Games to play in a group chat, and one built for it

Seven games your group chat can play tonight with nothing to install. They cost nothing. Then one that was made for it.

Seven games that need only the chat

Every group chat goes quiet sometimes. These are the games we reach for first. None of them needs an app, a call, or a cent.

1. Two truths and a lie. One person posts three statements. Everyone votes on the lie. It works best with people who think they know each other.
2. Twenty questions. One person thinks of a thing and the chat gets twenty yes or no questions. Keep a count in the thread, or the argument about the count becomes the game.
3. Would you rather. Post a choice with two bad options. Everyone answers, and then everyone has to defend the answer.
4. One line at a time. Someone writes the first line of a story. Each person adds one line and nobody plans ahead. Read the whole thing back at the end.
5. Emoji charades. Spell out a film or a song in emoji only. The first right guess picks the next one.
6. Quiz night. One person is the quizmaster and posts ten questions, one at a time. Answers go in the chat, on the honor system.
7. Photo hunt. The host names a thing, like something older than you or the worst mug in the house. The first photo in the chat wins the round.

What those games have in common

They are quick, and anyone can drop in halfway through. They also share a shape. Everyone sees the same thing, nothing is hidden, and there is no clock. Somebody has to run them, and that person never gets to play.

That is fine for ten minutes on a Tuesday. It is not a game night.

The one built for a group chat

We made Group Chat Escape for the night you actually plan. It is an escape room that works like a group chat. One person starts a room and texts a link. Up to five friends open it on their phones. There is no app and no video call.

Three things make it different from the list above.

• Every phone holds something different. Each player gets a private card: a role, a clue, a piece of a code. Nobody can open a lock alone, so the group has to talk.
• There is a clock. The short room runs up to 15 minutes and the full room up to 45. A wrong code costs time.
• Nobody has to host. A game master runs the room in the chat, so everyone plays. It is an AI, and every card it writes carries an AI label. It narrates. Code decides if you're right.

It does not run inside your texting app. You text your friends the link, and the game has its own chat.

When to pick which

• The chat is bored right now: twenty questions or a photo hunt.
• Half the group is busy: one line at a time, which people can join whenever they surface.
• You have a date on the calendar and friends in three cities: an escape room, with the link sent ahead.
• It is one person on a train: the same rooms play solo, with AI teammates holding the other cards.

What a room costs

With friends, up to 6 phones: Easy is $3.99, Medium $5.99, Hard $7.99. One payment covers the room, so six friends pay about a dollar each. Haven't started your room? Full refund within 14 days. Group Chat Escape is for players 18 and up.

New to it? How to play walks through a whole game, and The Lake House is the room you can play today.