Things to do on FaceTime with your partner, beyond just talking

The best things to do on FaceTime with your boyfriend, girlfriend or partner give you something to do together besides look at each other: a game with a pen and paper, an album playing in sync, a screen full of flats you’ll never afford. Having something to react to is what keeps a call going once the news runs out.

Below are ideas sorted by how much energy you’ve got, the FaceTime features that make some of them easier, and what to do if one of you isn’t on an iPhone.

When you’re both knackered

Low effort, no performing, and nobody has to be interesting.

• Get ready for bed together. Teeth, skincare, the lot, with the phone propped on the sink.
• Listen to an album start to finish, and each pick a favourite track at the end.
• Read side by side, and read one good line out loud each chapter.
• Fold the washing together. Chores go quicker with company.
• Show and tell. One object each from your room, and the story behind it.
• Write tomorrow’s to-do lists together, then add one nice thing to each other’s.

Things to do on FaceTime with your boyfriend that don’t need an app

Proper games, with nothing to download.

1. Pictionary on paper. Draw, hold it up to the camera, forty seconds on a timer.
2. Draw each other. Five minutes each, from the video, then the big reveal. Nobody wins.
3. Twenty questions, live, with a strict yes-or-no rule.
4. Blind taste test. One of you picks three things from the other’s cupboard. Eyes shut, guess away.
5. Guess the object. Hold something right up to the camera so it’s a blur, then pull it back slowly.
6. Teach each other one thing in ten minutes. A card trick, three chords, a phrase in another language.
7. Pub quiz for two. Each of you writes ten questions about things the other likes, then swap.

For games that work one message at a time instead, there’s a list of texting games for long-distance couples.

Using SharePlay and screen sharing

FaceTime has two built-in features that turn a call into an activity.

SharePlay. Apple’s FaceTime guide says SharePlay lets you listen to music with others on a FaceTime call as well as watch TV shows and films, with everyone able to play, pause, rewind or fast-forward. The catch: every person needs access to the content on their own device, through a subscription or a purchase. On iPhone, Apple’s guide covers using SharePlay to watch, listen and play together in FaceTime.

Screen sharing. Apple says sharing your screen in FaceTime lets you view a photo album together, get feedback on something you’re working on and more.

Ideas that use them:

• Swap songs. Take turns queueing a track the other has never heard, and explain it only once it’s played.
• Plan the next visit on a map, down to where you’re getting breakfast on the first morning.
• Build a dream holiday with a pretend budget and a strict no-going-over rule.
• Scroll old photos together and try to guess the month each one was taken.
• Browse flats in a city neither of you lives in and argue about the kitchens.
• Pick each other’s next film or book from a shortlist on screen, no vetoes allowed.

For films specifically, how to watch films together long distance compares SharePlay, Teleparty and the rest.

If one of you isn’t on an iPhone

People on Android or Windows can still join a FaceTime call from a link, opened in a web browser. But Apple is clear that SharePlay and screen sharing aren’t available in FaceTime on the web. On a mixed call, stick to the no-app games above, or put the same album on at both ends and count down to press play together.

A proper video date

For the nights you want it to feel like an occasion.

• Cook the same recipe at the same time, with both kitchens on camera and a verdict at the end.
• Dress up for a takeaway. Same cuisine, a candle, a table instead of the sofa.
• Write each other a menu, with made-up dish names, and order off it.
• Go for a walk together in two different places, narrating the best and worst thing you pass.

More cheap evening ideas are in date night ideas for couples, and the ones that don’t need a call at all are in long-distance ideas beyond video calls.

A small thing to bring to the call

Half the battle is deciding what to do. KTL’s daily quest hands each of you a small dare to be sweet every day, and it makes a handy opener. KTL is the relationship game for two we make in Glasgow, and if you set it up as long distance, the quests are built for being apart: voice notes, posted letters, a playlist as long as their commute. Nobody living in another city gets told to go and give their partner a hug.

You and your partner never get the same quest on the same day, so "what did you get today?" is a ready-made first question. Completing your own quest earns you XP, and bigger quests are worth more. Only mark it done once you’ve actually done it, because there’s no undo, and tomorrow brings a fresh one either way. More for couples apart is on the long-distance page.

Keep a list for the flat nights

Calls go flat when the plan has to be invented on the spot. Keep a shared note of ideas, take turns picking, and make one call a week about doing something together instead of catching up. If you’re on video so much you’ve started wondering whether it’s healthy, is it normal to be on FaceTime all day? covers that side of things.

Tonight, grab some paper and a pen each, and open the call with a round of Pictionary.

Questions people ask

What can you do on FaceTime with your boyfriend when you’re bored?

Give the call an activity. Play Pictionary with paper held up to the camera, do a blind taste test from each other’s cupboards, teach each other something in ten minutes, or write a pub quiz about each other’s favourite things. On quieter nights, get ready for bed together, read side by side, or listen to an album on SharePlay if you’re both on Apple devices.

What games can you play on FaceTime without an app?

Pictionary with pen and paper, twenty questions, guessing a blurry object held up to the camera, drawing each other from the video, and a blind taste test all work with nothing to download. A pub quiz where you each write questions about the other is a good longer game. These also work on calls where one person has joined FaceTime from a web browser, where SharePlay isn’t available.

Can you listen to music together on FaceTime?

Yes, with SharePlay. Apple says SharePlay lets you listen to music with others during a FaceTime call, and everyone needs access to the music on their own device, through a subscription or a purchase. SharePlay and screen sharing aren’t available to anyone who joins FaceTime from a web browser on Android or Windows, so on a mixed call, play the same album at both ends and press play together.

How do you make a FaceTime call feel like a date?

Plan it like one. Pick a time, dress up a bit, and give it an activity: cook the same recipe with both kitchens on camera, eat the same takeaway at a table with a candle, or write each other a menu. Prop the phone somewhere steady so your hands are free, and agree roughly when it ends so nobody’s left hovering over the hang-up button.