30 Games to Play Over the Phone (Voice, Video and App)

The best games to play over the phone are the ones that need nothing but your voice: 20 Questions, Would You Rather, Two Truths and a Lie, the Alphabet Game and story chains. Turn on video and you can add charades, drawing games and scavenger hunts. Below are 30 games sorted by call type, with quick rules for each, so you can open this page mid-call and just start.

This list works for a boyfriend, girlfriend, husband, wife, best friend or anyone you call a lot. We marked the games that are best for couples and long-distance calls, and we added a few that work when you are both too tired to think.

Which phone game should you play right now?

Pick by mood. Here is a quick cheat sheet before the full rules.

What games can you play on a voice call with no app?

These 14 games work on any phone, on any call, even with bad signal. No screen, no download.

1. 20 Questions

One person thinks of a person, place or thing. The other asks up to 20 yes-or-no questions to guess it. Make it personal for couples: only pick things from your shared life, like "the restaurant from our second date." If you want more structure, see our full 21 questions game guide.

2. Would You Rather

Take turns asking two-option questions. The rule that makes it good: you must explain your answer. "Would you rather live by the beach or in the mountains?" turns into a real talk about the future. We keep a long list of would you rather questions for couples if you run out.

3. Two Truths and a Lie

Say three facts about yourself. Two are true, one is made up. Your partner guesses the lie. It works best with small, weird facts ("I once ate a whole cake by myself on a Tuesday") instead of big ones.

4. Never Have I Ever

Say something you have never done. If the other person has done it, they explain. On a call, skip drinking and just keep score with fingers or points. Here are never have I ever questions for couples that go from sweet to spicy.

5. The Alphabet Game

Pick a category, like foods, movies or cities. Take turns naming one for each letter, A to Z. Miss a letter or take more than five seconds and you lose the round. It sounds easy until you hit Q.

6. Word Association

Say a word. Your partner says the first word it makes them think of. Keep going as fast as you can. No pauses, no repeats. After a minute, try to trace the chain back to the start together.

7. Song Association

One person says a word. The other has 10 seconds to sing a line from a song that has that word in it. "Rain." "Purple rain, purple rain..." Great for loud, giggly calls.

8. One Word Story

Build a story together, one word each. It goes off the rails fast, which is the point. For a longer version, take one sentence each and try to end the story in exactly 20 sentences.

9. Guess the Song (Hum It)

Hum a song with no words. Your partner gets three tries. Pick songs that mean something to you both and it turns into a little memory lane.

10. Riddles and Brain Teasers

Each person finds three riddles before the call. Take turns. Give each other one hint if needed. Keep score across a whole week of calls.

11. Rapid Fire This or That

Fire off quick choices with no thinking time: coffee or tea, early or late, texts or calls. Ten in a row, then switch. You can get ideas from our this or that questions for couples.

12. Paper Battleship

Each person draws two 10 by 10 grids (letters across, numbers down). Hide five ships on one grid. Call out shots like "B7" and track hits on the other grid. It is the classic board game with nothing but paper.

13. Story Time Guess

Tell a story from your past that your partner has never heard, but leave out one key detail. They have to guess what happened. Great for couples who think they already know everything about each other.

14. Deep Question Roulette

Each person picks a number from 1 to 36, and you answer that question from the famous 36 questions to fall in love. It is a slow, cozy game for late calls when you want to feel close.

What games can you play on a video call?

Video opens up games where you need to see each other. These work on FaceTime, WhatsApp, Google Meet or any video app. For more, see our list of games to play on FaceTime.

15. Charades

Write a list of movies, songs or inside jokes before the call. Act one out with no talking. Your partner has one minute to guess. Switch.

16. Draw It Blind

Both of you close your eyes and draw the same thing (a cat, your house, each other) in 30 seconds. Open your eyes and hold the drawings up to the camera. Nobody wins. Everybody laughs.

17. Scavenger Hunt

Call out something like "something blue," "the oldest thing you own" or "something that smells good." First to show it on camera gets a point. For couples, add "something that reminds you of me."

18. Guess the Object

Hold an object just out of view and describe it with three clues. Or show a super close-up so only a tiny part is on screen. Your partner guesses.

19. Pictionary (Online)

Use a free drawing site like skribbl.io, which lets you make a private room for 2 to 20 players and share the invite link. One draws, the other guesses, while you talk on the call.

20. Copy My Face

Make a face. Your partner copies it as close as they can. Take screenshots. Save them. Bring them up at their birthday.

21. Truth or Dare

On video, dares can be silly (talk in an accent for five minutes) or flirty (describe your dream date night in detail). Keep it fun and let either person pass. We have a full list of truth or dare for couples sorted by level.

22. Cook-Along Challenge

Pick the same simple recipe. Cook it at the same time on camera. Rate each other's plate out of 10. It is a game and a date at once.

Inside the Cupie app

Phone-friendly truths and dares from Cupie

Word for word from Truth or Dare in Cupie (the milder levels). The game has 60 truths and 60 dares and gets bolder every few rounds.

• TruthWhat's your most useless talent?
• TruthWhich song do you only play when you're alone?
• TruthWhat will you never throw away, no matter what?
• TruthWhen did you last laugh until you cried?
• DareDo your best impression of me
• DareShow me the inside of your fridge
• DareRead out the last message you sent someone
• DareHold a plank while saying the alphabet backwards

What are the best app games to play on a call?

When you want a real board, a score and a winner, an app helps. The trick is finding one that works while you are still talking. Here are eight games and where to play them.

23. Four in a Row

The quick, tense classic: drop discs and get four in a line. In Cupie, you play it on a video call, so you see your partner's face when you block their winning move.

24. Chess

A slower game that is perfect for long calls. Talk through your moves or play in silence and trash talk after. Cupie has chess built into the call. Chess.com and Lichess work too if you set up the call separately.

25. Pool and Minigolf

Turn-based sports games are great on a call because you can watch each other's shot. Cupie has both. GamePigeon also has 8-Ball and Mini Golf, but it runs inside iMessage on Apple devices, so it is turns by text, not live on video.

26. Cup Pong

The party game, no cups needed. Flick a ball into the other player's cups. It is short, which makes it a good warm-up before a bigger game.

27. Word Games

Words With Friends is free to download with in-app purchases and has a 4.6 rating on the App Store (October 2026). It is turn-based, so it also works between calls when you live in different time zones.

28. Classic Board Games in a Browser

Board Game Arena is free to play in a web browser on phones and computers and lists over 1,400 games. Good for couples who like strategy games and do not mind a bit of setup.

29. Couples Quiz

Answer questions about each other and see how well you match. Cupie has 239 quizzes, including Would You Rather and Who's More Likely To, and you answer them live on the call. You can also try our free couples quiz right now.

30. Question Decks

When you want to talk instead of compete, a deck does the work for you. Cupie has four: Get Deeper, Get Romantic, Get Silly and Get Spicy. You both see the same card at the same time.

Which apps let you play games during a phone call?

Most game apps are not built for calls. You end up switching screens or playing on one phone while talking on another. Here is how the main options compare, as of October 2026.

If you are on iPhone and use GamePigeon a lot, we wrote a full guide to GamePigeon alternatives that work on Android and on video.

How do you make a phone call more fun?

The games help, but the way you plan the call matters just as much. A few things that work:

• Use a three-game plan. One quick warm-up (Song Association), one talking game (Would You Rather), one competitive game (Four in a Row). Switching modes keeps the call alive.
• Prep two minutes before. Write down five riddles, charades prompts or questions. Running out mid-game kills the mood.
• Keep score across days. A running score for the week gives you a reason to call again tomorrow.
• Add small stakes. Loser picks the next movie, sends a voice note song or plans the next date.
• Match the energy. Late at night, pick slow games like deep questions. After a long day, pick something mindless like Draw It Blind.
• Let anyone pass. Especially in Truth or Dare and spicy question games. It keeps it fun for both people.

What are the best phone games for long-distance couples?

When you only see each other on a screen, games stand in for the small things couples do together, like playing cards at the kitchen table. The best ones for long distance:

• Question games (Would You Rather, 36 questions, couples quizzes) so you keep learning new things about each other.
• Live games you both see at once, so it feels like sitting across from each other.
• A daily habit. A 15-minute call with one game every day often feels closer than one long call a week.

That is the idea behind Cupie. You call inside the app, pick from 14 games, and everything stays in sync on both phones. New games open up as your daily streak grows. It has 4.8 stars on the App Store and 4.8 stars on Google Play as of October 2026. One reviewer put it this way:

"me and my partner are long distance with me being in the military and we downloaded this yesterday and it was brilliant." (App Store review, UK)

Honest limits: both of you need the app, it is built for video calls (there is no text chat yet), and it is only for two people, so it is not the pick for a group call with friends. For more ideas, see our long distance relationship games and long distance date ideas.