Our guide to the best iMessage games is here to offer some ways to play with your pals while you’re texting. From classic pool to some truly engaging word games, this list has something for everyone, and better still, almost all the entries are free to play.
For more titles perfect for lifting up a boring afternoon, check out our picks for the best Jackbox games, party games, rhythm games, bowling games, basketball games, and golf games. Or, if you’re someone who prefers picking up handfuls of cards, see our list of the best mobile card games. Who knows, maybe you can convince the family to play Magic the Gathering?
Here are the best iMessage games:
Cobi Hoops
There’s nothing like shooting hoops with friends, and Cobi Hoops allows you to do that even on a rainy day with no basketball court for miles. In this game, you can take on your friends and the clock as you race to land as many baskets as possible in thirty seconds, with the winner unlocking new courts and player costumes to keep things interesting.
With a bonus game mode to keep your hoop shooting skills up to par, there’s plenty of scope for talking smack to your friends while showing them how to throw for three-pointers.
Game Pigeon
Game Pigeon’s compendium of games has plenty of options for taking on your friends, from shooting pool to aiming for the bullseye in darts. It’s a pretty experience, as most iMessage games are, but these minigames can be real time killers if you’re looking to play something with a pal without booting up your console.
Better still, new games arrive in Game Pigeon regularly, so by the time you’re reading this, there’s probably already something new to check out. So, get to it!
Boggle with Friends
Ah, Boggle. You can’t go wrong with Boggle. Boggle with Friends offers exactly what it says on the tin, a mobile version of the classic game you can pick up and play with your friends via iMessage. It’s that simple.
It doesn’t sound too competitive, but anyone who’s played with family or friends will know that Boggle quickly turns even the closest of relatives into enemies. So if you’re willing to risk a fallout with grandma, this might be the one for you.
Chess42
Like many of the titles on our list of the best iMessage games, there are no prizes for guessing what Chess42 consists of. The best thing about Chess42 is that there’s no messing around, no sign-up or account necessary, you just need a contact with the game installed and you’re ready to go.
Still, if this slightly light-on-content app doesn’t get your brain going, maybe something in our play chess guide might. That list includes some Chess-inspired puzzle games to really get the brain working.
8 Ball Pool
8 Ball Pool is the iMessage version of the classic Miniclip game with all the fun bits left in. You can take on your friends and contacts with a wide selection of fancy balls and cues, or even take part in tournaments, all while you trash-talk your friends over messages.
While other iMessage games might include pool as an option, 8 Ball Pool is still the best in the business for potting stripes and solids. Plus, it’s a nice touch of nostalgia for those of us who grew up playing Miniclip games.
Hang_Man
It’s one of the oldest word games going, so old that most of us played with pen and paper long before making the leap to mobile, but that doesn’t mean Hang_Man still isn’t a fun word game worthy of taking on with friends.
With single-player, two-player, and online options, there are multiple ways for you to engage with this morbid puzzler. Better still, Hang_Man has separate categories for the word in question, so you can customize the way you want to play.
Letter Fridge
Letter Fridge is your classic word search with a difference. As the name suggests, the difference is that the letters you have at your disposal are magnets on a fridge. As you move the letters around the board, you unlock words on the board, with countless variations to try out.
While having just a few letters might make this game seem simple enough, it can get pretty complicated when you’ve still got a few words left to add to the board and can’t think of any more letter combinations. If you’re a fan of Wordscapes, you’re sure to enjoy this one.
Truth Truth Lie
If you’ve got a skill for telling fibs to your friends, Truth Truth Lie is a great social game to go for. The name gives away the concept: you tell a friend two truths and a lie. It’s up to them to figure out the fabrication.
If you’re better lying to a camera, you can choose to record your two truths and lie before sending them over, or you can keep it old school with text. There’s also an alternative game mode, Lie Lie Truth, emphasizing outlandish deception rather than truth-seeking.
Trivia Crack
There’s nothing that puts a friendship in jeopardy quite like a trivia game, and Trivia Crack is the best of the bunch when it comes to iMessage games. With countless questions across a variety of subjects, you can prove your quizzing prowess against friends without leaving the text chain, making it even easier to gloat when you beat them.
If all that wasn’t enough, there’s also a global ranking board, so you can see how your knowledge compares to the rest of the world. Don’t worry if your score is lower than you’d like, just keep playing and learning new things, and you can climb the leaderboard in no time.
How do I play iMessage games?
So, now you’ve got your iMessage games, it’s all about figuring out how to play them with friends. Fortunately, we’ve got a method for that, so you can just follow the steps below.
- Open your messages with the contact you want to play with
- On the left of the iMessage text box, select the App Store icon
- Scroll through the games and apps at the bottom of the screen
- Select the game you want to play and invite your friend
- Get gaming!
There you have it, our iMessage games guide. For more marvelous titles you can take just about anywhere, check out our picks for the best free mobile games. Or, if you’re a big Monopoly Go fan, get some extra turns with our free Monopoly Go dice guide.
