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Bored of scrolling, and ran out of memes or GIFs to send a friend or crush? Instead, try some of these games to play over text. You can have virtual fun with friends and family, or add a little spice to a relationship.
I’ve put these games into two main camps. The first are just good ol’ fashioned word-based games you can play with anyone. The second are great for crushes, someone you’re dating, or your partner – especially if the conversation is drying up.
Fun Texting Games to Play with Friends and Family
Would You Rather?
Would You Rather? is a classic game that is commonly played face-to-face but can easily be played online, too! All you need to do is think of some of the wildest scenarios imaginable and pit two highly desirable (or undesirable if you want to make it even harder) situations against each other.
The other person has to decide which scenario they’d rather experience. Once you’ve asked around 10 questions, let the other person think of some to ask you.
Need some help? Take a look at our 100+ “Would you Rather?” questions list to give you plenty of ideas for what to ask.
In Character
This hilarious game can keep you and your loved one entertained for hours. To play, simply send text messages in the style that you think a famous person or celebrity would text.
For example, you could send text messages about Jolene in Dolly Parton’s typical Southern drawl or send quotes from the character from your favorite movie. To add some fun competition, make the person who guesses the characters the quickest the winner.
Say It with Emojis
Think of this text game similar to charades, but with emojis! To play, simply spell out the name of a famous book, movie, TV show, or song using emojis. For example, if you choose the iconic horror ‘The Silence of the Lambs,’ you might use a ‘shhh’ emoji and a sheep emoji.
Trivia
This is an excellent texting game to play if you’re feeling particularly competitive. Playing is simple. You and the other person will each need to come up with 10 trivia questions to ask one another. At the end of the game, the person who gets the most trivia questions correct will be the winner.
Most Likely To
If you’re looking for a game to play in a big group chat, you’ll love this one. Simply ask who is more likely to carry out a particular scenario, such as becoming a politician or getting a tattoo. Everybody then votes on who they think is most likely to do it.
If you need some inspiration, take a look at our list of 300+ “Who is Most Likely to” questions to get the game going.
20 Questions
To play this game, one person has to think of a celebrity, place, animal, book – basically anything. Your opponent has to ask 20 yes or no questions (such as ‘are they human?’) in order to guess the person, place, or object you’re thinking of. The person who guesses the other’s idea in the fewest questions wins.
Build a Story
One person starts by typing the first line of a story. The second person types the next line, and so on and so on, until you’ve created a (probably quite random) funny story together.
Guess the Song
You or the person you’re texting will simply type out the lyrics to a popular song. The other person then has to name the title and artist of the song. At the end of 20 lyrics, the person who named the most titles and artists correctly wins.
If you want to make the game even more challenging, add the requirement to name the album that the song appears on.
Rhyme It
One person starts with a simple word or phrase, and the other person replies with something that rhymes. You and your opponent continue to rhyme words until somebody can no longer think of any rhyming words – they then lose.
I Spy
Recreating this classic family game via text adds an extra challenge because you won’t be able to see what your opponent sees. So, you’ll have to guess based just on the letter that the word starts with and clues from the type of place that they’re in.
To play, one person picks an object in the room or place they’re in and says, ‘I spy with my little eye, something beginning with…’.
They then insert the first letter of the object they’ve seen before their opponent guesses objects until they guess correctly. The winner is the person who guesses their opponent’s object with the fewest number of guesses.
List Builder
To start, one of you chooses a category, such as Italian foods or countries in Asia. Each person then takes it, in turn, to list something from that category, back and forth, until somebody runs out of associated words. The person who runs out of words the quickest loses.
Abbreviations
To play, all you need to do is list abbreviations like LOL or OMG, and your opponent has to correctly name what the abbreviation stands for. The other person then thinks of the abbreviations, and you have to guess them. The person who guesses the most abbreviations correctly wins.
Riddles
Riddles and brainteasers are a great way to stay entertained and test your powers of intellect. To play, challenge your opponent to solve riddles. You can research some to send over, but don’t pick any that are too difficult because doing so could slow the game down.
Last Letter
To start, one of you has to pick a category and name something within that category. For example, you could pick movie stars and choose Julie Roberts. The next person then has to pick a movie star whose name begins with the last letter of yours – in this case, ‘s.’ The first person to run out of somebody to name loses the game.
The Question Game
This game tests your ability to only ask questions and never answer them. All you have to do is ask your opponent questions and only respond with a question when they ask you a question. That’s right – it’s all questions, no answers!
The first person to respond to a question with either an answer or something that isn’t another question loses the game.
Word Association
To play, you’ll need to set a time limit of something like 10, 20, or 30 seconds. You or the other person can start by saying a place, object, or person, and the other person has to reply within the outlined time frame with the first word they think of when they hear that. If somebody doesn’t reply quickly enough, they lose the game.
Build a Movie
To play this fun, non-competitive game, all you need to do is select different categories for a movie with your texting partner. For example, you pick the male lead, and the person you’re texting picks the female lead.
You could pick the movie’s moment of conflict, while the other person picks its ending. Continue picking roles, plot points, settings, and other aspects until you’ve written an entire movie together!
Flirty Texting Games to Play with a Partner or Crush
Never Have I Ever
Let’s start with a classic! To play the game, you’ll need to say ‘never have I ever’ followed by a scenario. This can be something straightforward like ‘never have I ever been to New York’ or something more flirty.
You’ll then have to decide on a way you will identify whether or not you’ve done the action, such as hearting the message or replying with a particular emoji. You can even play it as a drinking game, so each person takes a shot when a scenario applies to them.
Struggling for ideas? My list of 200+ Never Have I Ever Questions should give you plenty of ideas for questions to ask.
Truth or Dare
You can play this game just like the original, but this time, via text message. If you or the other person opts for a dare, the person carrying out the dare will have to send over video or picture proof. No cheating allowed!
Need a little help? Take a look at my list and choose from 100+ Best Truth or Dare Questions.
Kiss, Marry, Kill
Think of the names of three famous people – or people you know for extra controversy! The other person has to categorize them into somebody they’d like to kiss, somebody they’d like to marry, and somebody they’d like to kill.
What If?
All you need to do is present the other person with an imaginary scenario and ask ‘what if?’, meaning what you would do if you were presented with this scenario. The scenarios can be wild, like being faced with a lion, or, if you want to increase romance with your crush, ask flirty questions, for example, about what would happen if you kissed them.
Take a look at our list of 100+ ‘What If’ questions for lots of ideas and inspiration if you’re struggling to think of your own.
Ask Me Anything
The premise is simple, and it’s perfect for times when you want a game that isn’t competitive or to spark a deep conversation. To play, all you need to start is to both agree that you’ll answer any question honestly.
You can then ask your crush or partner anything you want to know about them, from their darkest fear to questions about their previous relationships.
Do You Know Me?
To start, think of a list of questions about yourself. These will be questions like ‘What’s my favorite food?’ or ‘Have I ever broken a bone in my body?’. You send this list of questions to your partner while writing the answers on a piece of paper.
Your partner then sends over the answers, and you see how many they get correct. You play again the other way around (with your partner asking the questions), and whoever gets more correct answers about the other person wins.
Unpopular Opinion
To play, you each pick a category, and the other person has to say one of their unpopular opinions about that category. For example, if you pick food, your crush might say their unpopular opinion is that pineapple belongs on a pizza. You can then have hours of fun debating their unpopular opinion – or even find that you completely agree!
Create Your Dream
To play, all you need to do is come up with a scenario, such as a job, date, or holiday. You then ask your crush what their dream version of it would be.
Not only does it give you an insight into who they are as a person, but it also gives you the opportunity to make plans together! It’s also the perfect way to play a game that isn’t competitive.
Two Truths and a Lie
To play, all you need to do is list two truths about yourself, and one lie. These truths and a lie can be facts such as ‘I have never broken a bone in my body’ or ‘I’ve only traveled to one other continent.’
The person you’re texting has to guess which facts are true and which one is a lie. If you’ve been with your partner for a while, you can test how well they know you with this fun game.
If you need some ideas, I’ve got 200+ lie ideas for a game of Two Truths and a Lie to choose from, so feel free to get your game going with our list.
Text games can be a super fun and enjoyable way to spend virtual time with friends, family, or your crush or partner. Have fun with these games, and see what fun, crazy, or revealing conversations you can have.
Oh, and if you liked this list, you might also enjoy these:
- Question Games for Easy Inexpensive Fun with Friends and Family
- Get to Know You Games Anyone Can Play
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