Games for Couples: Ideas for Two, Near or Far

Games for couples don't need much: two people, a bit of time and the willingness to forget daily life for a while. Here are ideas for conversation games, cards and board games that work for two, and for couples who don't live in the same place. Everything can be played with things you have at home.

What makes a good game for two

Many games are built for four or six people. With two, the competition within the group is missing, and it drags. A good couples game is quick to explain, has short rounds and leaves room for conversation. If someone absolutely has to win, you'll soon notice the game no longer serves the evening.

A note on competition: two people who love each other and play against each other need a rule for bad losers. Agree beforehand that the loser of the evening picks dessert. That takes the pressure off.

Conversation games that need no equipment

These games only need the two of you.

Truth or dare. The classic, rethought for two. Our truth or dare questions for couples include a list for couples, from harmless to bold.

Who's most likely to. On three, you both point at the person a statement fits better. The who's most likely to questions are made for that.

Would you rather. Two options, one decision. Our list for that is would you rather questions for couples.

The 36 questions. The psychologist Arthur Aron and colleagues published a series of questions in 1997 meant to bring two strangers closer through conversation. Couples like to use them as conversation material. More in 36 questions to fall in love.

Two truths and a lie. Each tells three stories about themselves, one of them made up. The other guesses. After years together you'll surprise each other more than you think.

The couples quiz. Each writes ten questions about themselves (favorite food, first film in a cinema, biggest fear as a child). The other answers them without cheating. One point per hit. There's more in our couples quiz.

Finish the sentence. One starts a sentence, the other finishes it: "I feel closest to you when ...", "Something I wish for us is ...". Then you swap.

The story for two. One says a sentence, the other says the next. Whoever laughs loses. Whoever delivers the best plot twist wins.

Card games and board games for two

A normal deck of playing cards is enough for many evenings. Games you already know often work better for two than new ones, because you don't have to read rules first.

Good for two, for example:

• rummy, crazy eights and gin rummy with normal cards,
• chess, checkers, nine men's morris and backgammon with a board,
• dominoes, pick-up sticks and Yahtzee, if you prefer it light,
• cooperative games where you play together against the game. That's pleasant if one of you is a bad loser.

If you need more card ideas: card game for couples goes into more detail. A simple idea to build yourselves: turn a deck into conversation cards by giving each suit a topic (hearts: feelings, diamonds: daily life, spades: the future, clubs: memories). Whoever draws a card answers a question on that topic, and the number on the card says how personal it may get: low numbers light, high ones deep.

Isn't it always the same person who wins? Then change the rules. Whoever is ahead plays with one card fewer in hand. That keeps it tense.

Building a game yourselves

The best couples game is often one only you know. Take twenty slips and write on each a sentence opener or a task that fits you: "Tell me about a moment when you were proud of me", "In ten minutes we cook something from three ingredients I name", "Show me a place in town where I've never been". Shuffle, draw in turns, and when a slip is used it goes into a second bowl. After a month you have a game that exists only once, and the bowl is a small archive of your evenings.

Games for outdoors and on the go

Not every game needs a table.

• A scavenger hunt for two. One hides slips with small clues around town or the apartment, and a surprise waits at the end, such as an ice cream or a letter.
• A photo hunt. You get ten terms (something red, something old, something that looks like us) and have to photograph them within an hour.
• Who spots more. On a walk, each counts things of one color or kind. Whoever finds more gets a drink.
• Car games. "I spy", guessing license plates, categories in your head. For long drives we've collected road trip questions for couples.
• Two minutes of charades. Each acts out a film the other would love.

Games for long-distance couples

If you don't see each other every evening, you can still play together.

• Online board games. Many classic games exist in the browser, you start a video call and play alongside.
• Letters with tasks. Each sends the other an envelope by post with three cards that may only be opened on the next call.
• Cooking together. The same recipe, the same time, a video call in the kitchen. Afterwards you rate it over dinner.
• A film on the same evening. You both press play at once and text each other comments. It's a date if you call it one.
• Questions by voice message. One person sends a question, the other answers the next morning when they have time.
• A puzzle for the reunion. Each builds a puzzle whose solution is a place where you'll meet next.

You'll find more ideas for couples with distance in our long distance relationship tips.

Games for when you want it romantic

A game can also be a pretext for being close. A few suggestions that stay family-friendly:

• Massage dice. Two dice: one decides the body part, the other the minutes. Then you swap.
• Blind date at home. One blindfolds the other and lets them guess what they taste, smell or hear.
• Love letter duel. Each writes a letter to the other in five minutes. Whoever ends up in tears wins, in a good way.
• Dancing in the living room. One song you pick for each other, with no warning.

More ideas for evenings with atmosphere: date night ideas at home.

When a game doesn't work

It happens. Tiredness, stress or a fight from the morning can't be played away. If one of you doesn't feel like it, that's no sign of a problem. Postpone the game instead of forcing it. A games night you just sit through brings less than none at all.

If you notice that games keep ending in fights because an issue is smoldering, it's worth a look at what's behind it. Couples counseling can support you there.

How to keep it light

What saves games nights:

• A fixed time in the calendar, for example every second Friday.
• A snack and a drink that isn't from daily life.
• Phones away, except for taking photos.
• One game master per evening who chooses. Next time you swap.
• Stopping when it's at its best.

Where Us2 fits

A games night is rare, a conversation could be daily. Us2 gives you a question every day that you answer separately, and shows the other's answer only after you've answered yourself. It's a kind of game that needs no equipment and no appointment, even across a distance, with text or voice message.

On Us2 you can try it for three days without payment details. Your partner joins by link, in the browser or in the app.