16 online games for long distance couples, sorted by time zone, device and who pays. Free picks first, plus games only one of you has to buy.
Riley Tonkin
Founder, Amora
The best online games for long distance couples are Sky: Children of the Light (free, and phones, consoles and PC all play together), Discord Activities like Chess in the Park, and two-screen puzzle games like The Past Within and Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes. We Were Here is free on Steam too. If only one of you owns a game, Split Fiction's Friend's Pass, Steam Remote Play Together, Switch 2 GameShare or PS5 Share Play covers the other. Hours apart? Play turn by turn with correspondence chess or Scrabble GO.
The best online games for long distance couples are Sky: Children of the Light (free, and phones, consoles and PC all play together), the free games inside a Discord call, and two-screen puzzle games like The Past Within and Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes. If only one of you owns a game, a Friend's Pass or Steam Remote Play Together covers the other. If you're hours apart, play turn by turn with correspondence chess.
This page sorts long distance relationship games by what actually gets in the way when you live apart: the clock, the devices and who has to pay. For a general list, including games you can play over text, see these 30 online games for couples.
| If you two | Try | Who pays |
|---|---|---|
| Want something free tonight | Sky: Children of the Light, or Chess in the Park in a Discord call | Nobody, both are free |
| Just want to play on a FaceTime call | GamePigeon, a SharePlay game, would you rather | Nobody. Some SharePlay games cost money |
| Are 8 or more hours apart | Correspondence chess on Lichess, Scrabble GO | Nobody, both are free |
| Have an iPhone and an Android | Sky, The Past Within, Tick Tock | Sky is free. The two puzzle games cost a few dollars and you each buy one |
| Only have phones | Sky, The Past Within, Tick Tock, Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes | Sky is free. The puzzle games are one copy each. In Keep Talking only the defuser buys it |
| Have one gaming PC between you | Steam Remote Play Together | The owner. The other joins from your invite |
| Both have a Switch 2 | GameShare through GameChat | The owner, plus Nintendo Switch Online for both |
| Are on different systems | Split Fiction with the Friend's Pass | One of you. Console players also need their online membership |
| Want a big co-op night on the same system | It Takes Two or A Way Out | One of you, with the Friend's Pass. Console players also need their online membership |
The free browser games from our list of 30, like Board Game Arena and Codenames online, work too, on any mix of laptops and phones. Board Game Arena just needs a free account each.
Gaming PCs and consoles are expensive, and plenty of couples don't have matching ones. These let one copy cover you both.
These are the best fit for a couple who live apart. Each of you sees something different on your own screen, and the only way through is to describe it to each other out loud. The Past Within and Tick Tock don't connect the two copies at all, and Keep Talking runs on one screen, so there's nothing to lag, even across an ocean. In Aron and colleagues' 2000 experiments, couples who did a new, slightly challenging task together in person reported better relationship quality right after than couples who did a routine one.
When your evenings don't overlap, pick games where you take a turn whenever you're awake, or ones you can work on alone and share when your hours do line up. Nobody has to wait up.
Sometimes you just want something quick on the call you're already on.
If one of you has an Android, they can still join FaceTime from a link in their browser, so stick to browser games and no-app games. The full list of 30 games has more you can play over text or a call.
Some nights you'll want to watch something instead. With Amora Max, date night keeps Netflix or YouTube in sync on two laptops in Chrome, with your partner on video beside the show. For more nights that aren't games, here are 50 long distance date ideas.
Game night is the fun part of the week. What keeps you close in an LDR on the days your hours barely overlap is something small you both do every day. Amora gives you one shared question a day that opens at each of your own midnights, and you see your partner's answer once you've shared yours. It's a long distance relationship app that's free to start on iPhone and Android, even if you each use a different one.
What ten seconds of us would you replay if you could?
Yes. Sky: Children of the Light is free on iPhone, Android, Switch, PlayStation and PC, and they all play together. Discord Activities like Chess in the Park and Putt Party are free inside a Discord call. We Were Here is free on Steam, and correspondence chess on Lichess and Scrabble GO are free for playing across time zones.
On two iPhones, open GamePigeon in Messages during the call for pool, mini golf and word games, or tap the SharePlay button in FaceTime to see which of your apps work on the call. You can also keep FaceTime in a small window while you both open a free browser game like skribbl.io, or play twenty questions with no app at all. An Android partner can join FaceTime from a link, so stick to browser games and no-app games.
Co-op puzzle games where you each see different clues fit best: The Past Within, Tick Tock: A Tale for Two, We Were Here, and Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes. For a bigger night, Split Fiction or It Takes Two need only one copy with the Friend's Pass. If your hours don't overlap, try correspondence chess or Scrabble GO.
Not always. The Friend's Pass (Split Fiction, It Takes Two, A Way Out), Steam Remote Play Together, Switch 2 GameShare and PlayStation Share Play all let one copy cover two people. In Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes, only the defuser needs a copy. The Past Within, Tick Tock, the We Were Here sequels and Animal Crossing need a copy each.
Start a video call, then play on your own screens. Discord Activities and browser games need only a link, the Friend's Pass and Steam Remote Play Together let one copy cover you both, and in two-screen puzzle games like The Past Within you describe what you see out loud. If your hours don't overlap, take turns in a correspondence chess game on Lichess.
Sky: Children of the Light is free, and iPhones and Androids play together. The Past Within and Tick Tock: A Tale for Two cost a few dollars each and work across the two. In Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes, only one of you buys it and the other reads the free manual in a browser. If you both have iPhones, GamePigeon in Messages is free.
Riley is the founder of Amora. He built the app after experiencing the challenges of staying connected in his own long-distance relationship, and reviews relationship psychology research from Dr. John Gottman, Dr. Sue Johnson, and others to inform every guide and question on the site.
