Image: Midjourney/ MomJunction Design Team
Want to hang out with your friends but have time constraints? Fret not! You can connect with your buddy right from the comfort of your couch. Video calls, online games, and messaging can help you stay connected. Spice up your regular chats and incorporate some fun games to catch up with your buddy.
Grab your mobile phones, charge them fully and send that first Hi. Here are some of the best games to play with friends over text that are sure to get you hooked.
Key Pointers
- Texting games such as truth or dare and 20 questions can strengthen your friendship even when you are apart.
- To make things exciting, play ’never have I ever’ and uncover each other’s secrets.
- Record yourself reenacting scenes from a movie for a laughter-filled evening.
- Do or die, read my lips, and many more games as you scroll down.
60+ Games To Play With Friends Over Text
These games to play with your friends over text would not just help you stay connected but also keep you entertained. You may also try these games with your crush and get to know them better.
1. 20 questions
In this game, one player has to think of a name, place, or object. And, the other player has to ask 20 yes or no questions to guess what the word is. Simple, isn’t it!
2. Word unscramble
This texting game is similar to Scrabble. One person chooses a word, and then the other person has to come up with different words that can be made using the letters from the original word.
3. Unpopular opinions
Image: IStock
You and your friend go back and forth trading unpopular opinions. If something intrigues you, ask them about it and get the conversation flowing.
4. Alphabet adventure
Start this texting game with the sentence “I am going to ____, and I am taking ____. ” The goal of the game is for you and your friends to take turns completing this sentence using words that start with consecutive letters of the alphabet, starting from “A” and moving on to “Z.”
5. Truth or dare
This game can never get old. Ask “truth or dare?” to your friend. If they say “truth,” ask truth or dare questions over text that they should answer truthfully. And if they choose “dare,” they have to perform any task you give. To ensure they are not cheating, ask them to film the dare and send it to you.
Point to consider6. Gun to your head
In this interactive game, you ask your friends what they would do in a particular situation if the gun is pointed to their head. Some fun questions you may try are – “Gun to your head, have you ever spread a rumor about someone?” or “Gun to your head, what would you do if you got one million dollars?” The simple rules are that you can’t attack the attacker and must answer the questions.
7. Would you rather?
This is one of the most fun games to play with your friends over text. You can ask questions such as “Would you rather eat pizza or burger?” You can learn so much about each other when you play such texting games with friends. It is also one of the exciting long-distance relationship games that will help you and your special someone get to know each other better.
8. Questions only
It’s one of the exciting question games to play with friends over text and spend quality time with them. The rules are simple: all the participants can ask each other questions, no statements allowed! When someone asks you a question, you must respond with another question. Plus, you should not repeat any questions that have already been asked. If someone takes too long to respond, they are eliminated from the game.
9. Emoji talk
With so many emojis at your fingertips, why use words to convey your feelings? Engage in an emoji challenge and put together a few emojis to create a message for your friend, then ask them to decipher it.
10. What would you do?
WWYD is an entertaining texting game where participants must present various hypothetical situations and ask each other how they would navigate or adapt to the situation. For example, you can ask your friend, “What would you do if you were the ruler of a country?” or “What would you do if you were stranded on an island?”
11. In character
If you have a favorite movie, TV series, or book character, you can make them come alive through your texts. While chatting, impersonate them and talk from their perspective. It can be considered as a sort of elevated charade.
12. Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon
Movie lovers will find “Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon” the perfect game to have fun with friends. It’s a trivia experience based on the “Six Degrees of Separation” theory, which proposes that two people can be connected through six or fewer steps. To play, choose Kevin Bacon and another actor or actress, then challenge your friends to link them by tracing their roles in movies with as few links as possible.
13. Story builder
Image: IStock
Start a storytelling game with your friend! Include fun characters, situations, and everything that you can imagine. You send a sentence to your friend, and they add the next line. If you are familiar with Mad Libs, this game can be played in a similar manner. You can continue this game until you reach the conclusion of the story.
14. Tell the truth
Take turns to ask each other a private question. Each participant has to respond or be ready to accept the decided punishment. The punishment can be as simple as a $5 payment or posting a funny picture on Instagram.
15. Lyrics of a song
You may enjoy playing lyric quizzes if you and your friends are music buffs. Just send lyrics from any random song and let your friend guess the song, and vice-versa. To make it interesting, include some obscure songs as well.
16. Finish my sentence
This texting game is most enjoyable when played with close friends or romantic partners. One person can start a sentence while the other must finish it. The sentences can be hip, humorous, or even slightly naughty; it all depends on the relationship the players share.
17. I spy
I spy is an interesting game to play over text because the person on the other end cannot see what you see. Pick any random object placed in the same room as yours and ask your friend to guess what it is. They have to guess by asking questions that can get them closer to the right answer.
18. Ghost
In this texting game, one participant will give a word, and others must add letters to keep the word growing. To level up the fun, you can set rules like the word’s length or the category it can fall into. Each player adds a letter one by one, and the person who completes the word receives a “G.” The game will continue until one of the participants has all the letters in the word “ghost.”
19. Trivia
Trivia is a good option to play in-person or over text.
Ask your friends some interesting trivia questions, and they will ask you some in turn. And, this is how you learn while having fun with your buddy.
20. Where’s your location?
No matter how far you are from your friends, this fun game will not let the fun fade. To begin, look around and notice things around you that stand out. It can be a coffee table, menu board, or decorative items. Make a list of such things and share them with your friends as hints to let them guess your location. You can begin with general things and gradually proceed to specific objects to raise the thrill.
21. Movie lines
This is for all the movie buffs out there. Make a list of some popular dialogues from various movies. Make a video of you enacting them and send them to your friends. Now the fun begins! Let them guess which movie these dialogues are from.
22. The laughing game
It’s a simple yet fun game that makes people laugh without using jokes or props. In this game, one person asks questions, and the other answers. The fun twist is that you players can use only pre-selected random words to answer the questions.
23. Abbreviations
Abbreviations and slang words rule the internet these days. Test your friends’ knowledge with this fun word game. You could also make your own abbreviations and let your friends guess what you want to say. Check online sites to stock up on some of the best abbreviations.
Did you know?24. Lightning fast
This texting game is a fantastic way to gain insight into someone’s way of thinking. It’s simple to do and a lot of fun! You simply send your friend a word, and they must respond with the first thought that comes to mind after reading it.
25. What if?
An ideal game for over thinkers! If you are always conjuring unlikely “What if?” situations in your head, get together with your friends to play this game. Go wild and crazy with the scenarios to up the fun quotient.
26. Fantasy team
Have you ever considered whom you would want on your team if you had to participate in a league or competition? In this playful game, you and your friend will choose famous sports professionals to build teams. Simply select a game or sport your team has to participate in and establish the number of team members. Now, recruit the decided number of players; make sure there are no repeats in recruits. The player with the strongest team wins!
27. What would you do?
“What would you do if the zombies came for you?” This and many other questions can form a fun text game for you and your friends. It also gives you a chance to know how your friends would react in such situations.
28. Guess what?
It’s a fun game that will make your brain run a marathon. In this game, the first player texts the second player, asking, “Guess what?” The second player will attempt to predict what that player will say. While the game can occasionally be ambiguous, it will be simpler if you establish rules or keep it focused on a particular subject.
29. Most likely to
Image: IStock
If you think you know your bestie in and out, this is the best game to play with them over text. You just have to create a scenario and ask what they are most likely to do in that situation. To make it uber exciting, just keep asking funny ridiculous questions.
30. Acronyms
If you and your friends frequently use abbreviations, this game could be fun to test each other’s acronym knowledge. Send your friend an unusual abbreviation. For example, if you want to ask, “Where did you go yesterday?” abbreviate the sentence to “WD YG Y” and see if they can guess what you said.
31. Never have I ever
If you are looking for some laughs, this is the game for you. Say, “Never have I ever…” followed by something crazy you think others would not have done. If your friends say they have done something you haven’t done, they get the point and vice-versa. You both get the point if the two of you have done it.
32. Guess the movie
There are two methods to play this game. In the first method, share a GIF or snapshot from a film and ask the other player to guess the movie title. Alternatively, you can share a dialogue from a movie and have the other player guess the movie title. The first person to correctly answer 20 questions wins!
33. Hangman
If you love word building, this is a fun game to play over text.
Send underscores for blanks in your word and if your friend gets a letter right, replace it in the word. You can draw an emoji hangman to make it interesting and fun.
34. How alike are we?
This game is ideal for determining your and your best friend’s similarity. Choose a category (like animals), start a countdown with your friend, and start texting each other animal’s name until you both blurt out the same one! If neither animal is appropriate, change the category and carry on.
35. Riddles
This is a game that everyone knows how to play. It is funnier over text because you virtually have a poker face. Send riddles to each other in turn and solve them. You could give hints if you wish to help each other. And, don’t cheat by looking up on the internet for answers.
36. Confessions game
Playing this game with friends is incredibly intriguing and enjoyable. Let each participant take turns to share something they want to confess. It can be anything that an individual is comfortable sharing with others. However, be considerate and avoid giving any responses that might hurt someone’s sentiments or feelings.
37. Do or die
Image: IStock
In this fun game, players have to give random funny situations to each other. Now they have to choose between do or die. You can reward points when any player picks do. This game helps you get a good insight into your friends’ thinking processes and identify who is the boldest.
38. Bucket list
A bucket list is similar to a to-do list, but instead of listing daily chores and work items, this list includes things you want to do and places you want to visit. Exchanging your bucket list with friends can help you know them better and pave the way to shared adventures.
39. List builder
All of us make lists. If list-making is your forte, play this texting game with your friends. Select a category and start making a list relevant to that category. The last person who adds to the list is the winner of that round.
40. Jumbled words
Jumbled Words is a well-known texting game you and your friends can play to spend quality time together. Simply share jumbled words with your friends, and once they have figured out what you’re trying to say, they must respond to the text message in jumbled words. Bring on the challenge and put your friends to the test while chilling with them!
41. Where am I?
You carry your phone with you everywhere you go. Play this game with your friends while you are on the move. Describe something in your surroundings over text and let your friends guess where you are.
42. Name, Place, Animal, Thing
Group chat is the ideal way to play this old-school game. Connect with friends, choose a letter at random, and begin the game. Everyone must text a name, location, animal, and thing that starts with the chosen letter by taking turns. The game is over the second someone stops to think.
43. Kiss, marry, kill
Name any three random people and ask your friends who they would want to kiss, marry, and kill. You can also play this game with your crush, as it is a good conversation starter.
44. Wrong answers only
It is a fun game you can play with your friends wherein you purposefully use incorrect definitions. For example, a player might inquire, “What color is the sky?” You must say anything other than the exact sky colors, such as neon green!
45. Name game
Select a category. The first player sends a word relevant to that category. The other player has to make a word from the same category starting from the last letter in the previous word. It is similar to the word association game.
46. How well do you know me?
It is a friend’s take on relationship-focused compatibility games. After each player has taken a turn, they will each ask the other a personal question they are confident their friend will be able to answer. It is also one of the most engaging relationship-focused games to play with your boyfriend/girlfriend.
47. Backward typing
This is a really simple texting game that you can start playing any time with your friends. Simply type a sentence in reverse and ask your friends to decipher it. Your brain gets a good workout too.
48. How will you survive?
This texting game has straightforward guidelines. Before the game begins, decide on the time limit and the order in which each participant will take a turn. For example, the first friend might ask the second, “How will you survive a nuclear disaster?” The second friend must respond right away before the timer ends. They get eliminated if they don’t provide an answer. Play the game until only one of your friends is left!
49. Categories
This is another simple game you can play with your friends whenever you are bored. Select a category and start naming objects relevant to it. While taking turns, whoever misses naming an object, loses. You can play this game in friend groups too.
50. Who’s the bigger movie/TV show fan?
Take turns to exchange questions about popular movies or TV shows you have seen. For instance, you can ask, “How many seasons are in The Big Bang Theory?” or “Who played the lead role in the movie Sully?” If needed, set a time limit to raise the thrill.
51. Quiz
Set up a simple quiz to play with your friends. Use your general knowledge and resources from the internet to put some questions together. If your friends cannot get the answer right, go for the funniest one.
Quick tip52. Don’t let the questions stop
It’s an entertaining game where you and your friends can ask each other random questions. The twist is you don’t respond to any questions with a direct answer. Instead, you ask a question in response. For example, if you ask, “Why were you late for college?” your friend can respond, “Was someone looking for me at college?”
53. Read my lips
Record a video of you saying a phrase or word. But, record it in mute. Send this clip to your friend and ask them to guess what you are saying. Play this game in turns and read their lips next.
54. Share the funny pics
It’s a fun game that becomes highly engaging when played in a group. Pick a random category like flowers, country flags, or sports. Search the internet for funny images or memes related to that category. Share the selected image or meme in the group with a humorous caption and see the laugh riot roll out.
55. Fill in the blanks
Image: IStock
Send a text message with a missing word in it. The other players have to guess what the missing word is. They can either guess the word right or get goofy and come up with something silly.
56. Phrase relay challenge
Send your friend an incomplete sentence. They should use the same number of words in the unfinished sentence to complete it within the stipulated time. For example, you may share an incomplete text, like “My cat has __________.” Next, your friend must finish the sentence with the same number of words. They may use a random phrase like “caught a mouse” to complete the sentence. Continue adding phrases and see a fun story build until the time expires.AD
57. Vacation spy
Scout for some popular vacation spots around the world. Drop hints to your friends about a popular tourist attraction at these spots. Now, your friends have to guess which place you are talking about.
58. Celebrity friendship
Pretend to be celebrities that you know well. Pay close attention to their distinct speech patterns, mannerisms, and potential ways they might respond. Take turns and exchange text messages saying things like these celebrities would do. The individual who loses focus loses the game!
59. Rhyme
This game can take your creativity to the next level. Send a text with a line to your friend. They have to text back with a line that rhymes with yours. Text them back with another rhyming line. Who knows, you might end up with a funny poem!
60. Talk in movie lines
This movie quoting game is a fun and engaging challenge explicitly designed for movie lovers. The premise is simple: you start texting your friends using lines from famous movies, and they also respond with movie quotes. You can choose one or several movies as the basis for your quotes and create different categories to make it more interesting. To enhance the experience, you and your friends can prepare by watching the chosen movies beforehand, ensuring everyone is ready to participate.
61. Friend tag
If you think you know your friends well, play this game with them. Ask them questions about yourself, which they have to answer. In turn, they will ask you some questions about themselves. For example, “What is my favorite food?” or “Which movie did I last watch?”
How To Choose The Right Texting Games To Play With Friends?
Texting games allow you to connect with your buddies, foster deeper conversations, and create memorable moments, regardless of your location. However, it’s essential to choose the right texting game and play it in a way that suits everyone involved.
Consider factors such as the number of players involved, their interests, the available spare time, and the nature of your friendship. For instance, an icebreaker-style game might be ideal if you are playing with a new friend. However, a game that involves deep questions or playful elements could be more suitable for friends you have known for a long time.
Regardless of the type of texting game you choose, remember to set the mood for the game, make use of fun elements such as emojis, and keep the session lighthearted to make it more fun.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Is it possible to play texting games with friends who live far away?
Texting game is meant for people who live apart from each other. The distance does not matter as long as the difference in the time zone is not too wide and the players can chat comfortably.
2. How do we play ‘Name That Tune’ over text?
Send the lyrics of a song through the text and ask your friends to guess the song. The lines you choose should not contain the chorus and be from anywhere throughout the song.
3. What is the story time texting game?
The “story time texting game” is an interactive game where participants collaboratively create a story by taking turns texting a sentence or a few words to contribute to the ongoing narrative. Participants use messaging platforms or texting apps to play this game. This fun game leads to unexpected plots and twists in the story that reflects the participants’ creativity.
4. How can I make chatting fun?
Maintain a positive and enthusiastic tone during the conversation. Exchange humorous anecdotes or jokes, pose intriguing inquiries, and explore light-hearted subjects to engage the conversation. Engage in word games or riddles to add an element of challenge and amusement. Share fascinating or amusing stories and ask open-ended questions to stimulate deeper conversations and make the chat more captivating.
Going with the current trends, everyone likes to stay connected over texting, but sometimes, sharing routine messages and forwards could get mundane. So, try out these texting games to play with friends to kill the boredom and bond with your buddies. Games like truth or dare, would you rather, and never have I ever are not just amusing but also let you and your friends know each other better. So, whether you want to challenge your friends or unleash their inner child, play these fun texting games and enjoy the fun and laughter.
Infographic: Games To Play With Friends Over Text
With every aspect of our lives getting digitized, why not hanging out with friends be added to that list? Although nothing compares to spending time with your friends in person, you could also try having fun in the virtual world. If you want to give it a go, read the following infographic for game suggestions that you can play with friends from the comfort of your home, yet have fun too. Illustration: Momjunction Design Team
Illustration: Texting Games To Play With Friends
Image: Stable Diffusion/MomJunction Design Team
Dive into this engaging video that uncovers 28 online texting games to play with your friends that will rid you of your boredom.
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