Competitive games can be fun for skillful gamers and opportunities for gentle ribbing, but if those tend to bring out unsightly behaviors, you can always opt for cooperative games instead. Either way, video games provide a shared opportunity for laughter and entertainment. And mobile games are one of the best options for couples who want to game together. Just whip out your phone and play together whenever you want, wherever you want. And for the mobile games we’re about to show you, you can both play on the same phone! Here are the best mobile games for couples who want to play together on a single device. Only one phone or tablet needed.
11. Chain Reaction
Chain Reaction is a casual strategy game where you’ll both be saying “WTF!” when the eponymous chain reactions pop off. You take turns placing dots on a large grid of cells, where each cell can hold up to four dots. Once a cell reaches its max, it pops off and sends one dot to each adjacent cell, claiming the dots in those cells—and if those cells reach their max, they also pop off. The chain reactions can get pretty intense, and it’s anybody’s game all the way to the very end. A fun game for couples who like strategy games that aren’t overwhelmingly deep or complex.
10. Quizoid
Quizoid is just a simple trivia mobile game, but it’s a well-made one. With over 7,000 questions and three different game modes (what’s the longest streak you can go, how many can you get correct out of 20, and how many can you get correct in a time limit), it’s fun! It’s technically a single-player game, but there’s no reason why you both can’t play. You’ll probably get much farther together than either of you would get on your own! One bonus to Quizoid is that you can play completely offline. If you two are ever caught out without Wi-Fi or mobile data—like on an airline flight or a long train ride—Quizoid can help you kill time.
9. Guess the Song
For music fans, Guess the Song is a fun mobile game where you can go head-to-head in a battle to see who can identify songs faster. Each player takes one side of the phone. A random song starts playing and you each get four answer options—either the title of the song or the name of the artist. It’s harder than you think! You can choose different musical categories for battle, like Love Songs or One Hit Wonders or Female Singers. You can also unlock dozens of additional categories, but they’ll cost a few bucks each.
8. Battle Golf
Battle Golf is a casual little one-tap mobile game. Each player takes one side of the phone, and the direction of the golf ball oscillates back and forth—tap to set the direction, tap again to set the power. You can play head-to-head and see who can sink more balls in the hole (the hole changes after someone scores), or you can play cooperatively to see how many you can sink together in a time limit. It’s fun and a great way to kill a bit of time!
7. Glow Hockey 2
Glow Hockey 2 is the sequel to the original Glow Hockey, a mobile game that turns your phone into an air hockey arena. Both players take one side of the phone and use their respective paddles to sink the puck into the goals. It’s simple but true to the air hockey experience. Make sure to play flat on a table for the best experience—I’ve tried otherwise, and it doesn’t work!
6. Orc Genocide
Orc Genocide is an action strategy mobile game with tons of different game modes. It’s hard to describe them all in one sentence. My favorite mode is Tower Defense, where you both buy and upgrade towers to defeat waves of enemies. Other game modes include Cliff Rush (head-to-head fights across 5 lanes), Ancient Defense (a minimalist version of a MOBA), and Orc Jumper (a one-tap platformer jumping game).
5. Dots and Boxes
Dots and Boxes is a clean and simple recreation of the classic pencil-and-paper game we all played when we were kids. There’s a grid of dots, and each player takes turns drawing a line to connect a pair of adjacent dots. Whenever a player completes the last wall of a box, that box becomes theirs and they can draw another line. Whoever has more boxes at the end, wins.
4. Crossy Road
Crossy Road took the mobile gaming world by storm when it released in 2014, and it still remains one of the most popular free mobile games you can play. And it’s perfect for couples! Using taps and swipes, each player can move their character across the randomly generated world. Dodge obstacles and pick up bonuses along the way, and see who can survive longer. With hundreds of characters to unlock and lots of environments to explore, there’s plenty of replay value to Crossy Road.
3. Wordscapes
Wordscapes is another example of a single-player mobile game that can be quite fun when played together with someone else. The game consists of a crossword-like board and a handful of letters. Your goal is to use those letters to spell words and fill out the board. Sounds pretty simple, but it can get challenging later on! It’s fun as a couple because you can both spell out words as you find them. And the game isn’t timed, so the only thing that matters is that you both have fun finding those pesky words!
2. Tsuro: The Game of the Path
Tsuro is just the mobile game adaptation of an actual board game. The digital version works quite well and is quite fun! Each player starts with a stone token and takes turns placing randomly drawn tiles on the board. The lines on the tiles dictate how the stone token moves—and when your stone token leaves the board, you lose. The strategy element is great, but the real fun comes from the ability to use your tiles to derail the opponent’s stone token. Tsuro is great for couples who are strategy-minded and able to play competitive games without getting too mad at each other.
1. Sea Battle 2
Remember the board game Battleship? Well, Sea Battle 2 is like that—except cranked up several levels. You both start by placing units on the battlefield, which includes battleships, airplanes, submarines, and mines. You can also choose your arsenal of attacks to sink the opponent’s fleet. Between Classic and Advanced modes, there’s enough fun for mobile gaming couples of all skill levels. Plus, the sketchbook art style is just so unique and lovely to play with. Read next: The best mobile game RPGs
