15 Best Games to Play Over FaceTime, Zoom, Skype & More

Enjoy this fast-paced and entertaining collection of long-distance games

Co-authored by Glenn Carreau

Last Updated: February 27, 2023

Looking for ways to connect with friends, family, and loved ones long-distance? FaceTime is an incredibly useful tool for maintaining relationships of all kinds, while games allow people to bond and get to know one another better. Therefore, FaceTiming people for a game night is a great way to strengthen your relationships with them—and have a ton of fun in the process! Read on for a list of the best games to play on FaceTime, complete with rules and tips to make gameplay easy.

Things You Should Know

Play a classic road trip game like 20 Questions. Think of a person, place, or thing, and allow other players 20 questions to guess what you’re thinking about.
Try a party game like Truth or Dare. On a truth, ask a question that players must answer honestly, and on a dare, challenge them to do something silly.
Play a creative game like Charades. Think of a person, place, thing, or action, and act it out; if other players can guess what you’re doing, you win the round.

1

Would You Rather?

Would You Rather is a fun game that’ll help you get to know people better. Before the game, come up with a few questions beginning with “Would you rather…?” They can be serious or goofy; you can offer options you think the other person might like or make them choose between two terrible options. Then, take turns posing Would You Rather questions over FaceTime and share your responses!^{[1]
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- “Would you rather have a lion or an elephant as a pet?”
- “Would you rather only speak in rhyme or sing everything?”
- “Would you rather have a dream partner or a dream job?”

2

Truth or Dare

You can play this classic party game just as easily over FaceTime. Playing Truth or Dare is simple: ask the person you’re playing with, “Truth or Dare?” If they say “truth,” ask them a question that they have to answer truthfully. If they say “dare,” then dare them to do something silly or exciting. Take turns doing this—and fulfilling one another’s truths and dares as you go!
- For truths, ask questions like, “What is the guilty pleasure song you listen to most?” or “When was the last time you lied to your parents?”
- For dares, try things like, “I dare you to talk in an Australian accent until your next turn,” or “Run around the house while pretending you’re a duck!” or “Text your crush right now!”
- Come up with a list of truths or dares beforehand you can use. Just remember that safety always comes first; nobody should ever do something dangerous or anything they’re uncomfortable doing.

3

Never Have I Ever

Discover your friends’ wildest stories with Never Have I Ever. To start, have every player hold up their hands, so they’re visible over FaceTime. Go around the group and have each player say “Never Have I Ever…” followed by a statement about something they’ve never done. Anyone who has done that thing must put a finger down, and the last person with a finger still up wins.
- “Never have I ever gone skydiving.”
- “Never have I ever done something illegal!”
- “Never have I ever broken a bone.”
- Alternatively, you could change the rules and decide that the winner is the first person to lower all of their fingers. How you play this game is largely up to you and your other players!

4

20 Questions

20 questions is a simple guessing game that anyone can play. Think of any person, place, or thing (and write it down if you need to). Allow your partner to ask 20 yes-or-no questions to gather information and try to figure out what you’re thinking of. If they can guess correctly in 20 questions or less, they win—and if they can’t, you win!^{[2]
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- You can think of anything, from a tulip flower to France, as your mysterious person, place, or thing that the other player has to guess.
- Make sure the guesser is only asking questions that can be answered with a “yes” or “no,” like “Is it an animal?” or “Is it purple?”

5

This or That

This or That is a fast-paced choice game that’s perfect for kids. Gameplay is easy: just pose the other person a question where they’re prompted to choose between two different options. This is especially fun for younger kids who may not like detailed rules but can enjoy the “this-or-that” questions you pose. Players typically don’t track points or declare a winner; the fun is in the questions.
- “Star Wars or Star Trek?”
- “Pizza or hot dogs?”
- “Cats or dogs?”

6

Charades

Charades is a classic game designed to test players’ acting chops. Play Charades by choosing a person, place, thing, or action. If you want a more complex game, you could even choose a popular phrase or idiom. Then, act that thing out and allow the other players 1 minute to try and guess what it is based on your performance. If they guess correctly, they get a point.^{[3]
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- For example, you could pick the superhero Spiderman and then mimic the character’s infamous ability to shoot webs as your hint for the other players.
- When choosing what to act out, the sky’s the limit! You could pick something totally mundane, like a banana or a game of volleyball, or act out a lion hunting its prey or an epic swordfight.
- If you’re not sure what to pick, you could always use a Charades generator (or cards from the actual game, if you have them) for your prompts.

7

Pictionary

Pictionary lets players express their creativity in person and remotely. Make sure you have a pad of paper and a marker dark enough that it can be seen through a phone or computer camera. To play Pictionary, choose from a word generator (or a pre-prepared list) for a word or phrase to draw. Sketch that prompt to the best of your ability in 30 to 60 seconds and see if your partner can guess what you’re drawing!^{[4]
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- This is a collaborative game, so there aren’t really winners or losers. If you want to make it competitive and have 4+ players, however, you could divide into teams and see how many points each team can win.

8

Trivia

Trivia is a fast-paced game to test players’ worldly knowledge. This game is easiest to play if you have more than 2 people on a FaceTime call. Start by appointing one player to be the emcee and preparing a list of fun trivia categories and questions. Then, have the emcee ask the group those trivia questions; the first person to answer a question gets a point, and the player with the most points wins.^{[5]
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- What was the first feature-length animated movie ever released? (Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs)
- Who was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize? (Marie Curie)
- What is the smallest country in the world? (Vatican City)
- What is your body’s largest organ? (Skin)

9

Read My Lips

Read My Lips is a completely nonverbal guessing game. Simply hit the “mute” button on your FaceTime screen so the other caller can’t hear you, then say a word or phrase. The other player has to watch your lips and try to guess what you just said; they have 60 seconds to guess and can ask yes-or-no questions that can be answered by a nod or shake of your head.
- If you want to make this a slightly bigger challenge, try guessing the mystery phrase in 30 seconds rather than 60.

10

Most Likely To

Most Likely To is a question-based game that works best in a group. Read off statements beginning with “Who is most likely to…?” to the group and decide together who fits the statement best. It’s a fun way to show how well you know your friends—and if you want to play for points, you could always award (or deduct) points to the person who gets the most votes for each question.^{[6]
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- “Who is most likely to text on their phone while in the shower?”
- “Who is most likely to become a professional comedian?”
- “Who is most likely to get lost while driving?”
- “Who is most likely to trip over their own two feet?”

11

Story Time

Play Story Time with friends if you enjoy wild tales and improv. Choose a person to start off the story, and have them say a single word. Then, the next person says the next word, and so on. Go around the group (or between the two of you), building a story one word at a time. As you play, you’ll build a wacky and exciting improvised story with your friends!
- For example, you might start the game with “Once,” and then someone else could say “upon,” then “a,” then “time,” and so on.
- In another iteration of the game, the first player could begin the game with a whole sentence, and each player could continue the story by adding a sentence of their own.
- There’s no set ending for this game. Just tell your story until you find a natural point to finish it.

12

Karaoke Battle

Enjoy your favorite songs with friends by playing Karaoke Battle. Pick a song from any artist and genre with the other player (or players). Then, take turns singing a line of that song until you’ve made your way through the entire song or until one player messes up and misses a word or beat. The last person singing wins the game!
- Don’t pick songs that are too hard unless you and your other players agree on a challenge. You don’t want to be the only person who has ever heard of the songs you’re playing.

13

Movie Scenes

Play Movie Scenes with film buff friends to test your cinema knowledge. There are a couple of ways to play this game: first, you could start by reciting an iconic or memorable line from a movie. Let the other players try guessing what movie you’re referencing and the actor or character who said that line. Alternatively, show the other players a clip of the movie and have them guess what film it is.^{[7]
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- If you want to take turns, try playing until you (or another player) have guessed 5 movies and then allow another player to start guessing.

14

The Alphabet Game

The Alphabet Game is another road trip staple that works on FaceTime. Decide which player will go first; that player must think of a word that starts with the letter “A.” Then, take turns and have each player continue the trend, coming up with a word that starts with B, C, D, and so on. On their turn, each player also has to repeat the previous words, and if they forget or they can’t think of a new word, they’re out.^{[8]
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- For example, if you started, then you could say, “apple.” Then, the next person would say, “Apple, bathtub,” and the person after could say, “Apple, bathtub, cat,” and so on.

15

Simon Says

Play this old favorite children’s game that tests your listening skills. To play Simon Says, designate someone as Simon; they’re in charge of giving random commands. If they issue a command that begins with “Simon says…” do whatever they command. If they simply tell you to do something without saying “Simon says,” don’t do it. If you slip up and do something when you aren’t supposed to, you’re out!^{[9]
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- For example, if you hear, “Simon says clap your hands!” then you must clap your hands.
- However, if you hear, “Now blink twice!” next, you shouldn’t blink because they didn’t say, “Simon says.”