11 Best Long-Distance Date Night Games to Play Online

At some point, every long-distance couple has had this call:

“What do you want to do?”

“I don't know. What do you want to do?”

And somehow you end up watching another movie while texting each other from inside the same FaceTime call.

So maybe date night needs a game.

Something to win. Something to solve. Something to build. Something that gives you both a reason to stay on the call besides asking what you had for dinner.

Here are 11 long-distance date night games worth trying, whether you want to compete, solve a murder, build a tiny farm, defuse a bomb or become completely different people for the night.

Some need a console and a few free hours.

Some need two phones and 10 minutes.

None require another “36 questions to deepen your connection” deck.

TL;DR: Pick your game #

Want a roleplay board game with a storyline? SMOOCH
Want a proper co-op video game? It Takes Two
Want something newer and cinematic? Split Fiction
Want cozy? Stardew Valley
Want your own shared world? Minecraft
Want to test your communication? We Were Here
Want five minutes of panic? Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes
Want to solve a murder? Cold Case Inc
Want casual phone games? Plato
Only have a few minutes? Candle
Want pure competition? GeoGuessr

Or keep scrolling and pick based on the kind of night you're in the mood for.

1. SMOOCH: best for roleplay + a storyline board game #

Best for: Couples who want date night to feel like something completely different
Time commitment: One date night
Gaming skills required: Basically none

Most online games give you characters to control.

SMOOCH makes you the characters.

You choose a mood: Romantic, Flirty or After Hours. Then you enter a roleplay storyline together.

One night you might be two strangers stuck with the last available hotel room.

Another night, you're trying to get into a private club under fake identities.

Then the game starts.

You roll around a digital board, buy date-night spots, collect money, play Wildcards and give each other challenges. You can play it safe or make things bolder as the story goes on.

And unlike most couple games where you're technically “on the same team,” SMOOCH gives you something very important:

someone actually wins.

Highest net worth takes the night.

It works in the same room or long-distance, and you don't need to download anything.

Play this if: you want roleplay, competition and a bit of spice without having to learn an actual video game.

PLAY SMOOCH

2. It Takes Two: best couples co-op classic #

Best for: Couples ready for a proper gaming night
Time commitment: Multiple sessions
Gaming skills required: Some

If you've ever looked up co-op games for couples, you've probably already seen It Takes Two mentioned.

The whole game was built around two people playing together.

You control Cody and May, a couple who have been turned into dolls, and almost every level gives each player different abilities.

Which means you need each other.

One person cannot quietly carry the entire game while the other presses random buttons.

Expect a lot of:

“Wait for me.”

“WHERE ARE YOU?”

“I literally told you not to jump.”

The game works online, and Friend's Pass means only one of you needs to own the full game.

Play this if: you want something you can get properly obsessed with for the next few weekends.

3. Split Fiction: best newer co-op adventure #

Best for: Couples who want something big, chaotic and cinematic
Time commitment: Multiple date nights
Gaming skills required: Some

If you've already played It Takes Two, or just want something newer, go here.

Split Fiction follows two writers trapped inside their own sci-fi and fantasy stories.

The game constantly throws something new at you.

One minute you're solving a puzzle.

The next you're flying through some ridiculous world.

Then one of you misses a jump and suddenly it's personal.

Like It Takes Two, it is designed specifically for two-player co-op and supports Friend's Pass.

Play this if: you want date night to turn into a full gaming event.

4. Stardew Valley: best for building a tiny life together #

Best for: Cozy couples
Time commitment: Potentially forever
Gaming skills required: Beginner-friendly

You start a farm.

Then somehow three weeks later you're discussing chickens, crop layouts and whether your virtual house needs a second bedroom.

That's Stardew Valley.

You can farm, fish, explore, collect things and slowly build your own little world together.

For long-distance couples, that's what makes it especially good.

You're not just getting on another video call.

You have a place to go back to.

And because the game is pretty relaxed, you can talk while you're playing instead of spending two hours silently fighting a boss.

Play this if: your idea of a good date is cozy, low-pressure and slightly domestic.

5. Minecraft: best for building your own world together #

Best for: Creative couples
Time commitment: However long you let it take over your lives
Gaming skills required: Beginner to intermediate

Minecraft basically hands you a giant empty world and says:

Go make something.

Build a house.

Start a village.

Explore caves.

Create an unnecessarily elaborate kitchen.

Spend 45 minutes collecting materials for something your partner absolutely did not ask for.

There isn't really a right way to play it, which is part of the appeal.

You create your own little shared space and keep adding to it every time you play.

Play this if: you like the idea of having a world that belongs to the two of you.

6. We Were Here: best if you want to test your communication #

Best for: Puzzle couples
Time commitment: One or multiple sessions
Gaming skills required: Moderate

This game basically asks:

“How well can you explain something when your partner cannot see what you're seeing?”

You and your partner are separated and given different information.

Neither of you can solve the puzzles alone.

So the whole game becomes describing weird symbols, rooms and clues to each other.

“It's like a triangle but... not really.”

“What does that MEAN?”

Long distance works in the game's favor because talking to each other is the mechanic.

Play this if: you like puzzles and would enjoy finding out how badly your partner describes shapes.

7. Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes: best for five minutes of absolute panic #

Best for: Couples who think stress is fun
Time commitment: Short rounds
Gaming skills required: Very little

One of you has a bomb.

The other person has the manual.

Go.

The player looking at the bomb has to describe what they see while the other person desperately searches for the correct instructions.

Nobody has all the information.

And there is a timer.

Which makes phrases like:

“CUT THE BLUE WIRE.”

“THERE ARE THREE BLUE WIRES.”

a completely normal date-night conversation.

Rounds are short, so it's also great when you don't have two hours.

Play this if: calm communication sounds boring.

8. Cold Case Inc: best murder-mystery date night #

Best for: Couples who need a mission
Time commitment: Around one to two hours
Gaming skills required: None

Regular video call:

“How was your day?”

Murder-mystery video call:

“Okay, but his alibi makes absolutely no sense.”

Huge improvement.

Cold Case Inc lets you work through digital cold-case style investigations together.

If you’d rather print the evidence out and turn it into more of an at-home date setup, A Twist of Date is another good option. You download the case files and work through the evidence together over video.

Either way, you suddenly have a job:

Solve the murder.

Which usually turns into taking notes, forming ridiculous theories and getting way too emotionally attached to a suspect.

Play this if: you want the whole night to have a premise.

9. Plato: best for casual games from your phones #

Best for: Weeknights when nobody planned anything
Time commitment: A few minutes to an hour
Gaming skills required: None

Plato is basically a collection of multiplayer mini-games inside one phone app.

Instead of committing to one massive game, you can jump into whatever matches your mood.

Competitive?

Pick something competitive.

Barely awake?

Pick something that requires approximately two brain cells.

It's especially useful for long-distance couples who mostly talk from their phones and don't own gaming consoles.

Play this if: tonight's energy is “let's do something” rather than “let's begin a 20-hour adventure.”

10. Candle: best when you only have a few minutes #

Best for: Busy couples
Time commitment: Minutes
Gaming skills required: None

Not every date needs to become a Production™.

Sometimes one of you has work early.

The other is already in bed.

You've got maybe 10 minutes before someone says:

“Okay, I really need to sleep.”

Candle is better for those nights when you've got 10 minutes, not two hours.

It gives couples small games, activities and shared interactions you can do from your phones without needing to turn the whole evening into game night.

Think of it as a quick hit of doing something together rather than a full date-night game.

Play this if: you want something more fun than texting but absolutely do not have two hours.

11. GeoGuessr: best for competitive couples who love travel #

Best for: Competitive couples
Time commitment: 10 minutes or several rounds
Gaming skills required: None

You get dropped somewhere random in the world.

There is one road.

Three trees.

A blurry sign.

And somehow your partner is suddenly 100% certain you're in Portugal.

You are in South Korea.

GeoGuessr is very easy to understand and very easy to get weirdly competitive about.

You can also add your own stakes.

Winner chooses the next movie.

Loser sends coffee tomorrow.

Closest guess gets to choose where you're pretending to travel next.

Play this if: one or both of you enjoy being confidently wrong.

Bonus: BOKURA, if you want something less obvious #

If you've already worked through the big co-op recommendations, try BOKURA.

The interesting part is that the two players can literally see different versions of the world.

So you have to explain what you're seeing and figure out how your two perspectives fit together.

It's clever, strange and a lot less predictable than the usual couples-game list.

Play this if: you want something you'll probably have to explain to your friends later.

Okay, but which one should we play? #

If you're still staring at the list, pick based on the kind of night you're having.

If one of you isn't really a gamer #

Try SMOOCH, Candle, Plato or GeoGuessr.

You can understand what you're meant to do pretty quickly, and none require years of controller muscle memory.

SMOOCH is easy to get into if you already like board games or date-night activities but don't think of yourself as someone who “games.”

Do not make your partner's introduction to gaming a 47-button keyboard situation.

If you want a proper video game #

Go with It Takes Two or Split Fiction.

These are the “we are accidentally still playing at 1 AM” options.

If you mostly want to talk while playing #

Pick Stardew Valley or Minecraft.

There is enough happening to stop the call feeling empty, but not so much that you both have to sit there in complete silence.

If you want the game to force you to communicate #

Pick We Were Here or Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes.

You literally cannot progress properly without talking to each other.

Whether that's a good thing depends on how strongly you feel about your partner's ability to give instructions.

If you want something flirty #

Go with SMOOCH.

Most popular long-distance games are about solving, building or working together.

SMOOCH is different because the two of you enter a roleplay story, interact directly with each other and compete through the board.

So if what you're looking for is less “multiplayer game” and more “what can we do for date night?”, it fits a different mood.

If you only have 10 minutes #

Try Candle, Plato or a quick round of GeoGuessr.

A date does not stop counting because nobody cleared their entire evening.

If you want tonight to feel like a date #

Go for SMOOCH or a murder mystery.

Both give the night a premise.

You're not just getting on a video call with a game running in the background.

You're entering a story or trying to solve something together.

If you want something you can keep coming back to #

Pick Minecraft or Stardew Valley.

Build something.

Abandon it for three weeks.

Come back.

Discover your partner has completely reorganized everything.

Perfect.

If you're extremely competitive #

Go with GeoGuessr for quick competition.

If you want the competition to be part of the date itself, try SMOOCH.

Just decide the stakes before you begin.

How do you make an online game feel more like a date? #

You don't need to turn virtual date night into a whole production.

Pick an actual time instead of texting “call whenever.”

Stay on voice or video while you play.

Put something tiny on the line.

Winner picks next week's date.

Loser sends coffee.

Winner gets control of the next playlist.

And every now and then, choose something neither of you has played before.

Being equally bad at something together is underrated.

So... who's winning? #

Maybe that's the better way to plan your next virtual date.

Not:

“What should we watch?”

But:

“What are we playing?”

Maybe you're building a tiny farm together.

Maybe you're defusing a bomb.

Maybe one of you is defending a murder suspect who is very obviously guilty.

Maybe you're entering SMOOCH as two strangers stuck with the last hotel room and somehow end the night arguing over who has the higher net worth.

Whatever you pick, give yourselves something you'll still be laughing about next week.

Just don't spend the first 40 minutes of your next date night deciding what to watch.