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Best game gifts for long-distance relationships (2026) — when you live hours or time zones apart, most of your relationship happens on a screen. Texts and calls keep you in touch, but after a few months the conversations can start to loop: work, weather, what you had for dinner. A good game gift fixes that. Question decks give video dates a structure, a daily prompt keeps you curious between calls, and a two-player game makes the visits feel like more than a countdown to the airport. These six picks cover all three.
Our top long-distance gift: We’re Not Really Strangers 365
A daily scratch-off question for the two of you. Scratch it on a call, text your answer, or save it for your next video date. It turns a year apart into a year of better conversations.
Price band: $20–$30 (about $25) · Check today’s price on Amazon
Long-distance game gifts at a glance
Three picks for calls and texts, three for the visits in between.
- Best daily ritual: We’re Not Really Strangers 365 — a new question or challenge every day (about $25)
- Best for video dates: {THE AND} Couples Edition — 199 questions that go past “how was your day?” (about $30)
- Best levelled deck: We’re Not Really Strangers Couples Edition — three levels, from playful to vulnerable (about $20)
- Best for visits: Codenames: Duet — a cooperative word game for two (about $25)
How games actually help a long-distance couple
Distance changes how couples talk. You lose the small, unplanned moments: commenting on the same TV show, noticing a bad mood, chatting while cooking. Structured prompts bring some of that back. They give you something new to discuss, they surface stories you would not think to tell over text, and they make a weekly video call feel like a date instead of a check-in. For in-person visits, a short two-player game gives you a shared activity that is not just sightseeing or saying goodbye.
Humor helps too. Start a call with one of these jokes about long distance relationships.
Games that work over video calls and texts
1. We’re Not Really Strangers 365 — best daily ritual for couples apart
Players: 2 (ages 18+) · Price band: $20–$30 (about $25) · Pick for: Best daily ritual for couples apart · See We’re Not Really Strangers 365 on Amazon
This is a box of 365 scratch-off cards, one for each day. Each one reveals a question to answer or a small challenge to do together. Some are deep, some are silly, and all of them go beyond the usual small talk.
It suits long-distance couples perfectly because it needs only one copy: the partner who holds the box scratches the card on a call or snaps a photo of it, and both answer. Keeping a streak going for a year is a nice shared goal, too.
Skip it if: you prefer long, unstructured conversations. One card a day is the whole format.
2. {THE AND} Couples Edition — best deck for video date nights
Players: 2 · Price band: $20–$30 (about $30) · Pick for: Best deck for video date nights · See {THE AND} Couples Edition on Amazon
{THE AND} Couples is a deck of 199 questions designed to get partners talking about their history, their hopes and how they see each other. Each card is a single question, and you take turns asking and answering.
On a video call, one person reads the card aloud and you both answer. It is a great fit for couples who have been together a while and feel like they have run out of new things to say. More options for couples: our best couples card games list.
Skip it if: you are in the very early stages of dating. Some prompts assume a settled relationship.
3. We’re Not Really Strangers Couples Edition — best for building up to deeper talks
Players: 2 · Price band: $20–$30 (about $20) · Pick for: Best for building up to deeper talks · See We’re Not Really Strangers Couples Edition on Amazon
The Couples Edition has 150 cards arranged in three levels that build from lighter questions to more vulnerable ones. Wildcards add small actions, like writing a note to each other.
The level structure works well for scheduled video dates: start with level one on Friday night and work through the deck over a few months. Physical wildcard actions can be saved for the next visit.
Skip it if: you want something purely lighthearted. The later levels get emotional on purpose.
4. Let’s Get Deep — best budget question game
Players: 2 (ages 17+) · Price band: $10–$20 (about $13) · Pick for: Best budget question game · See Let’s Get Deep on Amazon
Let’s Get Deep is a question game for couples that starts with icebreakers and moves to deeper levels. It costs less than the other decks here, which makes it an easy add-on to a care package.
Couples who are newer to long distance often like it because the early cards are fun rather than heavy, so it is a gentle way to make calls more interesting.
Skip it if: you already own another question deck. The formats overlap.
Games for when you are finally together
5. Codenames: Duet — best cooperative game for visits
Players: 2 · Price band: $20–$30 (about $25) · Pick for: Best cooperative game for visits · See Codenames: Duet on Amazon
Duet is the two-player, cooperative version of Codenames. You share a grid of 25 words, each partner sees a different side of the key card, and you take turns giving one-word clues to help each other find all fifteen agents before time runs out.
Working as a team, rather than against each other, feels right when your time together is short. A game takes about fifteen minutes, so it fits into a lazy morning or a layover. Rules: how to play Codenames: Duet.
Skip it if: one of you dislikes word games. Lost Cities is a number game instead.
6. Lost Cities — best quick duel for a weekend visit
Players: 2 (ages 10+) · Price band: $10–$20 (about $20) · Pick for: Best quick duel for a weekend visit · See Lost Cities on Amazon
Lost Cities is a two-player card game about funding expeditions. You lay cards in rising order in colored columns, each column you start costs points, and wager cards raise the stakes. Three rounds take about half an hour.
It is compact enough to pack in a carry-on and calm enough to play over coffee on the last morning of a visit. More two-player ideas: best 2-player card games to buy.
Skip it if: you want a game for a group of friends during the visit. This is strictly for two.
Pick by how you stay in touch
| You mostly… | Give | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Text all day | We’re Not Really Strangers 365 | about $25 |
| Have a weekly video date | {THE AND} Couples Edition | about $30 |
| Want to build up to deep talks | We’re Not Really Strangers Couples Edition | about $20 |
| Are just starting long distance | Let’s Get Deep | about $13 |
| Visit every few weeks | Codenames: Duet | about $25 |
| Travel light for weekend trips | Lost Cities | about $20 |
Making a long-distance game gift feel personal
- Schedule the first round. Put a video date in both calendars and mail the deck so it arrives a day before.
- Build a care package. Pair a question deck with their favorite snack and a handwritten card.
- Save a game for the reunion. Give Codenames: Duet or Lost Cities with a note: “first game when you land.”
- More relationship advice: our guide to a healthy long-distance relationship covers communication habits that make the distance easier.
Long-distance relationship gift questions
What game can long-distance couples play together?
Question decks like {THE AND} Couples Edition work well on video calls because only one person needs the cards. One reads, both answer.
What is a good daily gift for a long-distance partner?
We’re Not Really Strangers 365 gives you one new question or challenge every day for a year.
Do we need two copies of a question game?
No. One partner can read the card aloud or send a photo of it. Two copies only help if you want to draw cards separately.
