10 Games to Play with Friends on Phone Calls in 2024

How often does it happen that you get on a phone call with your friend but halfway through the conversation, you are left with nothing to talk about? And, what succeeds that is a stretch of awkward silence. Happens to all of us and yet we find situations to get ourselves into such situations.

Surprisingly, there are a bunch of different games that you can play with your friends over a phone call to make the whole experience, even more, fun and intriguing. No longer will you have to worry about unnecessary awkwardness or have difficulty picking the next topic in your conversation.

That said, not many people are aware of these games, which is what this article is going to be all about. We have shortlisted the top 10 games that are quite fun to play over a phone call with your friends.

What are the best Games to Play with Friends on a Phone Call?

Before you get confused with things and start thinking that we are talking about elaborate video games that have multiplayer settings, we aren’t. Most of the games we have shortlisted here are simple games that shouldn’t take you more than a minute to play. 

Surprisingly, most of these games are conversation-based, which means that you can play them to eliminate the thick silence in the room.

Following are the top 10 games worth exploring:

1. Never have I ever

Now, this one takes the cake. Ideal between newer friends, playing Never have I ever allows you to get to know each other while keeping the conversation flowing. The rules are simple and pretty much the same as when you play it with drinks. One has to say “Never have I ever” and then suffix it with something they haven’t done that they think others might have. 

People who have done it have to chug a drink. In this case, you can just keep the answers verbal since you are playing over the phone. Besides friends, you can also play this game with someone you are dating. It allows you to have a fun way to understand more about the other person, making the whole experience fun.

2. Charades

Next up on the list is Charades, which is a classic game that is being played for generations. Its fun, conventional, doesn’t involve any complexities and you can spend hours playing this game. If you and your friend are bored and want to do something fun, this is one of the best alternatives we’d recommend you explore.

This kind of game is ideal when you are on a Facetime or Zoom call since you need to be on camera to be able to make your gestures to let the other person guess what you are trying to say. Also, since the game doesn’t require any supplies, you can start playing it anywhere, any time.

3. Pictionary

This can be a hit or miss among people on the phone. Again, if you are planning to play this game, you’d need to be on either Facetime or Zoom, or any other video calling app since it requires you to stay on the video to identify what your other friend is drawing.

The rules of Pictionary are pretty simple. You have to take an object, event, or item and then draw that on a whiteboard or piece of paper and the other person has to guess what you are drawing. The game is a lot like charades, except the fact that it involves drawing instead of enacting the word or the film that you are trying to get through.

4. Truth or Dare

Another staple yet an interactive game that you can play with your friend while on the phone is Truth or Dare. It’s no doubt one of the juiciest games that can bring some of the darkest secrets out of your friend that they aren’t disclosing to others.

If you are on a group video call, that’s where these kinds of games are the most fun. You can make the most out of each friend in the group. However, the only issue with this game is that you can’t play it in a traditional sense with a bottle. Instead, you’d need to take turns, making the game a little less exciting. However, we’d recommend that you focus on the questions you ask.

5. Uno

We haven’t talked about many board games or card games on the list. However, the good news is that we have one that we think is worth mentioning in this list. Uno is a public favorite and rightfully so. But, if you have three or more friends on a call and you are bored because there’s not much to talk about, playing Uno virtually is a great way to get things going.

There are several Uno apps that you can download and ask your friends to download on their phones. Once they are installed, you can then play the games simultaneously and have the time of your life.

6. Put a finger down

Moving on, the next one is “Put a finger down”. This one is quite a fun game too and perfect for friends who are new to their friendship and don’t have a lot of topics to prolong a conversation. You can start this game by being creative and introducing unique game ideas to the list.

Since Put a finger down is quite a popular game online as well, it is also a great way to get things going for yourself there too. You can find example questions and then use them in the conversation with your friend so you won’t have to be stuck in awkward silence.

7. Read my lips

If you are tired of having nothing to talk about with your friends in the middle of a phone call, Read my lips is also a great game to indulge in. It’s fun and not to mention, quite interesting as well. You can lower your phone’s speaker and then say something. 

What your friend has to do is read your lips and try to guess what you are saying. What’s great about this game is that it’s fun and the guess that your friends make are hilarious. But, then again, since it involves reading one’s lips, you need to stay on a video call to be able to sort this out. This is a very interesting game that you can start playing with your friends over a call.

8. Two truths and a lie

If you aren’t in the mood to kickstart a video call and are looking for games that you can play over a phone call, this is another one worth exploring. In this, you have to talk about two truths and one lie. Once done, your friend has to guess which of the three is a lie and which is the truth.

Your strategy when playing the game is to include phrases that are realistic and not too out of the game. If you include something very unrealistic, it will become easier for your friends to guess, which one is untrue. So, always keep things believable if you want to have fun and confuse your friends over a phone call.

9. Twenty Questions

Even if you have been friends with the said person for years, there is always a set of questions that we never know the answers to but want to know about the friend. This is your time to make that a reality. Twenty questions are a great way where you alternatively ask each other questions and the other person has to answer them truthfully.

It is a great conversation starter, which allows you to get to know the other person better and explore ways to tell some hidden facts about yourself to your friend as well. Besides shorter phone calls, this is a game that you can play during long car rides as well.

10. Chess

If you and your friend are into chess and want to make the most out of your time, you can both download chess multiplayer games to your smartphones and then start playing the game over a call. It is a great way to stay engaged but still not have a moment of awkwardness during the calls.

However, what you need to ensure is that you both are downloading the same chess app because otherwise you won’t be able to coordinate the game online and everything will be a mess. Not just for chess, there are several board games, which have an app version that you can download and play without any compromise.

Conclusion

With that, we come to the end of the article. We hope this article gives you a complete rundown of all the top games you can play with your friends to kill time or overcome awkward silences with your friend over a phone call or a video call. Most of these games don’t require any external resources, so you can get started anywhere.