Long distance relationship games work best when you can both play at the same moment on your own phones. Who Is More Likely To, How Well Do You Know Me and Draw My Face From Memory each start from one link, cost nothing and take three or four minutes. On a voice call, Twenty Questions and Two Truths and a Lie need nothing at all.
After a few months apart, calls start to sound alike. "How was your day?" "Fine. Yours?" You love each other and you have nothing new to report since yesterday. Games give you something to do together instead of something to report. This guide has 15 long distance relationship games in three groups: online games you both join from one link, classics that work on any call with only your voices, and slow games that run for days between calls. There's a comparison table first, then the details, then what to play when you're in different time zones.
Long distance couple games compared
| Game | What you need | Played live? | Time | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Who Is More Likely To | One link | Yes | 3 min | Five minutes before bed |
| 2. How Well Do You Know Me | One link | Yes | 4 min | Video date night |
| 3. Draw My Face From Memory | One link | Yes | 3 min | When you miss their face |
| 4. Trivia duels | One link | Yes | 2 to 3 min | Competitive couples |
| 5. The World Button | A browser | Yes | 1 min | Feeling close without talking |
| 6. Twenty Questions | A call | Yes | 5 to 10 min | Audio-only calls |
| 7. Two Truths and a Lie | A call | Yes | 10 min | Catching up on the week |
| 8. Would You Rather | A call | Yes | Open-ended | Planning the next visit |
| 9. The story game | A call or text | Either | Open-ended | Falling asleep on the phone |
| 10. Desert island picks | A call | Yes | 10 min | Long drives |
| 11. Photo challenge | Text | No | All day | Different time zones |
| 12. Running quiz | Text | No | A week | Busy schedules |
| 13. Watch-along bingo | Paper, a stream | Yes | One episode | Movie nights apart |
| 14. Countdown challenge | Text | No | Days before a visit | The last stretch |
| 15. Mailed puzzle | A stamp | No | A week or more | Something to hold |
What makes a good long distance game
A good long distance game passes four tests.
- It starts fast. If getting both of you into the same game takes ten minutes, the mood is gone before round one.
- It works on a phone. A lot of these calls happen in bed or on a bus, and a laptop isn't always around.
- You can play at the same moment. Turn-based games you answer hours apart are nice, but a live round feels more like being together.
- It leaves you with something to talk about. A good game is an excuse for a conversation you wouldn't have had.
Online games for long distance couples (one link, no app)
The first five run in a web browser. One of you opens the game and texts the link, the other taps it, and you're in the same room. Neither of you downloads anything or signs up, and the partner who joins from the link doesn't use any of their own free rounds. They pair well with a video call.
1. Who Is More Likely To
You both see the same question, such as "who is more likely to cry during a cartoon?", and each of you secretly taps a name. The two answers flip at once. It's quick, it starts stories, and it still works when you're both half asleep. Our Who Is More Likely To runs ten questions and shows how in sync you were at the end.
2. How Well Do You Know Me
One of you answers a question about yourself while the other guesses the answer, then the roles flip. When you live apart, this turns out to be a good way to keep up with the small stuff, like what your partner's ideal lazy Sunday looks like these days. How Well Do You Know Me is eight questions, and both of you play live.
3. Draw each other from memory
You each get one minute to draw the other person's face with no photo to look at. Then you compare. If it's been a while since you saw each other in person, this one lands as sweet and funny at once. Draw My Face From Memory handles the timer, puts the two drawings next to each other, and lets each of you rate the portrait of yourself.
4. Trivia duels
Short head-to-head quizzes suit couples who keep score. You both answer the same question on a short timer and compare totals at the end. Real Law or Fake Law and Cheese or Font each take two or three minutes and work as a duel from one link.
5. Hold a button together
The World Button is one button that everyone online can hold at the same time. Open it on both phones, press down, and the counter shows the two of you plus whoever else is holding it right then. There are no rules and no winner. On a night when neither of you feels like talking, it's a small way to do the same thing in the same place.
All of our two-player games are on the online games for couples page. Each one also has a one-phone mode for the days you're finally in the same room.
Long distance games to play on a call
These five need no link and no screen. Use them on audio-only calls, on long drives with the phone on speaker, or on nights when somebody's signal is bad.
6. Twenty Questions
One of you thinks of something and the other gets twenty yes-or-no questions to guess it. To make it yours, limit the answers to things from your relationship: a place you've been, a gift, an inside joke.
7. Two Truths and a Lie
Say three things about yourself, one of them false, and let your partner find the lie. For long distance, pull all three from your week. "I talked to a pigeon today" could go either way.
8. Would You Rather
Take turns asking. Keep the questions silly, or use them to plan: "Would you rather spend our next visit at the beach or in a city?" You get a game and a decision out of the same call.
9. The story game
One of you opens a story with a single sentence and the other adds the next. Keep trading until it falls apart, which it always does around the time a talking raccoon shows up.
10. Desert island picks
Each of you chooses three songs, three foods and one object to take to a desert island. Before the reveal, guess what the other person chose. It's a no-screen cousin of How Well Do You Know Me.
Games for different time zones
When one of you is waking up as the other goes to bed, live games are hard to schedule. Four of these five keep a thread going between calls, and the fifth is one to save for a weekend when you can both be awake.
11. A shared photo challenge
Pick a theme each morning, like "something yellow" or "the best thing I ate today," and both send a photo by the end of your own day. Vote for the winner on your next call.
12. A running quiz
Send one question a day for a week and keep score in a shared note. The loser plans the next video date.
13. Watch-along bingo
Before you stream the same show, each of you writes a bingo card of things you think will happen. Compare cards when the credits roll. This one does need you both awake, so save it for the weekend.
14. Countdown challenge
If a visit is coming up, count down to it with one small task a day: a song recommendation, a childhood photo, a favorite memory of the two of you.
15. Mailed puzzle
Mail your partner a small puzzle or a letter with a riddle in it. The answer is a clue to something on your next call. It's slow, and it gives them something to hold.
Free long distance games: what costs money and what doesn't
Everything on this list can be played for free. Games 6 through 14 cost nothing beyond what you already have: a call, a text thread, or a show you were both going to watch anyway. The mailed puzzle costs a stamp. The five link games are free too: whoever starts the games gets 20 rounds a day across the whole site with no account, and there are no ads.
Which long distance games fit which situation
- Five minutes before bed: Who Is More Likely To or a trivia duel.
- A real date night: How Well Do You Know Me first, then Draw My Face From Memory, then talk through the results.
- Audio only or bad signal: Twenty Questions, Two Truths and a Lie, or the story game.
- Different time zones: the photo challenge or a running quiz.
- You want to feel close and don't want to talk: hold The World Button together.
Tips for game nights when you're apart
Use two devices if you can. A video call on the phone and the game on a laptop is the comfortable setup. With one phone, browser games still work, and you switch between the call and the browser. Our guide to games to play on FaceTime walks through both setups.
Keep it short. Two or three quick games go over better than one long one. Stop while it's still fun.
Give the loser a small penalty. Sing one line of a song, send a bad selfie, or pick the next movie. It adds stakes and keeps things light.
Put it on the calendar. A standing game night, even twenty minutes every Sunday, is easier to keep than a big plan you make once a month.
Save the results. Screenshot the drawings and the scores. A year from now you'll be glad you have them.
Long distance relationship games FAQ
What games can long distance couples play online for free?
Browser games you both join from a link are the easiest, because neither of you needs an app or an account. On our site that includes Who Is More Likely To, How Well Do You Know Me and Draw My Face From Memory, with 20 free rounds a day for whoever starts the game.
What are good games to play on a call with a long distance partner?
Twenty Questions, Two Truths and a Lie, Would You Rather and the one-sentence story game all work with only your voices. If you want something on screen, open a link game while you're on the call.
What can long distance couples play in different time zones?
Pick games that don't need you both awake at once, such as a daily photo challenge, a week-long running quiz, or a countdown challenge before a visit. Save the live games for the weekend.
How do you keep a long distance relationship fun?
Change up what you do on calls. A short, regular game night gives you something to do together and something new to talk about, and it's easier to keep going than a long call with no plan.
Do these long distance games work on phones?
Yes. The link games run in any modern phone browser, and the rest need only a call or a text thread.
Looking for more to play? See all our free online games, from couples games to live games you can join with strangers.