15 Fun Games to Play Over Text With Someone New

Two truths and a lie, 20 questions, emoji stories and more: easy games to play in a text chat, with rules, examples and which ones suit a first conversation.

Last updated October 10, 2026

Why games work so well in a text chat

The hardest part of chatting with someone new is the blank space after "hi, how are you?". Neither of you knows what the other likes yet, and asking question after question can start to feel like a job interview. A simple game fixes that. It gives you both something to do, takes the pressure off being interesting, and reveals far more about a person than "what are your hobbies?" ever will.

Games also have a natural rhythm: your turn, my turn. That back-and-forth is exactly what keeps a text conversation alive. And the answers become topics in their own right. Someone who picks a mountain cabin over a beach resort has just handed you three follow-up questions.

15 games to play over text

Every game below is clean, needs nothing but a chat window, and can be explained in one line. Games marked good first game work well in the first few minutes with a stranger. The rest are better once you have been talking a while.

1. Two truths and a lie (good first game). Share three statements about yourself, two true and one false. The other person guesses the lie, then it is their turn.
   Example: "I've never seen snow, I can juggle, and I once ate 12 idlis in one sitting."
2. Would you rather (good first game). Offer two options and ask which they would choose, then ask why. The why is where the conversation is.
   Example: "Would you rather be able to speak every language or play every instrument?"
3. This or that (good first game). Rapid-fire pairs, answered with one word each. Great for finding things in common quickly.
   Example: "Tea or coffee? Beach or mountains? Early bird or night owl?"
4. 20 questions (good first game). One person thinks of a thing, animal or famous person. The other has twenty yes-or-no questions to guess it.
   Example: "Is it alive?" "No." "Is it bigger than a fridge?" "Yes."
5. Emoji story (good first game). Tell a short story, film plot or song title using only emoji. The other person decodes it.
   Example: 🦁👑🐗🐒 (a famous animated film about a lion cub)
6. Guess the song. Type a line of lyrics, or describe a song badly, and let the other person name it. Voice notes of humming make it harder and funnier.
   Example: "Man promises to walk 500 miles, then offers to walk 500 more."
7. Finish the sentence (good first game). Start a sentence and let the other person complete it. Keep them light at first.
   Example: "The most overrated food in the world is…"
8. Story building. Write a story together, one sentence each. Agree a genre first if you like: mystery, comedy or space adventure.
   Example: "The last train of the night stopped at a station that wasn't on the map."
9. Rate it (good first game). Name anything, from pineapple on pizza to Mondays, and the other person rates it out of ten with a one-line reason.
   Example: "Rate airport food out of ten." "Three. Expensive sadness."
10. Desert island picks (good first game). Each choose three things, songs, films or foods you'd take to a desert island. Compare and defend your choices.
    Example: "One song, one book and one snack. Go."
11. Hot takes (good first game). Share a mild, harmless unpopular opinion and see whether the other person agrees.
    Example: "Hot take: cold pizza is better than hot pizza."
12. Categories. Pick a category and a letter, then take turns naming things until someone gets stuck.
    Example: "Countries beginning with M. Malaysia." "Mexico." "Mongolia."
13. Riddles (good first game). Swap riddles or brain teasers. Allow three guesses before revealing the answer.
    Example: "What has keys but can't open locks?" (A piano.)
14. Fictional dinner party. Each invite four guests, real or fictional, alive or historical, to an imaginary dinner and explain why.
    Example: "Sherlock Holmes, my grandmother, a famous cricketer and the inventor of chai."
15. Plan the trip. Plan an imaginary trip together with an unlimited budget. Take turns adding a destination, an activity or a rule.
    Example: "Day one: Tokyo, ramen for breakfast. Your turn."

How to suggest a game without it feeling forced

The way you introduce a game matters as much as the game itself. Keep it light and make it easy to say no. A few lines that work:

• "Want to play a quick game? I'll go first so you can see how it works."
• "Okay, rapid-fire round: tea or coffee?" (Then just keep going. Most people join in without being asked.)
• "I'm going to tell you three things about me and one is a lie. Ready?"
• "Rate this out of ten: pineapple on pizza."

Going first is the secret. It shows the other person exactly what kind of answer you are hoping for and how much to share, and it makes it feel like play rather than a quiz.

Turn answers into conversation

A game should be a springboard, not the whole chat. After each round, pick one answer and dig in. If they choose "speak every language", ask which language they would use first. If their desert island book is something you have never heard of, ask what makes it worth rescuing. Two or three rounds, then a real conversation, then another game when things go quiet, is a rhythm that can carry a chat for an hour.

Need more material? Our lists of would you rather questions and this or that questions have over two hundred prompts between them, and questions to ask a stranger covers the moments in between.

Game etiquette

• Keep it inclusive. Choose topics anyone can answer. Avoid games that depend on in-jokes or knowledge of one country's TV, unless you know you share it.
• Keep it clean. Games that push towards personal or uncomfortable territory, like dares or "never have I ever" with edgy prompts, are a bad idea with strangers. If someone steers a game that way, you can skip or leave.
• Don't use games to dig for details. Two truths and a lie is fun. Two truths and a lie about your address is not. Keep personal identifying information out of every round.
• Let people pass. "Pass" is always a valid answer. Make that clear and nobody feels cornered.
• Know when to stop. If replies get shorter, switch back to normal chat or wrap up. Not every match is a gaming partner.

For more on staying comfortable when chatting with someone you do not know, see how to stay safe chatting with strangers online.

Playing on StrangerYaar

StrangerYaar is a free one-to-one text chat with strangers for adults aged 18 and over, so every game here works out of the box. GIFs are perfect for rate it and hot takes, and voice notes turn guess the song into a proper challenge. You can match by interests, so a games fan can find another games fan, and you can skip to someone new any time.

If a game turns into a great chat, add your partner as a friend to pick it up later, because conversations with strangers are not stored once they end. And if anyone makes a game uncomfortable, use the report and block options inside the chat.

Common questions

Find someone to play with

Pick a game, start chatting on StrangerYaar, and open with "two truths and a lie, I'll go first". You might be surprised how quickly a stranger stops feeling like one.