These two belong in a category most couple-game lists ignore: games where nobody has to be free at the same time. You take a turn, they take theirs four hours later, and a single match quietly runs for a week. For couples on different schedules or in different time zones, this is the most underrated thing on mobile.
Words With Friends 2
Words With Friends 2 is Scrabble with the serial numbers filed off and a chat box attached. The chat is doing more work than people admit — a lot of couples use the game mostly as a reason to message each other during the day.
Skill gaps show, but less than you would think, because luck of the letters covers a lot.
Chess.com
Chess.com is the serious option. Daily games with multi-day time controls work exactly like correspondence chess: make your move whenever, the game waits. It also has lessons and puzzles, so if you both want to actually get better, there is a path.
The catch is the skill gap. Chess does not hide one. If one of you plays and the other does not, straight matches will stop being fun quickly — though the site’s handicap and puzzle modes help more than most people realise.
Choosing
- You want a reason to talk during the day: Words With Friends 2.
- You both want to improve at something: Chess.com.
- Very uneven experience: Words With Friends 2, or Chess.com with an agreed handicap.
- Different time zones: either. This is what they are for.
How to actually use them
The trick with asynchronous games is to never close them. Keep one match permanently running in the background of your relationship and take a turn when you think of it. There is no session to schedule, so there is nothing to cancel.
Rummikub is the third good option here. More on this in word games for couples and couple games for two very different schedules.
