Phone games for grandparents with no tech skills
Updated
Grandparents who don't like technology can still play plenty of games with grandkids on a plain phone call: 20 questions, riddles, story chains, would you rather, categories, and paper games like tic-tac-toe or battleship where you call out squares. Mail a printed page ahead of time and the call becomes a puzzle you solve together.
What games need nothing but your voice?
- 20 questions: think of an animal, a food or a famous person; the other side asks yes-or-no questions.
- Riddle swap: one riddle each, every call. Kids love catching a grandparent out.
- Story chain: take turns adding one sentence to a story that starts with a real memory.
- Would you rather: "Would you rather have a pet dragon or a pet dinosaur?"
- Categories: pick a letter and a category (animals beginning with B) and take turns until someone gets stuck.
- Word chain: each word starts with the last letter of the one before.
- Guess the sound: one side makes a noise at home (a kettle, a door, a dog), the other guesses.
- I'm thinking of a number between 1 and 100: higher or lower until you get it.
Which paper games work over the phone?
- Tic-tac-toe: both draw the grid, number the squares 1 to 9 and call out your moves.
- Battleship: each draws a 10-by-10 grid with letters and numbers, hides ships, and calls out shots ("B7!").
- Hangman: the person with the word keeps the drawing and reports how many letters are left.
- Draw what I describe: one describes a simple picture, the other draws it, and you compare by mail or photo.
- Dots and boxes, with the dots numbered so you can call out each line.
How do you make it a mailed puzzle game?
Mail or hand over two different printed pages: the grandparent gets a code key and the grandchild gets a secret message, or one gets the map and the other gets the directions. Neither page works alone, so you solve it together on the call.
Our free mini-mystery tool makes a two-page printable like this from one family fact. Our weekly mysteries work the same way, opened from a link in an email on whatever phone, tablet or computer the grandparent already has, with no app to install.
How can you make the phone itself easier?
- Use speakerphone, so hands are free for paper and pencils.
- Tape a note by the phone with the grandkids' names and the game you're playing this week.
- Agree a regular time, so nobody has to set anything up: the phone just rings.
- If hearing is a struggle, a phone with an amplified handset or captions can help; ask their doctor or audiologist what's available locally.
What works for the youngest grandkids?
For ages 4 to 6, keep it to one simple game and five minutes: animal sounds, Simon says, guess the sound, or a nursery rhyme where the child fills in the last word. Little children often do better on the phone if a parent holds it on speaker and helps keep the turn-taking going.