Whether it’s quarantine-related or just something to keep the chat going, texting games can be a fun and engaging way to liven up a conversation. You can play with your friends, family, spouse or even co-workers – if you dare. Texting doesn’t have to be the just talking about your weekend and similar chatter. Instead, try one of the many game options below and have a blast with games that can go on for minutes, hours or days. The question isn’t what game you will play, it’s whether you can stop once you get started.
Also read: 17 Fun Offline Games to Play on Your Phone
1. 20 Questions
While this game feels as old as time, it’s easy when you get to play it through text. In this game, you will think of an object, place, or thing and offer your “opponents” 20 questions to guess what you are thinking of. Each question can only be answered with a yes or no. You can also share the category of your item, such as an object or location.
2. Story Time
In this game, one person starts with a storyline, and each person in the text chat will add another line and so on. Either the story goes on forever, or it comes to a natural stopping point. You can even go word by word instead of sentence by sentence, though that prolongs the game a little. Start with something basic like “Once up a time … ” and see where things go from there.
3. Would You Rather?
Also known as “This or That,” this game requires you to send a friend or group a question with two possible answers. Generally speaking, both choices are good, which makes answering the question somewhat difficult. For example, Would you rather fight 100 duck-sized horses or one horse-sized duck? It’s a popular Reddit AMA question and a great place to start.
4. Trivia
Start by choosing a category with your texting opponent via text. Then, start asking questions from that category and look to assign points. Make it prize-based, such as whoever wins receives a free Starbucks drink from the other player(s). There are endless topics and subjects that could theoretically make this game go on forever!
5. What If?
Not to be confused with the popular Disney/Marvel show, the “What If?” texting game requires you to ask your texting partners all about different situations and scenarios. Start by texting “What if” and two different situations. Alternatively, ask “What if” and leave the questions open-ended.
6. Never Have I Ever
This one can get away from you in a hurry, but it’s fun no matter how you play. It’s all pretty basic as you text someone: “Never have I ever ______ ” then add something silly, secret, dirty, flirty or fun like “Never have I ever played hooky from school.” If you have done any of the things that are being mentioned, there is usually a punishment. If you’re at a bar, it’s taking a shot, but over text, it could be something like posting a silly photo to your social media feed. The most important part of this game is honesty!
7. Unpopular Opinion
There is no question that you and the people you are playing with have plenty of “Unpopular Opinions.” For example, an unpopular opinion could be that Star Wars is not a good movie. Spoiler: it is. That’s pretty much the game, though, as you send unpopular opinions back and forth to a group, friend, family, loved one, etc. The topics can be culture, politics, entertainment, school, etc.
8. Where Am I?
This one is pretty similar to “I Spy,” as it has you asking someone over text to identify where you are. In this case, you will identify your surroundings, location, and what you see and have others attempt to guess your location. Unlike I Spy, which is object-focused, this should be location-specific, so keep that in mind as you begin playing.
9. Lightning Fast
With this game, you’ll send a friend a word or phrase and ask them to write back with the first thing that pops into their mind. No question this one can get dirty, flirty and potentially NSFW, but that’s what makes it even more fun. Like many of the other games on this list, a game of “Lightning Fast” can go on indefinitely.
10. In Character
“In Character” is yet another really fun texting game that can be both serious and a whole lot of silliness and is definitely worth playing. To play, both players or characters will text each other something that could be said by a celebrity, author, politician, etc. The recipients of the text have to guess who the person is based on the text hints. Try to make it more challenging than “Who Am I: Houston we have a problem.”
11. Name that Tune
Like the excellent video game show from many decades ago as well as more recently, this texting game will really put everyone’s music knowledge to the test. Send your friends and family random song lyrics and ask them to guess the song. Of course, you have to insist they do not Google. Also, set a limit for how many lyrics you will send before it counts as a loss. It’s far more difficult than it sounds, especially if you don’t focus on lyrics from a chorus.
Also read: What Song Is This? 10 Ways to Identify a Song Quickly
12. Sing It
Unlike “Name That Tune,” which requires you to guess the song, “Sing It” will ask you to write out the next lyrics in a song. In other words, if you text someone “Hey, I just met you, and this is crazy,” you are looking for them to text you back “But here’s my number, so call me maybe.” Keep playing like that until you finish a song or choose another song once you tire of the current one. Try different genres, music decades, etc., and keep playing until someone loses.
Also read: 9 of the Best Puzzle Games for Mobile
13. Kiss, Marry, Kill
To play this game, you will send a list of three names, be it people you know, celebrities, musicians, politicians, or just about any three people you think of. Each recipient or player has to respond with the name of the person they want to kiss, the one they want to marry and the one they want to kill. It may sound a little morbid, but it’s all in good fun! Try the Marvel version first: kiss, marry or kill Steve Rogers, Tony Stark or Thor.
14. Emoji Translation
“Emoji Translation” is a fun game to play on social media and through text. Send your friends or family a sentence of emojis and ask them to interpret the sentence and reply back. Who can get closest, and who can come up with the funniest response? For example: ☝️🔵🌙 would translate to “Once in a blue moon.” It’s a simple example, but with so many emoji available, the sky’s the limit with how creative your sentences can get.
15. Truth or Dare
You challenge your opponent to select either truth or dare. Truth is easy over text, but you will have to be a little more creative over text and likely ask for photo or video evidence that a dare has been completed. This can be particularly fun with a spouse or significant other, but be careful, as things can quickly get out of hand!
16. Riddles
Riddles are seemingly as old as time, yet they adapt well to nearly every platform, including text. In this case, come up with some riddles to ask your texting partner. For example, text your partner: “What invention lets you look right through a wall?” See if they can answer “A window!” Just Google some riddles and keep the game going as long as you want.
17. Fantasy Teams
If there was a zombie outbreak right now, who would you want on your team? I’m sure your answers are different from your friends or family, but asking questions like this one gets interesting. Who would you choose as your personal restaurant staff? If you could choose any group of celebrities to work at your restaurant, who would they be? The questions are endless, the answers can be hysterical and the game can go on as long as you can keep thinking of fantasy team questions.
Also read: 28 of the Best Online Games to Play With Friends
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Do any of these games require additional charges?
Definitely not, but it’s important to make sure you have unlimited text messaging with your wireless carrier. Almost all rate plans do these days, but double check just to make sure you don’t quickly go over a limit, especially if you are on a prepaid plan.
2. Can I play multiple games at once?
Of course! You can play as frequently as you want, too. It’s only a question of how much time can you spare to play games on text.
3. Can these games also be played on WhatsApp?
Absolutely. These games can be played anywhere you can send a “text message,” which is more of an umbrella term for SMS and messages sent over WhatsApp, iMessage, and other chat apps.
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