Missing Your Friends or Family? Try These Games You Can Play Over Text
Chances are, you’re never far from your phone, and your friends and family are the exact same way. But that a good thing. Instead of scrolling through the same old websites as you wait in the carpool line or swiping through a depressing dating app as you sit at the airport, you can lean into the phone dependency. Create your own fun—and get to know your nearest and dearest a little better—with a bunch of games played via text.
Take your cues from in-person gatherings, and lean into some old-school ice breaker games. Even better, think about the games you played back in college (Would You Rather, Never Have I Ever, Truth or Dare), and add those to the roster when you have a few minutes free. It you’re particularly tech savvy, you can add video elements and social media platforms to heighten the stakes.
But remember, you’re (presumably) playing with loved ones. If feelings get hurt, it might be smart to have some funny jokes on deck to clear the air. Even better, maybe come to the table with some inspirational quotes. If your special someone gets sore after a particularly brutal round of Truth or Dare, you can tell him that you “love the way a drowning man loves air, and it would destroy me to have you just a little.” Or something like that anyway!
Here, 35 games that will get you tapping right this minute.
Poet and Didn’t Know It: Start by entering a phrase. Ask your bard-iest friend to respond with a phrase that rhymes with it. Keep trading rhymes until one of you can’t think of any more. The last person to get one wins.
Never Have I Ever: This game involves the dangerous combination of your phone and drinks. Basically, one person starts each round by saying, “Never have I ever ____.” It could be something that they absolutely have done—like “Never have I ever eaten lunch.” It could also be something totally out there, like “Never have I ever gotten married and divorced in Las Vegas in a 24-hour period.” If you’ve done it, you drink. If you distrust the group, demand that folks share a picture of themselves sipping.
Would You Rather: It’s as simple as it sounds: Come up with two terrible things and ask your friends to pick what they’d rather do, whether that’s showing up at work naked or asking an ex-boyfriend for a kidney. Then make fun of them mercilessly for their terrible choices.
21 Questions: Think of a person, place, or thing, then invite one person or a group to text yes/no questions in order to read your mind. The player who guesses correctly wins and gets to pick something that others have to guess. If no one gets it right in 21 tries, either find a new person to play with or choose another topic.
Fantasy Four: Create a hypothetical—something like, who would you like to be stranded on an island with? Or who would you invite to a dream dinner party. Then ask your friends to name the four people they would like to take on that activity with and give a reason for including each.
Where Am I: Take a picture of your location, but be careful not to capture any signage or identifying features that will give it away too easily. Friends then have to guess where you are. The winner gets to share a photo of his/her current location.
You Complete Me: Play this with someone who really gets you, whether that’s a bff or a romantic partner. Start a sentence and let the other person complete it with something funny, off the wall, romantic, or with a nod to an inside joke.
Unscramble: Pay homage to the highly addictive New York Times’ Spelling Bee game by picking six random letters (make sure there are some vowels in there). Then you and a friend compete to see who can come up with the most words in 5 minutes.
WWYD: Present a tough situation to a selection of your texting peers—it could be inspired by a plot point in a reality show or something totally made up—and ask them what they would do. Pick the best answer, and then it’s that person’s turn to come up with a conundrum.
Tell The Truth: Create consequences for people who refuse to answer (paying everyone $$ via Venmo or commenting on an ex’s Insta post). Then, the first person gets to choose to pick someone and pose a very personal question. The person must answer or face the consequence.
Name That Tune: Send an obscure (or obvious, your call) lyric to your friends. If no one can name the title of the song, you can give clues—whether that’s the artist, when it came out, the name of the album it’s on, more lyrics, etc. First one to get the title right wins and gets to pick the next mystery song.
Godji10 - Getty Images Ask Again: Do you have friends that like to ask a lot of questions? Who doesn’t? Can you guess why this game is perfect for them? Could it be because all you do is ask one another questions? Example? “How are you?” “Why do you ask?” “Can’t you just answer the question?” “Where do you have the gall?” How long does the game continue? Until someone messes up and repeats a question or responds in anything but in the form of a question.
Travel Through the Alphabet: This game is easy—especially if you happen to be a bit of a travel nerd. Kick things off with “I’m traveling to ____ with ___” You’ll name a city and a person that being with the letter “A.” Your friend respond in kind with a place and name that begins with the letter “B.” Continue on all the way through Z. If you can keep it going, work your way back to A and keep on trucking until you’re at a loss for another destination or name.
Name Game: Pick a topic like movies, sports, television shows, books, or even cooking. The first player picks a word that fits the category. The second player has to name something in the category that begins with the last letter of the first player's word. Keep going until you can’t think of anything else!
Unpopular Opinions: Malcontents will really love this game because you get to pick something that is universally loved and confess that you’re not a fan (or vice versa). Examples: “Titanic is overrated.” “Cookie cake isn’t worth it.” “I like Nickleback.” After you’ve made your confession, people can comment, and then someone else can get in on the action. “Well, speaking of Nickleback, nothing gets me higher than Creed’s ‘Can you take me higher.’”
Story Time: Pick a group of your top creatives and put together a text chain. Establish an order, and then someone starts a sentence with “Once upon a time.” From there, everyone takes a turn and adds a sentence until the story merits a “The end.”
Most Likely To: Throw out a descriptor—“Who among us is most likely to talk to an Uber driver?”—and then everyone has to answer. Back-up evidence is encouraged. Once a consensus has been established, the “winner” gets to pick a different descriptor and let the chips fall where they may.
I’m Thinking of a Number: There’s literally no easier game to play. Think of a number. Text your friends that you’re thinking of a number between 1 and 100. Let them guess. The end.
Would I Lie To You: If you’re looking to practice the art of deception, this is the game for you. Text your pals something outrageous, and then let them guess whether you’re telling the truth or not. This game is more challenging—and honestly, more fun—when you and your pals have pretty crazy things that happen on the regular.
Did You Hear? Ask your friends if they’ve heard the news about something very specific. The twist here is that you can make it up or quote directly from a news story. Then your friends have to decide if you’re a newshound or a big liar. In the current news cycle, this may be the hardest game of them all to win.
LordHenriVoton - Getty Images The Movie Game: Text your peeps the plot of a movie in the most obscure way possible. Try something like, “A young man comes of age and has to confront the damage his father inflicted on his family and the world at large.” Then it’s up to your pals to try to guess. When someone finally types “Star Wars,” it’s their turn to try to trick you with a vague plot outline.
Categories: Come up with four things that could all be under the same umbrella and ask others to guess the category. Something simple would be apples, oranges, bananas, and grapes are all fruits. Something harder: Matt Damon, Natalie Portman, Conan O’Brien, and Mira Sorvino are all celebrities who went to Harvard.
Kiss, Marry, Kill: You’ve probably heard the racier title for this game, but the rules remain the same. Pick three people—it can be people you know or celebrities—and ask your friends to rank them as people they would kiss, marry, or kill. After teasing loved ones mercilessly for even considering any of these people as a spouse, someone else can pick a new trio for everyone to consider.
Emoji Translation. Are you fluent in emoji? If not, you can still play by breaking out the emoji keyboard. Put together a “sentence” using only emojis and allow your friends to guess what the heck it is you’re trying to say.
Truth or Dare: If you are child of the 1980s, you know this game (and the Madonna doc) very well. Basically, you pick a person and ask, “Truth or dare?” If they choose truth, you ask them a question that they have to answer truthfully. If they pick a dare, give them an action assignment. You can even ask them to send a photo of them doing it to keep everyone honest.
Abbreviations: Pick a category and choose an abbreviation or acronym in that category. Your friend has to has to figure out the correct meaning of the abbreviation. The person with the most right answers wins the game.
Compliment Battle: When you and a loved one need a little ego boost, propose playing this game. Tell your friend or special someone something you love about them. Allow them to respond in kind. Keep going. By the end of this game, you’ll walk a little taller in the knowledge that someone thinks a lot of you and the things you do.
I Spy: This is the same game from your days of your youth, only now you do it on your phone. Find a friend. Find something to focus on. Then type, “I spy with my little eye, something that…”—then you can give a clue, whether that’s descriptive or what the word starts with. Then they guess what it is. You answer “hot” or “cold” to guesses. And if they’re nowhere close? Give another clue.
May the Best Caption Win: Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who’s the fastest and cleverest of us all? Put together a text chain of your wittiest pals and prepare to battle. One person shares a hilarious photo. Everyone has 30 seconds to send in their caption. The photo sharer gets to pick the winner and that person gets to share the next funny pic.
Texting Trivia: When you’ve got a long day at the airport ahead of you, put together your very own trivial pursuits. Find a friend and ask her to choose a category that you both like: history, geography, entertainment, science—you know the drill. Then ask each other questions on the topic. Each correct answer is worth a point. Depending on how long your day is, it could be first to 10 wins or first to 100!
Memory of the Moment: Gather a text chain of people you used to work, college friends, or family—it’s better if you have a collection of people you’ve shared some wild memories with. Then pick an event (Remember when Grandma got arrested? What about that time our boss brought her newly paroled boyfriend to the Christmas party?) Then everyone takes turns adding a detail they recall and hilarity ensues.
Texting Roulette: Looking for a little danger? Everyone takes out their cell phones and places them face down on a surface. Pick up someone else’s phone, search contacts, and type a text message to that person. You can set boundaries for the types of messages to prevent anything too provocative gets sent. You’ll either laugh for days or not be friends anymore.
Hangman: Text someone a series of underscores representing the number of letters in the word you've chosen. If they choose a letter that’s in the word, fill in the guessed letter. If they’re wrong, let them know how many chances of the original six they have left.
Lighting Round: Don’t give people a lot of time to think with this game. Send them a word and tell them to respond with the very first word that comes to them.
Two Truths & a Lie: How good of a liar are you? This game will reveal all. Send a friend two super true things and one big fat prevarication. See just how well she knows you if she can consistently guess which is which.
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