Long Distance Relationship Games That Actually Keep You Close

Distance is the easy part. It's the silence between calls — the slow drift that happens when you're living separate lives in separate time zones — that's the real test. The good news? A well-chosen game can do more for your connection than a dozen "how was your day?" texts ever could.

Long distance relationship games aren't just a cute distraction. They create shared moments. They generate inside jokes. They make you feel like you're doing something together instead of just catching up on logistics. And some of them will genuinely surprise you with what you learn about your partner.

Here's a breakdown of the best ones — organized by what you're actually in the mood for.

Why Games Work So Well for Long-Distance Couples

Psychologists who study relationship maintenance talk a lot about "shared experiences" as a bonding mechanism. The problem with long distance is that you stop accumulating them organically. You're not watching the same sunset or arguing over where to eat. You need to manufacture those moments intentionally.

Games do exactly that. They give you something to react to together. They spark conversation you wouldn't have had otherwise. And crucially, they put you both in the same headspace at the same time — which is half the battle when you're separated by geography.

The best long distance relationship games share a few traits: they're easy to set up, they don't require the same app or hardware, and they generate conversation rather than just killing time.

The Best Long Distance Relationship Games, by Category

1. Couples Quiz Games (The Real Connectors)

Nothing tests — and builds — intimacy like answering questions about each other. The key is doing it in a way that feels like discovery, not a job interview.

Blindside is built for exactly this. Both of you answer the same questions independently, then reveal your answers at the same time to see where you matched and where you wildly diverged. No app download, no setup — just go to blindside.to, pick a category, and play. It's genuinely one of the better long distance relationship games available because the reveal moment creates a real shared reaction, even through a screen.

You can also put together your own quiz using questions like those in our couples quiz post — ask each other to write down answers separately, then read them aloud on your next video call. Mismatches are usually more fun than matches.

2. Would You Rather (Surprisingly Deep)

"Would you rather live in the mountains or by the ocean?" sounds like small talk. But keep going for 20 minutes and you've mapped out someone's entire value system without them realizing it.

The trick is to use questions that actually reveal something — preferences, priorities, fears, quirks. Not just "would you rather eat pizza or tacos forever." (Though that one's also valid.) Our list of 200+ would you rather questions for couples is a good place to pull from when you want to go deeper than surface-level fun.

Play it async by texting three questions and comparing answers later, or go live over a video call for real-time reactions.

3. Online Games You Can Actually Play Together

Sometimes you don't want to talk about your feelings. You want to destroy each other in a word game. Fair enough.

Scrabble GO / Words with Friends — Async, low pressure, generates trash talk. Perfect for couples who communicate primarily through competitive wordplay.

Codenames Online — Free browser-based version exists. You'll either feel like telepathic soulmates or realize you think completely differently. Both outcomes are interesting.

Skribbl.io — Free multiplayer drawing game. Watching your partner attempt to draw "rhinoceros" under time pressure is legitimately one of the funnier experiences available to a couple.

Jackbox Games — One person needs the game; everyone else joins through a browser. Quiplash in particular is a great long distance couple game because it's more about wit than gaming skill.

Minecraft or Stardew Valley — If you want something slower and collaborative, building a world together (literally) creates a surprisingly meaningful shared project over time.

4. The Newlywed Game (Classic for a Reason)

The Newlywed Game format — predicting what your partner will say, then comparing — works especially well over video call because you can see each other's face when you get something wrong. Which will happen. Often.

Prepare 10-15 questions in advance, answer them about each other separately, then reveal live. Categories like "what would your partner say their worst habit is?" or "what's their dream job if money didn't matter?" tend to generate the most conversation. For a solid bank of questions, check out The Best Newlywed Game Questions for Any Couple — it's a good starting point for building your own version.

The competitive element (who knows who better?) keeps it energetic without anyone having to be "on" the whole time.

5. Story-Building Games

These are underused and genuinely great. The idea: one person starts a story with a sentence or two, the other continues it, back and forth. You can do it by text throughout the day or live on a call.

What you end up with is usually absurd, occasionally revealing, and entirely yours. It's the kind of thing you screenshot and read six months later.

A variation: use a random story prompt generator and both write a short story based on it, then share. You'll learn a surprising amount about how each other's mind works.

6. Virtual Watch Parties with Rules

Watching the same show at the same time via Teleparty, Netflix Party, or even just coordinating a "play in 3... 2... 1..." isn't new. But adding game elements makes it different.

Try: every time a specific character does their signature thing, you both text a prediction about what happens next. Or pause at the 20-minute mark and each guess how the episode ends. Small stakes, but it keeps you reacting together instead of passively watching in parallel.

7. 36 Questions (The Intimacy Classic)

Based on psychologist Arthur Aron's research, the 36 Questions to Fall in Love are designed to build closeness progressively. They start relatively low-stakes ("What would constitute a perfect day for you?") and end up quite vulnerable ("What is your most treasured memory?").

These work particularly well for long distance couples because they're deliberately slow. You can do a few questions per call over several weeks. The gradual escalation mirrors how closeness actually builds — which is exactly what long-distance relationships need to actively maintain.

8. Photo Challenges

Create a shared challenge list — "send me a photo of something red in your apartment," "photograph the view from your window right now," "show me something that made you smile today." Do one per day.

This is one of those long distance relationship games that doesn't feel like a game at all — it just quietly builds a visual record of each other's daily lives. Over weeks, you'll have a real picture of what each other's world looks like, which is something video calls don't always capture.

Making the Most of Long Distance Relationship Games

The games themselves matter less than the consistency. A 15-minute Blindside session every Sunday does more for connection than an occasional four-hour Jackbox marathon. Build a rhythm that works across your schedules — even async games played over a few days count.

A few things that actually help:

• Don't save games only for "date nights." The small, frequent interactions are what sustain a relationship. A single question texted on a Tuesday matters.
• Mix game types. Alternate between competitive, collaborative, and reflective. They serve different emotional purposes.
• Let bad games go. If a game isn't landing, drop it. The goal is connection, not completion.
• Screenshot the good moments. A running album of your best Skribbl drawings or quiz mismatches becomes its own kind of relationship artifact.

Long distance doesn't have to mean your relationship is on hold. The couples who handle it best treat it as a different kind of relationship — not a degraded version of an in-person one, but a mode with its own tools and rhythms. Games are one of those tools.

FAQ: Long Distance Relationship Games

What are the best free long distance relationship games?

Blindside (at blindside.to), Codenames Online, Skribbl.io, and the 36 Questions are all free and work great for long distance couples. Words with Friends has a free tier too. The best free options tend to be browser-based — no syncing app stores or versions across different devices.

How do you make long distance feel less lonely through games?

The key is choosing games that generate conversation rather than just parallel activity. Quiz-style games like Blindside work well because the reveal moment — seeing where you matched and where you didn't — creates a genuine shared reaction. That moment of "wait, you said WHAT?" is exactly the kind of micro-experience that makes you feel present with someone even across distance.

Can long distance relationship games actually improve your relationship?

Yes — with a caveat. Games work best as a vehicle for connection, not a substitute for it. A well-chosen game opens up conversations you wouldn't have otherwise had, surfaces things about each other you didn't know, and creates shared memories. That's real relationship work. But the game itself isn't magic; your genuine curiosity about each other is what does the lifting.

How often should long distance couples play games together?

More frequently than you'd think, but shorter than you'd plan. A few questions or one quick game session two or three times a week tends to be more effective than a single long "game night" once a month. Consistency beats intensity for maintaining closeness over distance.