17 online games to play with your long distance partner (on a video call)
The best games to play with a long distance partner are the ones you both play on the same board at the same time, while you can still see each other. Here are all 15 on crisskross arena, sorted by the kind of evening you're having. They are free, run in the browser on a phone or laptop, and every room has a video call built in.
Pick the heading that matches your mood, not the game that sounds cleverest. A game that suits the evening beats a better game that doesn't.
When you only have ten minutes
Short rounds, nothing to explain. Good for a coffee break or the gap before one of you has to sleep.
1. Speed Spot-the-Emoji
Two cards, six emoji each, exactly one shared between them. Find the twin and click it before your rival does.
Why it works at a distance: Two minutes a round and no rules to learn, so it fits the time it takes someone's kettle to boil.
2. Don't Press Purple
Hit every prompt the moment it lights up teal to build your combo. But when it flashes violet instead, the only winning move is to keep your hands still.
Why it works at a distance: Half the fun is watching their face on the call when the prompt flashes violet and they flinch anyway.
3. Crack the Code
A secret four-digit code each round. Every guess comes back marked — right digit, right place, or right digit wrong place. Fewest attempts takes the round.
Why it works at a distance: Each round is short, and comparing how many guesses you each needed starts an argument by itself.
When you want to keep talking
Games where the conversation is the game. Best with the call on and nothing else open.
4. Scribble & Guess
One of you gets a word and ninety seconds of blank paper; the other types guesses at whatever appears. No letters, no numbers, no pointing at it — just the drawing and the clock.
Why it works at a distance: Bad drawings are the point. Nobody remembers the good ones; everybody remembers the terrible horse.
5. Vibe Check
Guess Who, except no question is about their face. A board of 24 celebrity photos — desi, global, or both — and one secret each. Would they have AI art in the hallway? Have they ever been on vocal rest? Would your mother approve? Flip down everyone it can't be; the last face still standing is your answer.
Why it works at a distance: Every question is about who a person is, not what they look like, so it turns into a conversation about the two of you.
6. Checkbox Race & Cloud
One player calls a number, the other hunts it inside a cloud of a hundred jumbled digits. Every catch checks a box — fill all hundred first and the round is yours.
Why it works at a distance: One of you calls the numbers and the other hunts for them. It only works if you are talking, which is exactly why it works.
For the word people
If you both do the crossword, or one of you does and the other pretends to.
7. The Bridge Word Race
Two unrelated words face each other across a chasm, and you both race to plank a bridge between them — every plank a real word one letter off the last. COLD, CORD, WORD, WORM, WARM. First to ten crossings takes the match.
Why it works at a distance: You both race across the same pair of words, so afterwards you get to compare routes and argue about whose was better.
8. Jinx
The same nine letters for both of you and one minute to find every word hiding in them — longer words score more. Then your lists flip, and any word you both found is a JINX: it scores for nobody. The obvious ones cancel out; the match is won on the words only you thought of.
Why it works at a distance: A minute to find every word in the same nine letters, then the lists flip. Every word you both found cancels out, which is its own small romantic moment even if it costs you the round.
When you want to actually think
Slower games that reward a plan. Good for a long call where silence is comfortable.
9. Quoridor Strategy Maze
Race your pawn to the far edge of a 9x9 board — each turn you either step one square or drop a two-square fence in your rival's way. A fence may slow the route, never seal it.
Why it works at a distance: Slow enough to talk over, and every fence you drop in their way is a small, personal betrayal.
10. Leapfrog Hearts
Three caps a side on a drawn grid of lines, red facing blue. Take turns sliding one cap a single step into an empty junction. Nothing jumps over anything — blocked, you go around. First to land all three on the far side wins.
Why it works at a distance: Three pieces each and one rule, so it takes a minute to learn and a lot longer to get good at.
11. Classic Chess
Chess, whole and unabridged — castling, en passant, promotion, the fifty-move draw. Play it out over an evening on the call, or take the bot apart while they sleep.
Why it works at a distance: The whole game, every rule. It will hold an entire evening on the call, or play the bot while they are asleep.
When you want chaos
Loud, fast, a little unfair. For the evenings neither of you has the energy to be interesting.
12. Snake Arena Battle
Real-time snakes in one arena. Fruit and golden stars grow you longer, shields and boosts let you cut rivals off — clip a wall or a body and you're out.
Why it works at a distance: Real-time and loud. Expect shouting.
13. Uno Slap! Speed Cards
Lay cards down while counting one to ten out loud. The instant a card's value matches the number spoken, slap the pile — fastest hand takes it, a wrong slap costs you.
Why it works at a distance: The counting is part of the game, so it is at its best with the call running and both of you counting out loud.
When you want to be on the same team
For the nights you would rather win together than beat each other.
14. Steady Hands
A ball balanced on a plank, and one end of the plank each. Lift together and it climbs the shaft; lift alone and you have only tilted the thing your partner is trying to balance. Steer around the gaps, get it to the top, don't drop it three times.
Why it works at a distance: Neither of you can win alone: the ball only climbs when you both lift, so it is all "up a bit — no, you". You both sign in for this one, since you share one board.
15. Meet Me Halfway
Two mazes side by side, one each, and a heart where they touch. You can only see their maze — yours is dark past the tiles next to you, pits and all. Talk each other through, hold the door open for each other, dodge trapdoors nobody can see, and meet in the middle.
Why it works at a distance: Made for the call: you can only see their maze and they can only see yours, so every step is "left — no, your other left". Best on two screens, and the two of you finish standing on the same heart.
How to start a game with someone far away
- One of you opens crisskross arena and signs in with Google. It is free and one tap.
- Pick a game and press host. The room gets an invite link and a 5-character code.
- Send the link however you already talk: text, WhatsApp, Discord. The other person opens it, picks a nickname and a character, and joins.
- The video and voice call starts inside the room, and every move shows up on both screens as it happens.
If they're asleep, every head-to-head game also plays against a bot. Practise the one you keep losing and bring it back tomorrow.
Questions people ask
What games can you play with a long distance partner online?
Any game that runs on two screens at once. crisskross arena has 15 free two-player games for exactly this, from two-minute reflex games like Speed Spot-the-Emoji to a full game of chess, plus drawing, word, strategy and co-op games. Every room has a video and voice call built in.
Are there free games to play with your girlfriend or boyfriend over video call?
Yes. Every game on crisskross is free, with no ads and no premium tier, and runs in the browser with nothing to download. Whoever starts the room signs in with Google; the other person joins from the invite link with a nickname.
Can we play and video call at the same time?
Yes. Every crisskross room has a built-in video and voice call, so you see and hear each other on the same screen as the game. You can also keep FaceTime, Zoom or Discord running instead if you prefer.
What is a good quick game to play long distance?
Speed Spot-the-Emoji and Don't Press Purple both take about two minutes a round. None of them needs any explaining.
What can we play if we are in different time zones?
Every head-to-head game also plays against a bot, so whoever is awake can practise and send the score over as a challenge for when the other person wakes up.
Planning a whole evening, not just a game? Read how to plan a long-distance date night that actually feels like a date. Playing with a friend or family instead? Try free long distance games for friends and family.
crisskross arena is 15free two-player games for people who aren't in the same room. → see every game