15 long distance relationship games to play online
The hardest part of a long distance relationship is often not the big stuff. It is the ordinary evenings. Couples who live together don’t spend every night talking about their feelings. They cook, watch something, play a game, and just exist next to each other. On a video call, “so… how was your day?” runs out fast.
Games fix that. They give you something to do together, something to laugh at, and a reason to trash-talk across time zones. Below are 15 long distance relationship games we actually recommend, grouped by how you play: online games you share a link for, video games, and no-app games for phone and video calls.
Online games for long distance couples
These run in a browser or on your phone, so you can start one in the middle of a call. They are the best place to begin if one of you isn’t a gamer.
1.GamePigeon
If you both have iPhones, GamePigeon lives inside iMessage and has dozens of quick two-player games: 8 ball, cup pong, word hunt, darts, mini golf. Each move is a message, so it suits couples on different schedules. One of you plays a turn at lunch, the other answers before bed.
2.skribbl.io
A free Pictionary-style game in the browser. Make a private room, send the link, and take turns drawing while the other guesses. You can add your own word list, which is where it gets good: inside jokes, places you’ve been, things only the two of you would guess.
3.Heartdeck
Full disclosure: this one is ours. Heartdeck started as a gift for my girlfriend. I wanted to give her something we would actually do together, not another thing for a shelf.
You upload your photos (anything from 2 to 108), and Heartdeck turns them into a full 108-card deck that plays like Uno: skip, reverse, +2, wild. Every card shows one of your moments together. You send your partner a private link, they tap it, and you play in real time on your own phones from anywhere in the world. There’s nothing to download and no account to make.
It works well as a surprise, too: add a short note that they see the moment they open the link. The link is free to play for a day, and a one-time payment keeps the deck forever. Make your deck here.
4.Chess on Lichess
Lichess is completely free and lets you challenge a friend with a link. Play a fast game on a call, or a correspondence game with days per move for a slow, ongoing rivalry. It is fun even if you are both bad at chess. Maybe especially then.
5.A shared Wordle streak
Not a game you play together in real time, but one of the easiest long distance habits to keep. You both solve the daily NYT Wordle (or Connections), then send each other your score grid. It gives you a small reason to text every day, even on busy days.
Video games to play together from anywhere
If one or both of you play games, co-op titles are the closest thing to sitting on the same couch. Voice chat in, and it feels like a night in.
6.It Takes Two or Split Fiction
Both games from Hazelight are built for exactly two players, and both have a Friend’s Pass: only one of you needs to buy the game, and the other plays online for free. It Takes Two is literally about a couple working through their relationship, which is either very fitting or very funny, depending on your week.
7.Stardew Valley
Build a farm together, one season at a time. Stardew is slow, cosy, and gives you a shared place you both return to. It is a good pick if one of you finds competitive games stressful.
8.Minecraft
A shared world you can keep building for months. Start a private world and build the house you want to live in one day. Long distance couples do this a lot, and it’s sweeter than it sounds.
9.Jackbox Party Packs
One of you owns a pack and shares the screen on a video call. The other joins on their phone at jackbox.tv. Games like Quiplash and Drawful are great for two and even better if you invite friends for a double date.
10.GeoGuessr
You are dropped somewhere on Google Street View and have to guess where. Play as a team, arguing over road signs, or compete for points. It is also an easy way to “visit” places you want to travel to together.
Games to play in a long distance relationship over the phone or video call
No app, no download, no screen share. These just need your voice, so they work on a walk, in the car, or at 2am when neither of you can sleep.
11.The 36 questions that lead to love
Psychologist Arthur Aron’s famous set of 36 questions, which get more personal as you go. They were designed for strangers, but long-term couples often learn something new too. Take turns answering, and don’t rush the last set.
12.Would You Rather
The classic. Keep it silly (“fight one horse-sized duck or 100 duck-sized horses”) or use it to talk about the future (“live by the sea or in the mountains?”). The follow-up “why?” is where the real conversation is.
13.Two Truths and a Lie
Each of you tells three stories about yourself, and the other guesses which one is made up. It is perfect in the first year of a relationship, when there is still a lot of backstory to discover.
14.20 Questions
One of you thinks of something, and the other gets 20 yes-or-no questions to guess it. Pick things from your shared life (your first date spot, a friend, a song) to make it personal.
15.Watch-and-guess movie night
Sync a film with Teleparty or a simple “3, 2, 1, play” and make it a game: pause before the big reveal and each guess what happens next. Loser picks the next movie.
How to make game night a real habit
- Put it in the calendar. A fixed weekly slot beats “let’s play sometime.” Across time zones, pick the hour that is least bad for both of you and protect it.
- Mix slow and fast games. Keep one daily, low-effort game (Wordle, GamePigeon) and one longer game night per week.
- Keep the camera on. Even for phone games, seeing each other react is half the fun.
- Make it personal. Custom word lists, questions about your relationship, your own photos on the cards. Personal games feel like a date. Generic ones feel like killing time.
Distance is hard, but game nights give you something ordinary to share, and that’s most of what you miss.
Frequently asked questions
What games can long distance couples play online?
Good online games for long distance couples include Heartdeck (an Uno-style card game made from your own photos), GamePigeon on iMessage, skribbl.io, chess on Lichess, co-op video games like It Takes Two and Stardew Valley, and Jackbox party games over a video call.
Are there free games for long distance relationships?
Yes. skribbl.io, Lichess, GamePigeon, the 36 questions, Would You Rather, Two Truths and a Lie and a shared Wordle streak are all free. Heartdeck is free to play for a day, then a one-time payment keeps your deck forever.
What can long distance couples play over the phone without an app?
Question games need nothing but your voice: the 36 questions that lead to love, Would You Rather, Never Have I Ever, 20 Questions and Two Truths and a Lie. Browser games like skribbl.io and Heartdeck also work from a link, so nobody has to install anything.
How often should long distance couples play games together?
There is no right number, but a fixed weekly date works better than waiting for a free evening. Many couples keep one slow daily game (a Wordle streak or a daily question) and one longer game night per week.