10 Best Couples Games That Aren’t Just Question Cards

Sometimes you want a date-night game where you actually have to do something.

Win something. Solve something. Bluff. Build. Compete. Play a character. Accidentally reveal your partner’s fake-money greed.

Basically: less interview, more game.

So if you're looking for couples games that aren't just question cards, these are 10 worth knowing about.

Some are made specifically for couples.

Some aren't. They just happen to be ridiculously good with two people.

How we picked these games #

Every game here gives you something to actually play, solve, win or do together.

Because the best date-night games give you something to experience together, not just another question to answer.

Quick comparison #

Game | Best for | Format | Style | Players
SMOOCH | Roleplay + competition | Online board game | Competitive | 2
Are We Compatible? | Guessing your partner's answers | Physical game | Guessing | 2+
Date Night: The Game | Mini date-night challenges | Physical game | Competitive | 2
Fog of Love | Storytelling + roleplay | Board game | Narrative | 2
Overcooked! 2 | Chaotic teamwork | Video game | Co-op | 2+
Codenames Duet | Getting inside each other's heads | Word game | Co-op | 2+
Unsolved Case Files | Solving a murder | Case-file game | Co-op | 1+
Monogamy | A spicier date night | Board game | Intimate | 2
Monopoly Deal | Quick competition | Card game | Competitive | 2+
Exploding Kittens | Easy chaos | Card game | Competitive | 2+

1. SMOOCH: best for roleplay + competition #

Best for: Turning date night into a story
Format: Online board game
Players: 2

SMOOCH starts by asking a much more interesting question than “how well do you know your partner?”

Who are you tonight?

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

You could become two strangers stuck with the last hotel room.

Or enter a private club under fake names and try to earn your way further inside.

Then the board game kicks in.

You roll, buy date-night spots, collect money, play Wildcards and give each other challenges as the story moves forward.

And you are competing.

Highest net worth wins the night.

It works in the same room or long-distance, and there is nothing to download.

Pick this if: you want characters, a storyline, challenges and an actual winner.

PLAY SMOOCH

2. Are We Compatible?: best for finding out if you actually think alike #

Best for: Couples who love guessing each other's answers
Format: Physical game
Players: 2+

This one still involves questions, but the mechanic makes it feel much more like a game.

Instead of simply interviewing each other, you answer in secret and then reveal where you both land.

Sometimes:

Perfect match.

Sometimes:

Apparently you have been dating a complete stranger.

The fun is in predicting your partner's answers and discovering whether your idea of “very likely” is remotely similar to theirs.

Pick this if: you want to learn things about each other, but still want guessing and reveals involved.

3. Date Night: The Game: best for mini-challenges #

Best for: Couples who want to actually do things
Format: Physical game
Players: 2

Date Night: The Game turns the night into a series of little competitions and challenges.

You might be making something.

Testing a random skill.

Competing against each other.

Trying something mildly ridiculous.

It has much more of an:

“Okay, your turn.”

energy than a sit-down conversation game.

The activities themselves become the date, so you don't need to already be board-game people to get into it.

Pick this if: the phrase “date-night activity” sounds more appealing than “deep conversation.”

4. Fog of Love: best for playing out a completely fake relationship #

Best for: Couples who like characters and storytelling
Format: Physical board game
Players: 2

Fog of Love is basically a playable romantic comedy.

You each create a fictional character.

Those characters meet, date, deal with awkward situations and make questionable choices.

Eventually, you find out whether the relationship you've created actually works.

The important part?

You aren't playing yourselves.

Your character can be dramatic, selfish, chaotic or completely unlike you.

So instead of asking:

“What does this say about our relationship?”

you get to ask:

“What would my character do here?”

Sometimes it's more fun to let two imaginary people have all the problems.

Pick this if: you want roleplay and storytelling in a proper physical board game.

5. Overcooked! 2: best for chaotic teamwork #

Best for: Couples who communicate mainly through yelling “PLATES”
Format: Video game
Players: 2+

You run a kitchen together.

Sounds cute.

It is not.

Someone needs to chop.

Someone needs to cook.

Something is on fire.

And somehow your partner has disappeared with the tomatoes.

Overcooked! 2 works because you can't really play beside each other. You have to play with each other.

One tiny mistake can turn a functioning kitchen into absolute chaos.

It also supports local and online play, so you don't necessarily need to be in the same place.

Pick this if: teamwork sounds fun, especially when everything is going wrong.

6. Codenames Duet: best for getting inside each other's heads #

Best for: Couples with too many inside jokes
Format: Word game
Players: 2+

Codenames Duet gives you a grid of words.

Your job is to give your partner one clue that connects several of them.

That's where things get weird.

You think:

Obviously “holiday” connects BEACH, PLANE and SUN.

Your partner confidently picks HOTEL.

Which isn't even one of your words.

It's cooperative and built around two people trying to understand how the other person's brain connects ideas.

Pick this if: your relationship already has its own strange internal language.

7. Unsolved Case Files: best for turning date night into a murder investigation #

Best for: Couples who need a mission
Format: Physical case-file game
Players: 1+

You open a case.

There are witness statements.

Photos.

Evidence.

Reports.

Suspects.

And suddenly date night has become:

“No, look at the timestamp again.”

Unsolved Case Files gives you a fictional cold case and asks you to work out what actually happened.

There's no controller to learn and no complicated game system.

The mystery is the game.

Pick this if: solving a murder sounds more fun than choosing another movie.

8. Monogamy: best for a spicier physical board game #

Best for: Couples who want the game to get more intimate
Format: Physical board game
Players: 2

Monogamy is built specifically as an adult couples board game.

You move around the board through different activities that become progressively more intimate as the game goes on.

So yes, there is talking involved.

But there's also movement, progression and an actual board-game structure underneath it.

It occupies a pretty different mood from everything else on this list.

You're probably not choosing between this and Codenames Duet because you're craving the same evening.

Pick this if: you specifically want a couples game that can move date night somewhere spicier.

9. Monopoly Deal: best for quick competition #

Best for: Couples who suddenly become horrible over fake property
Format: Card game
Players: 2+

Monopoly Deal takes the property-stealing, rent-demanding part of Monopoly and removes the three hours of your life you'll never get back.

Rounds are fast.

The rules are easy.

And you can absolutely steal the property set your partner has been building for the last ten minutes.

There's enough strategy to make winning satisfying, but almost no setup.

Plus, most people already vaguely understand the Monopoly universe, so you're not beginning date night with a rules lecture.

Pick this if: you want something competitive you can start in five minutes.

10. Exploding Kittens: best for easy chaos #

Best for: Couples who don't want to think too hard
Format: Card game
Players: 2+

Exploding Kittens is basically Russian roulette with ridiculous cards.

You draw.

You try not to explode.

You use cards to dodge disaster and make life worse for everybody else.

That's about all you need to know before starting.

Not every date-night game needs a storyline, 40 pieces and a detailed understanding of medieval trade routes.

Sometimes you want to open a box and be playing almost immediately.

Pick this if: you want low-effort, stupid fun with just enough betrayal.

Bonus: Lovestruck, if there are other couples involved #

Best for: Double dates and group game nights
Players: 5-10

Lovestruck doesn't belong in the main list because it isn't really a two-player couples game.

But for a group night?

Very different story.

The game turns everyone into contestants on a reality dating show.

You create characters, date other contestants, figure out who is there for the “right reasons” and manufacture exactly the kind of drama you'd expect from reality TV.

Pick this if: date night has somehow become cast night.

So what kind of couples game are you actually looking for? #

The easiest way to choose isn't by asking which one is “best.”

Ask what you want the night to feel like.

You want the game itself to feel like a date #

Go with SMOOCH, Fog of Love or Monogamy.

They're built around the fact that the two people playing are a couple, rather than simply being games that happen to work well with two players.

You want to compete #

Try SMOOCH, Monopoly Deal or Exploding Kittens.

Different levels of seriousness.

Same important outcome:

There is someone to blame when you lose.

You want to work together #

Pick Overcooked! 2, Codenames Duet or Unsolved Case Files.

One gives you a kitchen.

One gives you words.

One gives you a murder.

All three give you a reason to actually interact.

You want to find out how well you know each other #

Try Are We Compatible?

It keeps the “learn something about your partner” part of traditional couples games, but turns the answers into something you both have to predict and reveal.

You want something easy for tonight #

Go with Monopoly Deal or Exploding Kittens.

Little setup.

Little commitment.

Very easy to say:

“Again?”

And suddenly you've played six rounds.

The best couples game is the one that gives you something to talk about after #

That's the real test.

Not whether a game promises to make you closer.

Not whether there are 200 cards in the box.

Not whether somebody labelled it “the ultimate date-night experience.”

Did something happen?

Did one of you completely misunderstand a Codenames clue?

Did you accuse the wrong murder suspect for an hour?

Did your Overcooked kitchen burn down because nobody washed a plate?

Did your fake Fog of Love relationship implode spectacularly?

Did somebody land on the wrong SMOOCH spot and suddenly have a challenge they definitely weren't expecting?

Good.

Now you have a date-night story.

And probably a rematch.