15 Games to Play Over Text With Friends

Playing stimulating VR games or immersive PC single-player games is fun, but sometimes you might want to mess around with something simpler. Games can be too time-consuming and demanding, so why not look for fun games to play over text with your friends?

In this article, we’ll look at some of the most fun texting games to play via SMS. All you need is a smartphone, and it doesn’t even have to be a fancy one. So get creative and have some fun!  

1. I Spy 

A favorite of all generations and often played during family trips, I Spy can be played via text messages. Find an object of interest and ask your friends to guess what your eyes are fixed on. Give them a heads up by describing where you are and giving them the first letter of the object you chose. You can limit how often your friends can guess or give them more clues after each wrong answer.

2. Never Have I Ever

Never Have I Ever is another familiar game usually played face-to-face but works well when played over text messages or chat apps like Whatsapp. Just send a text saying “Never have I ever” and add a statement about something you never did before. Keep in mind that you want to make the game fun, so think about something dirty, flirty, secret, or silly. 

Never Have I Ever is mainly played as a drinking game, which is hard to do through text but think of other fun ways to punish your friends who give a positive answer. For example, ask them to send the silliest photo to the group chat or publish an embarrassing story on social media.

3. Trivia Questions

Trivia Questions is a great party game played by choosing a category from which you would draw questions to ask your friends over text. Spice up the game by inventing a point system and award your friends with simple gifts such as buying a drink for the winner. You can ask questions about movies, music, the gaming world, or whatever you and your friends have in common.

4. Abbreviations

This simple game is played by sending your friends a text message with the abbreviation of a sentence, and they need to guess what the full sentence is. You can use sentences that describe what you are doing at the given moment or what you’re thinking. For example, if you send “IBANI” to your friends, they need to figure out that you’re saying, “I’m buying a new iPhone.” 

This game is as fun as the creativity of your friend, and you can expect to receive even some rude answers. Help your friends out by sending more letters each time they fail to guess your abbreviation.

5. Kiss, Marry, Kill

Name three people, either celebrities or someone you know, or even movie characters, and ask your friends who they would kiss, marry, and kill. Spice up the game by naming someone you know your friend has a crush on or someone they dislike. Be mindful that all of this must be in jest. The end goal is to have fun, not to offend anyone.

6. Emoji Translation

Emoji Translation is one of the best texting games to be played via SMS or group chats. Send your friends a text message entirely made of emojis. Their task is to interpret your message and send back their answer. There are so many emojis available, and the only limit to the game is your imagination. Expect some funny answers and choose the winner based on who came the closest to the sentence you had in mind. 

7. Would You Rather

“Would You Rather” is very popular on Reddit, and it is a perfect long-distance game. Ask your friends fun questions in the form “would you rather x or y” and fill in the blanks with something fun. Here’s an example: “Would you rather fight 100 ninjas with Chuck Norris at your side, or fight Chuck Norris with 100 ninjas by your side?”. Ask your friends to explain their choice and expect to have fun reading their quirky answers.

8. Story Time

Also known as Story Builder, this is a very creative game. As you probably guessed by the name of the game, you and your friends need to develop a story by taking turns writing one sentence at a time. The story can go as long as you wish. You can even build it up over days or weeks and see how far you can take it. 

Alternatively, you can go word by word instead of sentences, but this variation of the “Story Time” game is much longer. Start with something simple such as ”Once upon a time…” and your friends will immediately pick up the game.

9. Where Am I?

Like “I Spy,” the “Where Am I” game is played by texting your friends and asking them to identify your location. You will need to describe your surroundings and what you see via SMS or chat, but keep it simple, so you don’t give away too much information. For example, if you are at McDonald’s drive-thru, simply type “Food, car, clown” and let your friends guess where you are.

10. Truth or Dare

Everyone knows the “Truth or Dare” game, and it can be equally fun when played via SMS or group chats. Ask your friends to choose truth or dare and wait for their answer. If they say “truth”, which is the easy part, just ask them any question. But you will have to be more creative if they choose “dare”. Give them a fun, maybe slightly embarrassing task, and ask for a photo or a video that proves it was completed.

11. Song Lyrics

To play this game, you and your friends need to have at least similar tastes in music. Song Lyrics is a game in which you will text a line from a song and then have your friend guess which song it is from. Afterward, you can go back and forth by texting the next line in the song. 

12. Hangman

Traditionally, Hangman is played with pen and paper, and it is difficult to imagine the game without a little dangling stick figure being hanged. But if you think about it, a hangman usually has six guesses before the whole stick figure is drawn.

Limit how many attempts your friend has to find the correct answer, and you won’t need a pen and paper. Send an SMS to your friend with underscores where letters should be and when they answer with a note in the word you imagined, send the underscores again with a correct letter in the right location.

13. Unpopular Opinion

Not all people are the same, and each person has a different opinion on a particular topic. But some ideas are popular, meaning the majority of people share them. The game “Unpopular Opinion” will allow you to voice different feelings about a movie everyone seems to like, for example. 

Send a text message to your friends, loved ones, or family saying, “Unpopular opinion: the Marvel franchise sucks,” and wait for their answer. Many people take popular and unpopular opinions personally, so be mindful not to offend anyone. In general, they should answer your message with an unpopular opinion after a stark debate.

14. Riddles

Riddles are a versatile game that you can play on any platform. This is perfect for text messages and group chats and especially fun when you play it with your partner or friends. Text them your favorite riddle or get some inspiration from Subreddits. When your opponent gives a correct answer, it’s your turn to answer one.

15. What If?

“What If?” is the perfect game for those with a rich imagination and those who love daydreaming. Put yourself and your friends, spouse, or kids in an imagined situation and ask them what they would do in that given scenario. Their replies might surprise you, and you can learn something new about your loved ones. After they answer, they can either direct the same question to you or ask you a new one.

What are the most fun texting games you have ever played? Let us know in the comments below!