was alone.

Fortunately, trying new restaurants and art exhibits and things like that fall in that category. I also try not to repeat dates with different people, so even if I'm meeting for coffee, I'll try a new coffee shop each time. Makes the whole process more fun for me and that, I think, makes it more fun for him.