Things to do in a long distance relationship: ideas and games
Things to do in a long distance relationship include question games, watching a film together, swapping letters and making a photo strip from separate phones. Choose something for a call when your free time overlaps, or leave a small surprise for your partner to open later. These ideas give you something to share on ordinary days as well as date nights.
Long distance relationship games to play online
Start with games you can play through messages or a call. Take turns choosing the topic, and make room for a story after each answer. These are games you organise yourselves; you can use an ordinary conversation in Sea Pals for the message-based ones.
- 20 questions: think of an object, place or character. Your partner asks yes-or-no questions to guess it; give a hint if you get stuck.
- Would you rather: choose between a seaside cabin and a city weekend, or breakfast in bed and a midnight picnic. Explain what makes your choice appealing.
- Two truths and a lie: share three small stories from your week. Guess the invented one, then hear what happened in the real ones.
- Alphabet picnic: take turns adding a food for each letter, repeating the picnic so far. Invent a silly dish when a letter is difficult.
- Guess the detail: send a close-up photo of something in your day, such as a mug or a plant. Let your partner guess before showing the whole picture.
- A story in turns: write a sentence each about a travelling cat or your dream holiday. Stop at a funny ending and save the exchange.
At-home dates from two homes
Pick an activity you already enjoy, then agree on a start time in both time zones. For films or music, each person uses their own player while you talk on a separate call. A short date can fit a busy evening.
- Watch together: choose a film or an episode you can both access. Press play together and agree whether to chat during it or afterwards.
- Cook the same meal: choose a simple recipe and compare the results on a call. Swap ingredients for what is easy to find in each city.
- A café date at home: make your usual drink and tell each other the best, strangest or funniest part of the day.
- A song swap: pick a song that reminds you of each other. Listen in your own players, then talk about the line or memory you chose it for.
Make a photo date you can keep
A theme gives you something to photograph before the next conversation. Sea Pals’ shared booth brings each person’s cuts from their own phone into one 4-cut strip. The free online photo booth takes a strip on one device; use it for your own photos, then swap your finished strips.
- Matching colours: wear the same colour and choose a pose each for an app booth strip from two cities.
- Snack portraits: hold up what you are eating. Compare the packaging or explain a snack your partner has never tried.
- A photo treasure hunt: pick a theme such as something yellow, something cosy or something that made you smile. Send your finds when you have time.
- Your view today: exchange a photo of the sky, a windowsill plant or your reading corner. Ask about one detail you notice.
Write something for the days you miss each other
Letters leave room for the things that disappear in a quick chat. In Sea Pals, choose a friend to send a letter now or on a date in their morning. For a designed note to share, start with the free letter paper.
- An ordinary-day letter: describe your breakfast, the song stuck in your head and a moment when you wished your partner were there.
- A memory in detail: write about a day together, including a small detail such as the weather or what made you laugh.
- A next-visit letter: describe a simple day you would love to spend together. Include a walk, a favourite meal or somewhere to sit and talk.
- A tiny drawing: sketch your desk, a flower or a scene from your day and add a sentence about why you chose it.
Little rituals between longer calls
Choose a small habit that feels pleasant to both of you, and change it when your weeks change. A surprise can wait until the other person has time.
- A morning note: leave a line before bed for your partner to find when they wake. On iPhone, the Sea Pals Friend widget can show their note and latest camera photo.
- A shared companion: raise Doori in Sea Pals and notice its growing shell together. If the conversation rests, Doori naps and keeps its progress.
- Weather as a hello: send rain or petals to your partner’s Sea Pals island. Add a message such as “A little spring for your busy afternoon.”
- A little coincidence: collect your island’s tide find. If you both pick up the same thing on the same day, you each get a same-tide card to talk about.
Long distance relationship gifts made from your days
A gift can be something you have written, made or remembered. Pick a form your partner enjoys opening. These ideas work for an anniversary or an unplanned “I miss you”.
- A page for their Book: write how you met and a favourite memory in their Sea Pals Book. Your partner approves the page before keeping it.
- A photo strip for the next visit: save your own browser-booth strip or make one together in the app, then choose a place for a printed copy.
- A playlist with notes: put songs in a player you both use and send a sentence about why each one belongs. Include a song for the journey to your next visit.
- A week to look back on: when Sunday Tide arrives on your own island, open its collage and tell your partner which photo, letter or find made you happiest.
Ideas for couples across countries and time zones
If your days barely overlap, choose activities that travel well through messages. Sea Pals shows your partner’s local time and weather in Chats. A morning letter or an evening photo gives you something to come back to when a call cannot fit.
- Name both local times when arranging a date: “My evening, your morning” is a start; confirm the date too if you are on different days.
- Play in turns: leave a would-you-rather question before bed, then reply to their answer during your next break.
- Share a phrase: teach each other an affectionate phrase in your own language, with a short explanation of when you would use it.
- Keep a weekend option: choose a longer activity for a day when you are both free, and keep weekday plans small.
Make a small place for the two of you
Sea Pals is a free long distance relationship app on iPhone, Android and the web. Connect by link or island code, then make room for a shared Doori, booth strips, letters and moments kept in your own Books. Your island has Mochi the otter; your partner can send a little weather to it.
- Share a friend link, or send your island code and accept your partner’s request.
- Choose something for today: a letter for their morning, a booth strip or a small island hello.
- Keep a chat moment in your Book when it makes you smile. You can return to it on a day you miss them.