Games you can play with just conversation. Classic and popular activities you can enjoy without any props!
I’m going to introduce games that can be played using only conversation, without any props.
There are times—like during school breaks or in the car—when you want to play but don’t have any tools or can’t move around freely, right?
In those moments, wouldn’t it be nice to have games you can play just by talking?
In this article, we’ve gathered popular conversation-based games you can enjoy simply by talking, singing, or answering prompts!
Use them when you want to have fun with friends, teammates, or your partner, or when you need to kill time while waiting—whenever you’re in a pinch.
- Fun two-player games recommended that you can play using conversation only
- Games and activities everyone can enjoy together. A collection of fun play ideas.
- Perfect for killing time! A roundup of games for three people to enjoy
- Recommended games and activities for five people
- Games you can play in the car! Fun activities to liven up drives and traffic jams
- Challenge together! A roundup of word games for adults
- [For 2 Players] Easy Pen-and-Paper Time-Killing Game
- Get the Fun Going! Easy Classroom Games You Can Play at School: Recreational Activities for the Whole Class
- Perfect for killing time! Fun games you can easily play on LINE
- Fun games recommended for making friends with people you’ve just met
- Recommended games for two people that you can enjoy without any equipment
- [Rec] Interesting! A roundup of wordplay games
- Brain-teasing game roundup
Shiritori, wordplay, and brain-teasing conversation games (1–10)
Antonym Game
It’s a simple game where you answer with words that have the opposite meaning of the given prompt.
Since the prompts aren’t necessarily words with clear, established opposites, the key is your ability to come up with how to create an opposite.
It’s fun both as a quick, spontaneous game where sharp ideas can lead to brilliant answers, and as a conversation piece where you take your time discussing and arriving at a single “right” answer.
Encountering ideas different from your own may spark new insights as well.
No-English game
Haven’t you seen it on variety shows and the like? It’s the “no-English” game where you’re out if you use any English, katakana words, or foreign loanwords in your conversation.
You can just have a casual chat like you normally would, or pick a topic such as “what you’re into lately” and keep the conversation going—that works well too.
You’ll realize how much English, katakana, and Japanglish you use in everyday speech! It’s also fun to think on your feet and forcibly turn English into Japanese!
Shiritori, Wordplay, and Brain-Teasing Conversation Games (11–20)
Answer checking game
The Answer-Match Game is a simple yet captivating activity that you can enjoy with friends or teammates anytime, anywhere.
Everyone reveals their answers to a prompt at the same time and sees whether you can all come up with the same answer.
Unexpected responses often pop up, leading to shared laughter and surprise.
It’s especially great as an icebreaker with new friends, since it lets you see how similar your thoughts and sensibilities are.
By getting creative with the prompts, you’ll find fresh surprises and fun every time you play.
Another plus is that it’s easy to enjoy with friends who are far away by using phone or video calls.
Number guessing game
With a signal, a number is announced, and at the same time participants either stand or sit; if the announced number matches the number of people standing, that person wins.
You can enjoy the psychological element of scanning the surroundings, predicting everyone’s actions, and choosing which number to call.
A key point is that everyone does light jumps while waiting for the signal—by keeping bodies in constant light motion, it becomes harder to predict actions.
If the number doesn’t match, the turn immediately passes to the next person, giving everyone winning chances at a good pace—another factor that boosts excitement.
10-times quiz game
It’s a game where you first have someone repeat the same word ten times, then you give them a quiz and have them answer it.
By making them repeat the word, it’s an easy-to-understand trick that nudges their quiz answer in the wrong direction.
When you’re suddenly required to produce words quickly, you can make a mistake even if you realize it’s a trick.
You need the ability to calmly switch your thinking and retrieve the right word, and it’s a game where people who are good at it and those who aren’t are clearly divided.
So it seems like a game where you can enjoy both coming up with the questions and observing how people think.
No-Character Allowed! Shiritori
Shiritori is a classic time-killer that people of all ages can enjoy.
It’s a game that can drag on endlessly as you wonder how long it will continue and when it will end, but adding just one rule can make it much harder and more exciting.
This “forbidden-length shiritori” is a version where you set a restriction on word length—specifically, a number of characters that answers must not have.
For example, if “three characters are forbidden,” then words like “ringo” (apple) or “gorira” (gorilla) can’t be used.
Aside from that, it’s regular shiritori, but this rule makes it surprisingly tricky, and many players get tripped up and end up out.
A game that seems like it should exist, but doesn’t
It’s a game where you come up with names that feel like they could exist but actually don’t, based on a chosen theme.
The more the theme lends itself to different angles—like store names, TV show titles, and so on—the more you can enjoy a lively back-and-forth.
It feels like a conversation starter where everyone lists names using their imagination, but a fun twist is to decide winners by checking whether the names truly don’t exist.
Imagining the backstories behind the made-up names and making them sound convincing is another way to keep the conversation exciting.