The best app for playing games with your boyfriend is Pookie. It is a couples app with fourteen real-time games for two phones (Pool, Ludo, Battleships, Knife Throw, Snakes & Ladders, Draw Something, Wavelength, Tic Tac Toe) and 10,000+ Who's More Likely and Would You Rather quizzes, and one subscription covers both of you. If he refuses to download anything, this page also has 16 games that run entirely over text or a call, and he has no excuse for those.
There is a specific kind of boyfriend who will play Clash of Clans for four hours and then say he does not really do phone games when you suggest one. This list is designed around him. Short games he can win. Games that feel like competition rather than a quiz about feelings. And a few that are secretly a quiz about feelings anyway.
We have split it into apps built for couples, general games apps that are good for two, and the games that need nothing but a phone. If you have already read our games to play with your girlfriend post, this is a different list, on purpose.
The app that is actually for the two of you
Pookie
Best for couples, and the one he will get competitive about. Pookie is a couples app with games inside it, played across two phones in real time. Pool and Battleships are the ones that turn into a best of five. Knife Throw is 30 seconds of pure spite. Ludo is longer and somehow more personal. Then there are the quizzes: 10,000+ questions in Who's More Likely, Would You Rather, and Draw It Out, plus topic packs from Icebreakers to Unhinged with a spicy toggle. You both answer, then it shows you where you agreed and where you very much did not. A daily challenge gives you something to beat him at every morning. All fourteen games, the whiteboard, the full question library, the pet, doodles, moods and widgets are free, and there are no ads. Premium ($4.99 a month or $24.99 a year) is optional, and one subscription covers both of you, so only one of you would ever pay. It works the same on iPhone and Android. Download from the App Store or Google Play.
Everything below is what to use around it. Some of these are better than Pookie at one specific thing. None of them are built for the two of you.
General games apps that work well for two
Chess.com
Best if he thinks he is good at chess. Send a friend challenge, set the clock to a day per move or ten minutes total, and find out. The app is on both platforms, free with ads, and the post-game review will tell you exactly where he blundered, which you can screenshot. Puzzles race mode is the fun one if neither of you wants a full game.
GamePigeon
Quickest, if you are both on iPhone. Lives inside iMessage: 8 Ball, Cup Pong, Darts, Sea Battle, Mini Golf, Word Hunt. Each turn is a message, so it is easy to slot into the day. Needs iMessage on both ends, so an Android boyfriend is out, and the turn bubbles pile up in the thread.
Plato
The biggest library, with a lobby you should avoid. Dozens of two player games including Pool, Bowling, Werewolf, and card games. Make a private room and it is fine. The public side of Plato is where the one star reviews come from: strangers messaging, dice that people are convinced are rigged, and shop items that moved from earned coins to paid currency. Private room only.
Mario Kart Tour
Best for a rivalry. Nintendo's phone Mario Kart lets you race friends in a private room. The blue shell is still the blue shell. It works across iPhone and Android and the free tier is enough for a grudge match. Pair with a video call for the full effect.
Sky: Children of the Light
Best for a night where nobody wants to compete. A calm exploration game where you hold hands and fly. No winner. Good after a long week. The friend-adding process is odd the first time but it is free and cross-platform.
Stardew Valley
Best long project. A shared farm on phone, PC, or console. You split the chores, argue about where the chicken coop goes, and lose whole Sundays. Paid once, no subscription, and one of the very few games where a boyfriend who "doesn't do phone games" will voluntarily water crops at midnight.
Overcooked (All You Can Eat)
Best if you have a console and a strong relationship. Cooperative cooking under time pressure. It is a well known couples stress test. Nobody has ever finished a kitchen without one of them shouting "onions." Not a phone game, but if he has a Switch or PlayStation it is the funniest two player evening on the list.
8 Ball Pool and Among Us usually appear on these lists. Pool is fine but it is one game with a lot of ads, and Pookie has it built in. Among Us needs a crowd.
Games to play with your boyfriend over text or on a call
No download, no account, no "my phone's full." These are the ones that survive contact with a boyfriend who claims to hate games.
Who's more likely to
Who is more likely to talk to a stranger on a plane? To cry at a dog video? To eat the last slice and deny it? You both answer at once and compare. Pookie runs this as a quiz with thousands of prompts, but a countdown over text works.
Would you rather
The reliable one. Would you rather never eat pizza again or never watch football again? Would you rather I picked your outfits for a month or your music? Our 75 would you rather questions for couples go from fun to spicy.
Guess the takeaway
Send a photo of one ingredient or one corner of the box. He guesses the whole order. This is more revealing about your relationship than most quizzes.
Truth or dare over text
Dares with photo proof. Do ten push-ups and send the sweaty selfie. Text your mum a compliment and screenshot her reply. Our truth or dare questions for couples has 75 to pick from.
Sports commentary
On a call or a voice note, narrate whatever he is doing right now in the voice of a sports commentator. Making a sandwich. Looking for his keys. It is stupid and it works every single time.
Never have I ever
Ten fingers each. Every finger down is a story you had not heard. Works on a video call. Our never have I ever questions for couples start cute and end somewhere else.
Guess the year
Send a photo of yourself from a random year. He has to guess the year and what you were into at the time. Then swap. Prepare for haircuts.
Emoji song titles
Song title in emoji only. 🌧️👑 is a warm-up. 🐺🏠🔥 is a fight. Keep a running score for the week and the loser cooks.
The five second rule
Name three things in a category in five seconds, on a call. Three pasta shapes. Three of my friends' surnames. Three things you love about me, go. The last one is a trap and he knows it.
Two truths and a lie, pre-you edition
Three things from his life before you met. One is false. You will learn about a broken arm, a scout badge, or a brief career as a magician.
Draw it, stroke by stroke
Draw something and he guesses. On a shared whiteboard it is better, because he sees it appear line by line and can guess early. Pookie's whiteboard does that and drops the drawing on his lock screen widget.
Fantasy anything
Draft a fantasy team of anything. Best five pizza toppings. Best five Marvel films. Best five of our friends to survive a zombie outbreak. Take turns picking. Argue for the rest of the evening.
Finish the lyric
You send the first half of a line, he sends the second. Wrong words are a forfeit. Pick the songs he sings badly in the car.
Rate my day
Highlight, lowlight, and a score out of ten, every night. Guess his score before he sends it. Closest guess wins the week. This is the one that quietly becomes the best part of the day.
The alphabet game
Pick a category and go through the alphabet in turns. Car brands. Footballers. Things in the fridge. Q is where it falls apart.
One question a day
One decent question every morning, both of you answer before bed. Our deep questions to ask your boyfriend has 50 to start with, and Pookie sends a daily check-in if you would rather it picked.
Picking one
If you want a proper two player games night on your phones, Pookie is the only thing on this list that was built for it. For a rivalry with a leaderboard, Chess.com or Mario Kart Tour. For a slow burn across weeks, Stardew Valley. For tonight, with no downloads, rate my day and sports commentary.
If he is far away, our long distance relationship activities has 30 more ideas that work over distance, and if he is on Android and you are not, read our guide to couples apps for iPhone and Android couples before you download anything. For the full picture of how Pookie compares to other couples apps, the compare page lays it out feature by feature.
Frequently Asked Questions
What games can I play with my boyfriend over text?
Who's more likely to, would you rather, guess the takeaway, truth or dare with photo proof, emoji song titles, two truths and a lie, finish the lyric, fantasy drafts of anything, and a nightly rate my day. None need an app. Pookie has 10,000+ Who's More Likely and Would You Rather prompts if you want it to pick the questions.
What is the best app to play games with your boyfriend long distance?
Pookie. The games are real-time across two phones (Pool, Ludo, Battleships, Knife Throw, Snakes & Ladders, Draw Something, Wavelength, Tic Tac Toe) and it is built for couples rather than public rooms, so it is only ever the two of you. Chess.com and Words With Friends suit couples in different time zones, since moves can wait.
What games can my boyfriend and I play if he has Android and I have an iPhone?
Pookie, Chess.com, Plato, Mario Kart Tour, Sky, and Stardew Valley all work across iPhone and Android. GamePigeon does not, because it needs iMessage on both phones. Pookie has the same features on both platforms and one premium subscription covers both of you whichever store it was bought from.
What is a good game for a boyfriend who does not like phone games?
Start with something that feels like competition rather than a quiz: Knife Throw or Pool in Pookie, a chess challenge, or a Mario Kart Tour race. Off the phone, sports commentary and fantasy drafts of anything usually get a laugh out of the most reluctant boyfriend. Rate my day is the one that turns into a habit.
Are there couples games we can play together on a console?
It Takes Two is built for exactly two players and is about a couple. Overcooked is cooperative cooking under pressure and a well known relationship stress test. Stardew Valley lets you run a farm together on console, PC, or phone. None of these are phone-only, so pair them with a couples app like Pookie for the days you are apart.
He does not hate games. He hates being asked to download things. Start with one that needs nothing, let him win once, and then introduce the pool table. Give it a week.
Play Pookie with your boyfriend
Pool, Battleships, Knife Throw and five more real-time games for two, plus 10,000+ quizzes and a pet to raise together. Free on iPhone and Android.