Games to Play Over Text

Games to play over text come in two kinds. Keyboard games like Would You Rather, emoji movie guess and Twenty Questions need nothing but the chat. Link games like Which Costs More and Who Is More Likely To open in the phone's browser from a link you paste in the thread. Those take about three minutes and are free, with no app.

Plenty of text threads stall. "lol." "haha." "yeah." Then nothing for six hours. A game gets a chat moving again because it gives people something specific to reply to. Below are 20 games to play over text, for one-on-one chats and for group chats. They work in iMessage, WhatsApp, Messenger and plain SMS, though the photo games need a chat that can send pictures.

Texting games compared

Classic texting games that need no app

These six run on the keyboard you already have.

Emoji movie guess

Describe a movie using only emoji and let the other person guess. 🦁👑 is too easy. 🚢🧊💔 is still pretty easy. Pick something obscure and enjoy the string of wrong answers.

Would You Rather

Over text it works best in bursts. Send three in a row and ask for fast answers, with no explaining until all three are in. The explaining afterward is where the chat picks up.

Finish the lyric

Text the first half of a line from a song. The other person has to finish it without looking it up. A voice note of them singing it counts double.

Twenty Questions

It's slower by text, and that's fine. A game can run all day in the background of your other messages, one question at a time.

Rate It

Somebody sends a photo of anything: lunch, the cat, a strange sign at the gas station. Everyone else rates it out of ten with a one-line review. Nobody has to learn rules, which makes it an easy one to start in a group chat.

Story chain

One person texts the opening sentence of a story, and each reply adds one more. In a group, go in whatever order people answer. It gets weird by the fourth message.

Games you start from a link in the chat

When you want real rules and a score, paste a link. The games below open in the phone's browser in a few seconds, and nobody downloads an app or signs up. The person who starts the room is the only one who uses a free round. Everyone who joins from the link plays without spending theirs.

Which Costs More

Drop the room link into the group chat and your friends race to pick the pricier of two things: a pound of saffron or a pound of silver, a Super Bowl ad or a Bugatti. It's ten seconds a question and eight questions a game. Afterward, everyone can defend their wrong answers in the chat. Play Which Costs More with up to four people in a free room.

Imposter Snack Party

Everyone gets the same secret snack except one person, who gets a close cousin of it. You take turns typing a one-word clue, then vote on the imposter. The clues are typed into the game, so it plays fine without a call. Imposter Snack Party needs three players or more.

Who Is More Likely To

For a one-on-one thread with a partner or a best friend, send a Who Is More Likely To link. You both answer ten questions about the two of you in secret, and each pair of answers flips together. Screenshot the score at the end and send it back to the chat.

Real Law or Fake Law

Challenge one friend to a duel on the same ten laws. Is jousting really Maryland's official state sport? You both find out at the same second. Real Law or Fake Law gives you 12 seconds a question and takes about three minutes.

Score challenges

Solo games make good dares for a chat where people reply hours apart. Play one round, text your score, and tell everyone to beat it. Find the Odd Sock is our pick here. It starts with 60 seconds on the clock and looks easier than it is.

More games built around a shared link are on our free online multiplayer games page.

Group chat games

A group chat has its own problems. People answer at different times, three conversations overlap, and half the group is muted. These games hold up anyway.

• Wrong answers only. Ask an easy question ("What's a cat?") and have everyone send the most creative wrong answer. The chat votes with reactions.
• Three-word reviews. Name a movie, a food or a place. Everybody reviews it in exactly three words.
• Hot takes. Each person sends one harmless unpopular opinion, like "cereal is better dry." Everyone else replies agree or disagree.
• Guess the place. Send a zoomed-in photo of wherever you are. First correct guess picks the next photo.
• Emoji day. Sum up your day in five emoji and let the group guess what happened.

For a group that's online at the same moment, a link game is the better call, since everyone answers on the same timer.

Texting games for couples

Texting with a partner is different from texting a group. You have the whole day and only one person to keep interested. Here are four to try.

• Question of the day. One of you sends a question each morning ("What's a smell that takes you back to being a kid?"), and you both answer by lunch.
• Guess my answer. Before your partner answers a question, text what you think they'll say. Then compare.
• Photo hunt. Pick a theme, like "something round" or "something that made you think of me," and both send a photo before bed.
• Song trade. Send one song a day with no explanation. The other person guesses why you picked it.

When you're both free at the same time, switch to a live game on the couples games page. And if you're texting across cities, our long distance relationship games guide has more ideas.

iMessage, WhatsApp or SMS: does it matter?

Not much. The keyboard games work anywhere you can type. A link game opens in the phone's web browser, so it doesn't matter which chat app the link came through, and it's the same on iPhone and Android. That helps mixed groups in particular. If half your friends have iPhones and half have Androids, a browser link is one thing everybody can open.

iMessage also has game apps you can add as extensions and play inside a thread. Those need everyone to be on an iPhone with the same app installed, which is why this guide sticks to keyboard games and browser links.

One practical note: if a link opens inside the chat app's built-in browser and acts strange, tell the person to open it in their regular browser.

How to pick a texting game

• The group chat has gone quiet: Rate It, or drop a Which Costs More link.
• You want everyone playing at the same moment: a link game.
• You want something that runs all day: Twenty Questions or a story chain.
• People reply hours apart: a score challenge.
• It's only two of you: Would You Rather, emoji movies, or a Who Is More Likely To link.

How to get a texting game going

Start small. "Rate my lunch out of 10" gets more replies than "anyone want to play a game?" because it takes two seconds to answer.

Set one rule. No looking things up, or no explaining until everyone has answered, or loser picks the next game. One rule is enough to turn a chat into a game.

Add a clock. Answer within a minute or the point goes to someone else. A little time pressure does a lot.

Post the results. Screenshots of scores pull people back into the thread.

Don't force it. If nobody bites, let it go and try a different game another day.

Texting games FAQ

Find more quick games for any chat in our list of free online games.