FaceTime games to play with a 5-year-old grandkid

What works for a 5-year-old on a video call?

Five-year-olds can follow simple rules and love being 'in charge'. Let them pick the game.

Try a split-clue puzzle

Below is a little detectives puzzle (ages 4 to 7). One of you reads the grandparent's clues, the other reads the grandkid's. Neither can solve it alone.

8 games for age 5

• I Spy, camera edition: Take turns spying something in your own room; the other asks yes/no questions.
• Show and tell: Each brings one object to the camera and tells its story. Grandparents: bring something old.
• Copy my face: One makes a face, the other copies it. Then switch to animal sounds.
• Freeze dance: One plays music and pauses it; the other freezes. Silly and short.
• Story chain: Tell a story one sentence each. Grandparent starts with a real memory, kid adds a twist.
• Scavenger hunt: Grandparent names a thing ('something blue and soft'); kid has 30 seconds to bring it on camera.
• Read-along: Grandparent reads a chapter book a little each call; the kid shows the pictures they drew of it.
• Split-clue mystery: Each holds half the clues to one puzzle and must talk to solve it. (This is what our game does every week.)