Couples often plan game nights to play games that require props and boards and more participants. However, not every game night has to be so elaborate. There are many games that require only you two and nothing else.
My partner and I have been dating for a decade, and we often play games at our home. There are some nights when we have nothing to do, and they help us kill some time, as well as strengthen our bonding.
To ensure you don’t end up playing super-old and boring ones, I’ve come up with this list for you here.
15 Best Couples Games That Can Be Played Without Anything
Some of these are silly and easy, while others require more thought to go into them, and can retrace your journey as a couple. All games listed below are quite popular and can even be customized as per your needs.
Rest assured, you’ll have endless fun playing them with your spouse!
1. Never Have I Ever
One of the best games for early-stage couples who have just started dating. This game helps you find out things about each other and helps you understand each other’s life experiences better. This is also a fun game for couples looking to get drunk together.
How To Play:
- Ask your partner a question about a life experience you want to ask them about — for instance, ‘Never have I ever had a broken bone’.
- If they have not had one, they’re clear.
- If they have had a broken bone in the past, they’ll take a shot.
2. Two Truths and a Lie
This is among my favorite games to play with my wife, as it allows me to show off some of my skills and achievements without awkwardly bragging about them.
This is a great ice-breaker and helps you tell your partner some things that you might not be able to fit into a regular conversation otherwise.
How To Play:
- Tell your partner two truths and a lie about yourself, for instance, “I can speak three languages, I have never failed a grade in school, and I am a trained marine biologist”.
- Your partner has to guess which out of these three is the lie.
- If they guess it, they win. Otherwise, you get the point.
3. Staring Contest
Looking into one another’s eyes is one of the the most romantic and key exercises for building trust. It improves your bonding and allows you to communicate with just their eyes.
Unlike some other games listed here, which help you learn new things about your partner or are ice-breakers in a new relationship, this one is for couples that have been dating for a while.
How To Play:
- Bring your face closer to your partner’s face, and look into their eyes.
- Keep looking into each others’ eyes until one of you blinks.
- Whoever blinks first loses the game.
4. Would You Rather
Want to know your partner’s preferences, but don’t want to directly ask them? Would you rather is one of the easiest games to get to know your partner well. Understand each other’s desires and dreams by asking questions.
Once you know their preferences, you can bond better as you know what your partner likes. Would You Rather is also one of the top-rated games for long-distance couples.
How To Play:
- Ask your partner a question with two choices, “Would you rather go on a candlelight dinner, or go for a picnic tomorrow”.
- The partner answers with one of the two options and asks you the next question.
- Based on what they answer, you now know their preference and can do things that make them happy.
5. Truth or Dare
This is an old classic game that couples can play together in all stages of their relationship. Whether you have just started dating someone, or have been married for years.
Truth or dare is always certain to promise an evening of fun. You can even replace it with ‘Truth or Drink’ if you are planning on getting drunk with your partner that day.
How To Play:
- Ask your partner if they choose Truth or Dare.
- If they choose Truth, ask them a question which they have to truthfully answer. If they choose Dare, give them a task that they have to perform then and there.
- Take turns asking each other to choose between Truth or Dare.
Bonus Tip: If you want to make things interesting, try ‘Spicy Dares’ from FYR couples games. It won’t let you down!
6. Hide and Seek
Another fun old classic especially for young couples. This game needs no explanation and has been played for generations, even centuries.
The game helps improve the fun bonding between you and your partner – after all, the best lovers are children at heart.
This game is even more fun if you have another couple playing along, as you get to find more people.
How To Play:
- One of the partners closes their eyes and counts to 20. The other partner, meanwhile, hides.
- Once the counting is done, the seeker sets out to find the hidden partner.
- Take turns playing hide and seek with each other.
7. The Floor is Lava
A popular game known to children across the world, The Floor is Lava is fun to play as a couple too. Use your living room or your bedroom creatively, and make sure your foot does not touch the floor!
The game lets you make good use of the objects around you, and as a couple, rearranging the stuff you have scattered around can also be therapeutic when done together.
How To Play:
- Decide on the starting point and the ending point for the game.
- Set up different objects as obstacles across the room.
- Reach from the starting location to the ending location without your feet touching the floor.
- Whoever does it the fastest wins.
8. 20 Questions
Twenty Questions is a game that tests both, your creative and analytical thinking skills. I have always enjoyed playing this game with my partner, Justin, as it is always fresh and innovative.
The game helps us have an evening of fun, as well as stay up to date with our new favorites.
How To Play:
- One of the partners thinks of a person or a place, object, etc., and lets the other person know that a decision has been made.
- The other partner then has 20 yes/no questions to ask by which they can guess who or what their partner is thinking about.
- If you can guess it, you win. If 20 questions run out, your partner wins.
9. Dumb Charades
A classic party game that can also be enjoyed with your partner during a date night. The game helps you bond over your favorite movies and inspires you to get extremely creative.
In a way, dumb charades can also improve the communication between you and your partner as you express without words in the game.
How To Play:
- Partners take turns to depict a movie of their choice to the other partner using just gestures and mute dramatization.
- The other partner has to guess which movie their partner is hinting at.
- If you guess the movie, you win. If you cannot get it right in five guesses, you lose.
10. Drinking Roulette
An extremely fun game any couple can play when they have nothing and want to get drunk quickly. Drinking Roulette is like an advanced version of Never Have I Ever.
Not only do you get to know your partner quicker here, but you also get to enjoy getting drunk with them.
You can choose your questions smartly here depending on who you want to get drunk quicker.
How To Play:
- Ask your partner a question that they can answer in yes/no.
- If your partner replies ‘no’, they have to take a shot, if they reply ‘yes’, you take a shot.
- Switch turns and keep asking till drunk enough.
11. Questions
A game that relies heavily on your creativity, Questions is fun when played with a partner. The game is like a ping-pong played with words, and it also gets you all hyped up as you have to be alert at all times.
This is an exciting couple’s game that helps build creative chemistry between partners. Questions can be enjoyed at all stages of one’s relationship.
How To Play:
- Start by asking your partner a question (example: how are you doing).
- They have to reply to you with another question in return, and it’s your turn again (example: why do you want to know how I am doing).
- Whoever’s reply doesn’t end in a question ends up losing.
12. Compliment Battle
This is one of the best couples games that also doubles as a communication exercise where they get to appreciate each other fully.
Often, especially when you’ve been dating for a long while, you don’t compliment each other too much. However, this game is all about the little things that make people special.
By the time you finish playing this game, both of you are going to end up feeling good about yourselves, and also appreciate your partner even more!
How To Play:
- Give a compliment to your partner (example: I love the way you always remember our anniversary).
- They have to reply with another compliment (example: I admire your hair care routine).
- The game ends when one of the players runs out of compliments.
13. Add To Cart
This is a memory game, where you have to remember a sequence. I and Justin often make grocery lists and sometimes forget to add stuff or to get stuff from them. However, this game ensures that our memory stays sharp.
How To Play:
- The first player adds one object to the list (for example: Apples).
- The other partner adds one more object to the list (example: Apples, Banana).
- The first player now adds one more object to the list (for example Apples, Banana, Milk).
- The game goes on until one of the partners forgets the sequence.
14. Continue the Story
A simple game where you get to be creative, as well as add instances from your own life to build an infinite story.
My partner and I love playing this game at night as it helps us drift off to sleep while creating a new story for each other every night! It is a warm and comforting feeling and we often include real-life incidents here.
How To Play:
- The first player opens the story (Once upon a time there lived a boy called Johnny).
- The second player adds the next line to the story (Johnny had a three-legged cat called Timothy).
- The third player continues the story (Timothy had a gift – he could fly).
- The story goes on until one of the players decides to end it, or doesn’t have anything else to add.
15. The Recall Game
A game where you get to revisit your own past and remember multiple details from specific incidents from your time with your partner. The Recall Game has helped me and my partner reminisce over so many incidents ranging from our first date to the first kiss, to the first time we hosted a party together, etc.
It’s a really nice game which fills you with warm feelings by the time you reach the end.
How To Play:
- One of the partners chooses the event from the couple’s past.
- The other partner recalls a memory from that day.
- Take turns remembering as much as you can from that specific event.
- The game ends when you run out of memories.
Final Thoughts!
All work and no play makes Jack and Jill go down the hill. In a relationship, these lighter moments of playing games can help you bust some stress, as well as form a deeper connection with your partner, and in some cases, relive the good old days. I hope this list helped you have a good time!
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