Free long distance games for friends, family and couples
Long distance games are games two people play at the same time from different places, usually over a video call. The best free ones are the browser games on crisskross arena — 15 two-player games with the call built in and nothing to download — and the old games that need nothing but a voice, like 20 Questions and Would You Rather. Which ones work depends on who is on the other end.
Long distance is not only couples. It is the friend who moved for a job, the sister at university, the grandparents three time zones away. A game that suits a rival sibling is the wrong one for a grandmother on her first video call, so this is sorted by person.
Long distance games with a friend who moved away
You want to catch up, not concentrate. Games that run in the background of a conversation.
Uno Slap! Speed Cards
Fast enough that you can play three rounds while one of you tells a story.
Scribble & Guess
The best catch-up game there is, because a terrible drawing always leads somewhere.
Vibe Check
Asks what you each think of people, which is most of what friends talk about anyway.
Long distance games with a brother or sister
A rivalry that has been going since you were six. Keep it going.
Snake Arena Battle
Real-time, loud and a little unfair. Siblings were made for it.
Don't Press Purple
Two minutes of reflexes. Whoever flinches at the wrong colour hears about it for a week.
The Bridge Word Race
For the sibling who always won at word games. You both get the same words, so there is no excuse.
Long distance games with parents or grandparents
Easy to learn, not too fast, and nothing to install on their phone.
Classic Chess
If they taught you, this is the one to play. Slow enough to talk over, and every rule is handled for them.
Crack the Code
Turn-based, no time pressure, and the marking is done for you. Good for anyone who likes a puzzle.
Checkbox Race & Cloud
One of you calls numbers, the other finds them — if they have ever played bingo, they already know how.
Long distance games with a partner
Couples are who we hear from most, so they have a whole guide of their own. The short version:
Meet Me Halfway
You each see only the other person's maze, so you have to talk the whole way to the heart in the middle.
Quoridor Strategy Maze
Slow, strategic and personal. Every fence is a small betrayal you will discuss later.
The full list, sorted by mood, is in online games to play with your long distance partner.
Free long distance games that need no app at all
Some of the best long distance games are older than the internet. All of these work on a plain phone call:
- 20 Questions. One of you thinks of something; the other has twenty yes-or-no questions to get it. Works on a voice call with no screen at all.
- Would You Rather. Take turns inventing impossible choices. The answers matter less than the arguments about them.
- Two Truths and a Lie. Better than you would think with someone you have known for years — the trick is picking truths they have never heard.
- Categories. Pick a letter and a category (animals, bands, cities) and race to name five. Disputes are settled by whoever is not on mute.
- Name That Tune. Hum a song and let the other person guess it. Harder over a laggy call, which is half the fun.
- One-Sentence Story. Build a story one sentence each. It goes off the rails in about four turns, which is the point.
They run out of steam once you have played them a few times, which is when a shared board helps: something on the screen to react to that neither of you had to invent.
Making it work across time zones and bad Wi-Fi
- Different time zones.Every head-to-head game also plays against a bot. Whoever is awake can practise and send their score over as a challenge for the other person's morning.
- A call that keeps freezing. The board and the call are separate, so a frozen video does not freeze the game. If the built-in call will not connect, keep playing and talk on WhatsApp or a normal phone call.
- A slow connection. Turn-based games — chess, Quoridor, Crack the Code — do not care about a second of lag. Save the real-time ones like Snake Arena for a good connection.
- Someone who is not good with technology. There is nothing for them to install. They open the link you send, type a name, and they are in.
How to start a long distance game
- Open crisskross arena and sign in with Google. It is free.
- Pick a game and press host. The room gets an invite link and a 5-character code.
- Send the link by text, WhatsApp or email. They open it, pick a nickname and a character, and join.
- The video call starts inside the room, and every move shows up on both screens as it happens.
Questions people ask
What are some free long distance games?
crisskross arena has 15 free long distance games for two people in different places, including Classic Chess, Scribble & Guess, Uno Slap and two co-op puzzles, with a video call built into every room. Games that need nothing but a call — 20 Questions, Would You Rather, Two Truths and a Lie — are free too.
What games can I play with a long distance friend?
Quick, chatty games work best when you are catching up: Uno Slap, Scribble & Guess and Vibe Check on crisskross, or 20 Questions and Would You Rather on any call. Every crisskross game is free, runs in the browser, and only the person starting the room needs to sign in.
What are good long distance games to play with grandparents?
Turn-based games with simple rules suit grandparents best, because nobody is rushed. Classic Chess, Crack the Code and Checkbox Race all work well, and since crisskross runs in the browser there is no app for them to install — they open the link you send and type a nickname.
Do long distance games work in different time zones?
Yes. Every head-to-head game on crisskross also plays against a bot and the co-op games have a one-device mode, so whoever is awake can practise and send a score over for the other to beat in their morning.
What if the video call keeps freezing?
The game and the call are separate, so a frozen video does not stop the board. If the built-in call will not connect, keep playing and talk over WhatsApp, FaceTime or a phone call instead. Turn-based games like chess, Quoridor and Crack the Code cope best with a slow connection.
More to read: free online board games for two players and how to plan a long-distance date night.
crisskross arena is 15free two-player games for people who aren't in the same room. → see every game