Co-op games for couples online: win together (free, no download)
Some nights you want to beat each other. Some nights you want to be on the same side. These are the co-op games on crisskross arena - games you win together or not at all - for couples on the same sofa or in two different cities, free, in the browser, with the video call in the room.
1. Flag Rush: a platformer race, together
Flag Rush is a full-screen platformer for the two of you. Run, jump and stomp over a course dealt fresh every match - grumbles, snipers, cannons, fire bars and crumbling bridges - and every section ends in a flag. The catch: on the week's course a flag only counts when the second of you reaches it. The fast one cannot leave the slow one behind, so the game is really about the two of you getting each other over the hard bits.
- Three rounds of six minutes, a new course every round.
- A weekly couples leaderboard: every couple plays the same course that week, and you can challenge the couples above you to beat your score.
- Or a duel: the same courses as a race against each other, with items to throw.
- On a laptop or desktop - it needs a keyboard and a proper screen. Arrow keys or A and D to run, space to jump.
- Free for couples who pair up: one link, and it opens for the two of you.
The two co-op games
2. Steady Hands
Balance one ball on one plank, each of you holding an end. Why it works for couples: Nobody can carry the ball alone, so the whole game is agreeing on when to lift. It is the one that gets couples saying "now - no, NOW". How to play Steady Hands
3. Meet Me Halfway
Two mazes, one heart - talk each other through to the middle. Why it works for couples: You can only see their maze and they can only see yours, so you have to talk the other one through it. The heart in the middle is where you meet. How to play Meet Me Halfway
4. The jigsaw: no winner at all
Jigsaw, together tips a big jigsaw out on one table that both of you can reach. Every piece one of you picks up moves on the other screen as you drag it, and you can see each other's hand. Pick one of our pictures or upload one of the two of you, put the call on, and work it out. It is happiest on a laptop; on a phone the puzzle is cut smaller, up to 100 pieces, so you can still pick them up.
Why co-op games are good for long-distance couples
Competitive games are great, but they put you on opposite sides of the screen - and the screen is already the thing between you. Co-op games put you on the same side of it. You plan, you blame the plank, you cheer the same flag. It is the closest thing to doing a puzzle on the same table, which is the point.
How to start
- Sign in with Google (free) and pair with your partner - one invite link, once.
- Pick a game: Flag Rush, the co-op games or the jigsaw.
- Start the call in the room and play on your own screens, wherever you both are.
Questions people ask
What are good co-op games for couples online?
On crisskross arena: Flag Rush, a platformer race where a flag only counts when the second of you reaches it; Steady Hands, where you each hold one end of a plank; Meet Me Halfway, where you guide each other through mazes you cannot see; and a shared jigsaw. All free, in the browser, with a video call built in.
Are there co-op games we can play long distance without downloading anything?
Yes. Every game here opens from a link in the browser, on two separate devices in two different places, with the video call inside the room. Flag Rush needs a laptop or desktop; the others work on a phone too.
Do both of us need an account?
For the co-op games, yes - both of you sign in with Google (free), because you share one board. Flag Rush and its weekly leaderboard open once the two of you have paired up, also free.
Is there a co-op game that is not competitive at all?
The jigsaw. Nobody wins: it is one big puzzle on a table you can both reach, and it is finished when it is finished.
More to read: competitive games, for when you want a winner, games to play with your long distance partner and the guess-the-movie game for two.
crisskross arena is free two-player games and a photo booth for people who aren't in the same room. → play Flag Rush