Games to Play Over Text: 35 Texting Games With Example Exchanges (Crush, Partner, Friends)

The conversation with your crush has been going for three days and it's reached the “haha yeah” stage. You want to keep texting them but you've run out of things to report. Or it's your partner, four time zones away, and you've both said goodnight twice because neither of you wants to be the one to stop.

Text games fix this because a game gives you a reason to send the next message. This page has 35 games to play over text, each with an example exchange — not “play 20 questions!” but the actual opener you can copy, and what the reply looks like. They're sorted by who's on the other end (crush, partner, friend, group chat), with the time per round and an honest note on which ones die after two messages. At the end, the four apps that put games inside your chat, verified on the App Store.

All 35 texting games at a glance

Games to play over text with a crush (1–10)

Rules for crush-texting games: keep rounds short, make it easy to reply with one line, and let them win occasionally. A game they can answer in bed at 11:40 p.m. beats a clever one that needs thought.

1. Would You Rather

The universal opener. Make the first one absurd, not deep. You can drift toward the flirty ones after five or six.

• You: ok important question. would you rather have a pet dinosaur or a pet dragon
• Them: dragon obviously, free heating
• You: practical. would you rather it could talk or fly
• Them: talk, I want to know what it thinks of me

Two hundred more in our would you rather list — the Funny set (#1–25) is written for exactly this.

2. 20 Questions

Slow, which is the point: it can run across an entire evening. Yes/no answers only. Make it personal — “something in my room”, “a place I've been” — instead of “an animal”.

• You: thinking of something in my apartment. 20 questions, go
• Them: is it alive
• You: debatable. it's a plant
• Them: that's cheating but ok. is it dying
• You: …yes

3. Two Truths and a Lie

Three statements, one false. The best version for a crush: make all three slightly impressive so they have to decide how interesting you are.

• You: two truths and a lie. 1) I've been on TV 2) I can't ride a bike 3) I've eaten a scorpion
• Them: the bike one is the lie, no way
• You: I genuinely cannot ride a bike. the scorpion was in Bangkok
• Them: ok now I have questions

4. Never Have I Ever (text version)

Reply with 🙋 if you have, 🙅 if you haven't. Keep it PG at first; escalation is the game.

• You: never have I ever cried at an ad
• Them: 🙋 the one with the dog
• You: 🙋 same dog

5. This or That, rapid

Ten pairs, one-word answers, no explanations. Ten maximum — beyond that it becomes a form.

• You: rapid fire, one word. coffee or tea
• Them: coffee
• You: beach or mountains
• Them: mountains
• You: early or late
• Them: late. you?
• You: opposite on all three, this is doomed

6. Hot Take Ping-Pong

Trade mildly controversial opinions. Food ones are safest and the most fun.

• You: hot take: cereal is a soup
• Them: hot take: you should be in prison
• Them: hot take: pineapple on pizza is fine and everyone needs to calm down

7. Guess My Answer

Ask a question about yourself; they have to guess before you answer. Reverse it. This is how you find out they've been paying attention.

• You: guess my go-to karaoke song
• Them: something you'd pretend is ironic. Mr Brightside
• You: …how

8. Unpopular Opinion Trade

One each, has to be genuine. Different from hot takes: these are things you actually believe and will defend.

• You: unpopular opinion: mornings are better than nights
• Them: unpopular opinion: I'm blocking you

9. Kiss, Marry, Avoid

The softened version of the classic. Pick three fictional characters or celebrities; they assign one to each. Keep it to fictional people early on.

• You: kiss marry avoid: Shrek, Batman, Paddington
• Them: marry Paddington obviously. kiss Batman. avoid Shrek, he's got layers I don't have time for

10. The Compliment Auction

Alternate compliments, each one has to be more specific than the last. Ends when someone can't top it. Surprisingly effective at moving a chat forward.

• You: you have good taste in music
• Them: you have good taste in questions
• You: you reply with full sentences and it's honestly rare
• Them: ok you win, that's specific

Games to play over text with your boyfriend or girlfriend (11–20)

With a partner the goal changes: it's not “keep them interested,” it's “be close from far away.” These lean on shared history, and two of them are built for the two-phones-in-different-cities situation.

11. How Well Do You Know Me

Ask a question about yourself; they answer before you reveal. Two points exact, one close. Our 100-question list with scoring is written for this.

• You: how well do you know me, 5 questions. 1: my first concert
• Them: it was the boy band and you know it was
• You: 2 points. 2: what I'd grab if the house was on fire
• Them: the ugly lamp
• You: it's not ugly. 2 points

12. Emoji Story of Your Day

Send your day in emoji only; they translate. Then swap. It's a check-in that doesn't feel like one.

• You: ☕💻💻😩🥪💻🚶🌧️📺🛏️
• Them: coffee, work was bad, sad sandwich, walked home in the rain, tv, bed. did you eat a real dinner
• You: the sandwich was dinner
• Them: 😐

13. High / Low / Help

Three lines: best thing today, worst thing today, one thing they could help with. Both send. Not really a game — it's the best daily check-in format for couples apart and it takes two minutes.

• You: high: finished the thing. low: my boss's reply to the thing. help: tell me something good
• Them: high: saw a dog in a raincoat. low: missed my train. help: I need you to say the thing was good
• You: the thing was good

14. Photo Corner

Crop a photo from your camera roll to a tiny corner; they guess when and where. Works for years.

• You: [corner of a photo: a bit of railing and sea]
• Them: the ferry, second trip, you were sunburnt
• You: I was NOT sunburnt
• Them: you were the ferry

15. Finish My Sentence

Send half a sentence about the two of you; they finish it. Sweet or ridiculous, their choice.

• You: the moment I knew you were trouble was…
• Them: …when I ordered dessert first
• You: correct

16. Build a Date

Alternate lines to plan a date you'll actually do next time you're together. Anyone can veto once. Ends when it's booked.

• You: next visit. I'll go first: breakfast at the place with the terrible coffee
• Them: veto. breakfast at the good place, then that walk
• You: then the museum you keep mentioning
• Them: then I cook. booked.

17. MindMatch Sync (two-device mode)

The only game on this list that needs an app, and it's ours. Both open MindMatch in two-device mode, draw the same five prompts without seeing each other, reveal together. You get a score out of 100 for how alike your drawing instincts are — not skill — and one of seven ranks. Then you spend twenty minutes texting about why they drew the cat facing left. Free, no account.

• You: MindMatch, now, I'm bored
• Them: two device mode, sending the code
• [ten minutes]
• You: 71. Unspoken Bond. why is your house on stilts
• Them: why is your cat a loaf

18. Our Top 5

Same category, both write your top five before showing. Compare overlaps. “Our best meals together”, “songs that are ours”, “things I'd put in a museum of us”.

• You: top 5 meals we've had together, write yours first, no peeking
• Them: done
• You: 1 the ramen place 2 your birthday 3 the terrible airport pizza 4…
• Them: the airport pizza is in my top 3 too, we're ridiculous

19. What Am I Thinking

Say “I'm thinking of a number / a color / a food”; they guess once. Five rounds max, count the hits. Low-effort, high sweetness at midnight.

• You: thinking of a food
• Them: dumplings
• You: HOW
• Them: it's always dumplings

20. Future Postcard

Write three lines from the two of you five years from now. Sent one at a time. Save them.

• You: dear us, 2031. we finally got the dog.
• Them: it's a terrible dog and we love it.
• You: the coffee machine still works.

Games to play over text with friends (21–28)

With a friend the bar is lower and the stakes are higher: it has to be funny. Word games work here because your friend will actually fight you on a rule.

21. Wrong Answers Only

Ask a question; the only rule is the answer must be wrong. The best replies are confidently, specifically wrong.

• You: what's the capital of Australia, wrong answers only
• Them: Sydney
• You: that's the most common wrong answer, try harder
• Them: Perth, Scotland

22. A Story, One Sentence at a Time

Alternate sentences. The unwritten rule is that every third sentence has to make things worse. Runs for an hour if you let it.

• You: the elevator stopped between floors.
• Them: Greg said not to worry, he'd done a course.
• You: the course was in pottery.
• Them: it was a very good pottery course.

23. Word Chain

Next word starts with the last letter of the previous. Pick a category to make it hard: countries, foods, movie titles. Dies after about fifteen unless you keep the category tight.

• You: foods. pizza
• Them: apple
• You: eggplant
• Them: taco
• You: omelette
• Them: …egg? no. eel

24. Ghost (the letter game)

Alternate adding one letter to a growing fragment. You lose if you complete a real word (three letters or more) or can't add a letter that leads to one. Challenge a bluff and they have to name the word.

• You: P
• Them: PL
• You: PLA
• Them: PLAN — wait no
• You: that's a word. ghost, that's a G for you

25. Categories

Name a category and a letter; both send five answers. Matching answers cancel out. Scattergories with no board.

• You: things in a kitchen, letter S. 60 seconds
• Them: spoon spatula sink salt stove
• You: spoon sink sponge sieve saucepan
• Them: spoon and sink cancel, 3–3. rematch, letter Q
• You: absolutely not

26. Trivia Duel

Alternate questions, no googling, on your honor. Set the category to something only one of you knows and it gets funny fast.

• You: how many hearts does an octopus have
• Them: 1
• You: 3. your turn
• Them: name one Taylor Swift album
• You: …Taylor Swift
• Them: correct, annoyingly

27. Describe It Badly

Describe a movie, book or place as unappealingly as possible; they guess it.

• You: a man is very sad about a ring and walks for three films
• Them: Lord of the Rings
• Them: a fish loses his son and a woman with memory problems is not helpful
• You: Finding Nemo, that's harsh on Dory

28. Riddle Race

One riddle, three guesses, then the answer. Keep a running score across weeks.

• You: the more you take, the more you leave behind. what am I
• Them: debt
• You: no. 2 left
• Them: footsteps
• You: 4–3 to you, I hate this

Games to play in a group chat (29–35)

Group games need one thing: a reply anyone can send in ten seconds without reading the whole thread. Emoji games rule here because they work at any scroll depth.

29. Guess the Song from Emoji

• Sam: 🌧️👨‍🦱
• Jo: Purple Rain? there's no purple
• Priya: It's Raining Men
• Sam: Priya wins, next

30. Guess the Movie from Emoji

• Jo: 🦈🏖️🚤
• Sam: Jaws
• Jo: too easy. 🎈🏠👴🐕
• Priya: Up
• Jo: 🧑‍🚀🥔🔴
• Sam: The Martian. stop, we've seen the same four films

31. Who's Most Likely To

Post a prompt; everyone replies with a name. Majority wins. The point is the disagreement.

• Priya: most likely to get lost in their own city
• Sam: Jo
• Jo: Jo
• Priya: unanimous

32. Caption This

One photo, everyone captions, the poster picks a winner. Photos of each other are funnier than memes.

• Sam: [photo of Jo asleep on a train]
• Priya: “Jo, mid-sentence, 2024”
• Jo: I was resting my eyes
• Sam: Priya wins

33. GIF Battle

A theme, then GIFs only until someone breaks. Three rounds max; it gets old.

34. Text Scavenger Hunt

Post a list of five things; first person to send a photo of each wins. “Something red”, “a receipt older than a month”, “the worst thing in your fridge”.

• Jo: hunt. 1 something red 2 a mug you didn't buy 3 the oldest thing in your fridge. go
• Sam: [three photos] done
• Priya: the fridge one is a crime, Sam

35. Last Photo Roulette

Everyone sends the last photo on their camera roll, no editing, no explaining. Then explaining.

• Priya: last photo, no cheating
• Sam: [a parking spot number]
• Jo: [a screenshot of a text from Sam]
• Sam: what

How to start a texting game without it being weird

• Don't announce the game. “Want to play a game?” gets “sure” and then silence. Just send the first move: “ok would you rather…”.
• Make the first reply easy. One word, one emoji. Difficulty can go up after they're in.
• Quit while it's good. Five rounds of a game they enjoyed beats fifteen where they stopped replying at nine.
• Time of day matters. Rapid games (#5, #19, #29) at lunch; slow games (#2, #22) in the evening; check-ins (#13) at night.
• Keep a score across days. A running trivia or riddle tally gives you a reason to text tomorrow.

Apps that put games inside your texts

Verified on the US App Store, links included. Everything above works in a plain chat; these four are for when you want an actual board.

FAQ: games to play over text

Related guides

• Virtual date ideas — 40 dates for when you get on a call
• Long-distance call games
• 200 would you rather questions for couples
• How well do you know me questions — with scoring
• 150 questions for couples