9 Ways to Improve Communication in Relationships

man and woman holding hand

9 Ways to Improve Communication in Relationships

 

Communication in relationships plays a significant role in ensuring a happy and healthy relationship. For better communication in your relationship, you should learn how to listen more and talk less. The need to improve communication skills in a relationship can be overwhelming. The tips below can help improve connection through better communication.

The importance of communication in relationships cannot be underestimated. As you may know or have experienced, real connections are lost if there is no communication in relationships. However, what does healthy communication look like? How can you ensure that you communicate effectively in your relationship? Similarly, how can you improve communication if you are in a romantic relationship with someone you just met on Dating Ranking? Below are some tips on improving communication in relationships.

1. Identify Your Communication Styles

Before focusing on improving communication in relationships, it is important to understand that not everyone shares the same communication preferences. While some people like talking, others prefer touching or are more visual. Most communication issues in relationships occur if partners fail to understand each other’s style.

Effective communication in a relationship can be realized once you acknowledge this. For instance, you might want to convey some information, but you should know how to pass the information. Slight miscommunication can lead to misunderstandings and frustrations.

2. Ask Open-Ended Questions

Communication in a relationship isn’t just about informing each other about the days’ activities, what you had for lunch or dinner. You should leverage proper communication to dig deep and understand your partner well. However, this can be challenging, especially for those who aren’t used to discussing their feelings openly.

Fortunately, you can ask open-ended questions to avoid pressuring your partner. Asking open-ended questions instead of yes/no questions allows your partner to share any additional information about the question. Note that not everybody opens up quickly. Therefore, be patient with your partner as they break boundaries around their emotions.

Fortunately, you have several opportunities to ask these questions. For instance, you can ask them randomly when playing games at home, on date nights, picnics, or road trips.

3. Be Open and Honest

Dishonesty is among the top communication barriers in relationships. Since your share your heart desires with your partner, you shouldn’t be afraid of making your feelings and needs clear. While retreating and avoiding conflicts may seem safe and quite comfortable, it is not a good substitute for trust and won’t help you improve your communication.

Walking away or avoiding an argument is a temporary solution that should be done to achieve a brief cool-down period. If you avoid conflicts by not being open and honest, you will end up burying your emotions, which weakens your relationship.

4. Note the Non-Verbal Signs

Communication, either with friends or relationship partners, is more of how people say and not what they say. Non-verbal communication, such as tone of voice, eye contact, and body posture, communicates a lot. To communicate better, you should learn how to read these signs when conversing. Some non-verbal signs include:

  • Folded arms may indicate that the person is closed off or defensive
  • Avoiding eye contact implies that the person is not interested or ashamed of the topic of discussion
  • A loud and aggressive tone means that the person is becoming emotionally involved
  • Turning away from your position shows that the person isn’t interested

5. Be Present in the Conversation

Being present in time is an important aspect to improve communication in relationships and other encounters. When discussing issues with your partner, drop other engagements and dedicate your full attention to the conversation. This makes them feel that they have all your attention and number one priority. While it can be difficult to be fully present and mindful when angry or stressed, this shouldn’t be an excuse for poor communication in relationships.

6. Avoid Negative Patterns

If you truly understand your partner’s needs and preferred communication styles, anything that doesn’t align with their expectations might be a negative pattern. When conversing with your partner, be mindful of your pitch, volume, pace, and timbre. For instance, a highly pitched voice sounds defensive. A sentence ending in a high pitch also makes it sound like a question. Therefore, make a conscious effort to moderate these aspects of voice.

7. Listen Carefully

Most people think they are listening when talking with their partners. However, in reality, they are thinking about their next statements, especially when in an argument. Effective communication in a relationship cuts both ways. While it can be challenging, try to listen to your partners’ thoughts without interrupting or acting defensive. Hear them out and reflect back before you start speaking.

8. Take a Time Out

In some situations, heated tempers may make it difficult to continue with the discussion without escalating to an argument or fight. If you note that your partner is becoming angry or showing destructive patterns, consider taking a break to calm down. The break can mean a walk or stroll in your backyard before resuming the conversation some minutes or hours later. Good communication in a relationship also involves knowing when to take such breaks.

couple at sunset

9. Ask for Help

Seeking external help is another good way of improving communication in relationships. If you find that you can’t stay respectful and constructive when handling a conflict, you can benefit from sessions with a relationship therapist. Family therapy can help you adopt new ways of resolving future conflicts and tips for better communication in relationships.

Bottom Line

Lack of communication in relationships can negatively affect your relationship. Unfortunately, most couples focus on the talking aspect of their relationship. Note that actions, too, speak loudly. Communicating with your significant other regularly through various means reminds the person of their importance in your life. While nobody is a perfect communicator, you can become a better communicator by trying these tips.

Which other hacks can improve communication in relationships? Please share them below.

How to achieve the above steps fast and easy.

Buy a copy of the Couples Intimacy game and you achieve most of the above in a done-for-you format that’s fun to play and opens up conversations that lead to improving your relationship. The key focus is on encouraging ‘Real Life Conversation’ questions and there is a mixture of trivia for ice-breakers, personal questions, relationship questions and physical intimacy topics that are all designed to get a couple talking, sharing and learning about each other. 

So there you have it! These are some of the best ways to improve communication in relationships and if it’s a couples game you are after to help get it started, then go grab a copy of our How Game Are You?™ Intimacy Edition game to help take your conversations and fun to a whole new level. View full details here or Buy Now for quick delivery direct or through Amazon (US), or Amazon (AU).

 

Authors bio:

Rebecca Shinn is a freelance writer and dating and relationship expert with a psychology degree. Her field of expertise is relationship, dating, and marriage. The important part of Rebecca’s practice is to help couples with communication skills, problem-solving skills, stress management, or financial skills. 

Rebecca started writing 2 years ago to inspire and help people to have a better dating life, healthy relationships, or find a way to keep a marriage strong for long years.

With all said above, Rebecca is proud to be a mother and a wife so she doesn’t only use her knowledge for helping others but keeping her family strong and happy.

Communication Games For Couples

Communication Games For Couples

Communication Games For Couples

One of the biggest reasons for relationship issues is reduced understanding through lack of meaningful discussions, so playing communication games for couples is a great way to start rebuilding. Often women complain of not getting enough listening to their worries, while men will complain of being tired of listening to them. With such clashes, the ego is bound to create a wall, and eventually, both will choose to stay silent and drag the relationship down.

Indeed in the beginning of a relationship everything the other person says is interesting, and through listening, empathy, learning and sharing the connection grows stronger. As time goes on familiarity can settle in and interest is less. If one person shuts down the other will feel it. Tougher issues like budgeting and family challenges need trust and careful discussion, so if bad habits have crept in critical decisions may be compromised.

Effective communication for couples can mean the difference between a long lasting happy union with minimal stress and one that is tumultuous, toxic, and destined to end. So, to encourage a healthy discussion and communication in a relationship, we have compiled some of the most effective, communication games for couples. With these communication exercises, also with a hint of fun, you can slowly bridge the communication gap in your relationship. Start in fun easy ways and with more intent over time you’ll become the A Class example of a couple that communicates well, and you’ll be individually happier as well.

If the relationship has become so turbulent that simple games can’t be played, you might want to look at books like ‘Crucial Conversations’ and learn how to create a safe place for discussions. Pick the right time, make sure it can’t be misunderstood as a setup to get your own point across, and be prepared to bite your tongue and listen until the other person is finished talking and without judgement, so they can be heard. Once respect is regained, rebuilding can start and you can come back to games ideas like below to start easy.

Communication exercises for couples

Music Lyrics.

This activity utilizes music and song for self-expression. Each partner chooses their three songs that they can relate to and then shares the lyrics with their partner. This activity is meant to prompt conversation about why songs are meaningful, the types of feelings that are evoked, and reasons why a particular song was selected.

Future Goals.

This activity assists a couple in identifying and communicating future goals and desires with each other. Couples are encouraged to consider and discuss short-term and long-term goals in an effort to understand what each partner needs in order to be happy and satisfied within the relationship.

Mirror Mirror On the Wall.

This communication exercise helps couples to practice verbal communication and active listening skills. A partner is asked to tell a detailed story for five minutes, upon which their partner is asked to reflect back what they heard.

The partner reflecting is tested on their ability to employ active listening strategies, to assess their level of understanding, and to determine accuracy in mirroring back what was said. Perhaps even tie in a reward like going to the movies, when you think you got to the point where as a couple you were quite proficient in the exercise.

Communication games for couples

 

Truth or Dare.

This game uses questions as facts and challenges. Be the first player to get rid of all Truth or Dare cards in your hand. Answer pop culture trivia questions correctly in order to force your opponent to tell the truth. If you answer the question incorrectly, you will be subjected to an outrageous dare. To win the game, you might have to lick another player’s arm, run around the block howling like a coyote, or stand on your head? Play Truth or Dare to find out how far you will go to win!

 

Never Have I Ever.

Questions here are designed to tease out information you might not normally share or have considered e.g “Never Have I Ever .. put gum under a table” and the respondent has to admit yes or no. Often it’s incorporated as a drinking game too. The questions adds a degree of challenge and discovery between the players, but it can also be a bit confronting so it must be played by open-minded and sometimes thick-skinned people.

 

How Game Are You? Couples Intimacy Edition.

This game does most of the thinking and planning for you, and offers a range of questions to get communication started. While it is fun, the key focus is on encouraging ‘Real Life Conversation’ questions.

There is a mixture of trivia for ice-breakers, personal questions, relationship questions and physical intimacy topics that are all designed to get a couple talking, sharing and learning about each other. The game asks the questions so no one feels like they’re being grilled and questions range from very light to quite deep.

So there you have it! These are some of the best and most powerful exercises and communication games for couples. If it’s a couples game you are after, then go grab a copy of our How Game Are You?™ Intimacy Edition game to help take your conversations and fun to a whole new level. View full details here or Buy Now for quick delivery direct or through Amazon (US) and Amazon (AU).

 

Relationship-Questions- Cards

Relationship Questions To Ask

Whether you’re looking to expand a long-established marriage or just starting out with someone you’re dating, knowing the better relationship questions for couples to ask can make a big difference in the way you relate to each other.

Often couples at the beginning of a relationship try to second-guess what they think the other person is thinking or wants them to do, but this amounts to just a guess or assumption. Asking meaningful questions builds clarity, a solid base of facts for the relationship, people like to be listened to, connection ensues and it clears up the confusion that comes from assumptions. It’s not just about finding out where there are similarities or challenges, or if you are compatible. It’s about knowing your differences and understanding them so you can grow together and create better lives for yourselves and potentially your family.

Through fear of ridicule or just being shy, some couples that are timid or nervy around the relationship, so they don’t talk too deeply about their relationship or get into too much detail about each others needs or dreams for the relationship. The relationship often stays superficial with neither person’s needs being truly satisfied and adds to the risk that years later one of the parties may be attracted to another person that does understand them.

Other couples are open-minded but just don’t know how or when to have conversations that can help a relationship, or perhaps tried to hold a more meaningful conversation once but it didn’t work out so they gave up. Questions give people skills and direction to talk about their lives and future constructively, but like all skills you start easy and build-up, and the more you try often the better you get.

To help you out we’ve listed some different relationship question types as examples below. If you want it to be even easier and specific, we created a couples conversation game with over 150 questions that are ready to go, lots of fun, and we’ll list details at the end.

Questions are usually ‘Closed’ meaning they elicit a short answer like yes, no, maybe or a number etc. ‘Open’ questions encourage a broader answer, more words and more incite. Open questions are harder to work out and also to answer, but create a much better opportunity for understanding and follow on conversations. Basic questions can help get things started and are less confronting, and then you build to more personal or probing questions as your skills and trust in each other grows.

Basic closed question examples:

  1. Do you prefer to have time at home together or go out?
  2. Do you want to talk more about our relationship, or less?
  3. How much alone time do you need?
  4. Should we go to the movies Saturday or skating?
  5. If you are in a bad mood, do you prefer to be left alone or have someone to cheer you up?

Basic open question examples:

  1. How much alone time do you need and when is best?
  2. How are we best to divvy up chores?
  3. What couples activities do you like doing most on weekends?
  4. If we were to move somewhere else for more enjoyment or opportunities together, where could that be?
  5. What do you think about us having a set weekly date night?

More personal, open questions:

  1. How would you rate our relationship at present?
  2. When life gets you down, how can I support you the most?
  3. When do you most feel loved by me?
  4. How do you picture our relationship changing over the next 20 years?
  5. How do you feel about us getting more adventurous in the bedroom and how?

So the above examples give you an idea, but you also need to choose the right time for relationship questions to be asked. Somewhere quiet, no interruptions and when someone is fresh rather than tired is a start. You might also consider the right mood for you both to be in and how you start off.

To make things easy for you, and fun, we created a game that starts with basic, trivia and fun questions. You move to the next level which is more open and relationship-specific, then the third level is more about physical and emotional intimacy. An optional 4th stage is the sexy fun-oriented cards, if you dare. We gamified the questions too so each person gains more places forward on the board in response to more detailed or deeper answers.

So if you’re looking for relationship questions for couples to ask, you won’t get much easier or better than our How Game Are You?™ Couples Intimacy Edition game. It’s tasteful, meaningful, each game lasts 30 – 60 minutes typically and you can skip any questions you don’t want to answer. You can view the full details of the game here or Buy Now for quick delivery direct or through Amazon (US) and Amazon (AU).

Couples Games

Couples Games

Couples Games

Why couples games? We’ll assume you’ve probably self-isolated or quarantined yourself and for those with a significant other, this might be the first time you are with your partner 24/7 for weeks on end. After watching movies and everything Netflix has to offer, enjoying great lovemaking sessions, and cooking every meal together, there’s still a lot of time and boredom to kill.

So here’s an opportunity to have fun, connect more, laugh together and in some cases strengthen your relationship. Let’s recall an often-forgotten pastime: couples games. Remember when you used to find so much joy in a round of card games or Twister? Well, turns out, there are plenty of quality couples games that can actually draw you closer and strengthen your bond.

With Amazon still delivering and holding good stock, you can quickly obtain a few couples games for some flirty competition and banter to keep the spark alive and pass the time. Once you are free from isolation you can play the games many times over in the future for anniversaries, Valentines days, date nights or to bring back the memory of lock down 🙂

We could say that couples who play together, stay together. Here are some great examples:

How Game Are You?™ Couples Edition

This is one of the newest and best couples games and involves conversations, questions and building relationships. The focus is on building real-life conversations, it’s tasteful, has a variety of tasks and you can skip any question if you want. You take turns in asking thought-provoking questions’ that might not normally be asked, and there is a mixture of trivia for ice-breakers, personal questions, relationship questions and physical intimacy topics that are all designed to get a couple talking, sharing and learning about each other.

The Discovery Game: Board Game for a Married Couple

The Discovery Game is a way for you and your significant other to feel more connected. It’s aimed at married couples, although anyone can use the game to strengthen their relationship. The balance of competition and intimacy makes for an entirely unique and exciting way to connect and discover one another, and the game is designed to cultivate intimacy and connection. This game brings all the excitement of a first date, regardless of how long you have been together. You control the pace of the game so your experience will be tailor-made specifically to fit your relationship.

Fog of Love

This is a game for two players. You will create and play two vivid characters who meet, fall in love and face the challenge of making an unusual relationship work. Playing Fog of Love is like being in a romantic comedy: roller-coaster rides, awkward situations, lots of laughs and plenty of difficult compromises to make. Much as in a real relationship, goals might be at odds. You can try to change, keep being relentless or even secretly decide to be a Heart breaker. It’s your choice. This game is like being in a romantic comedy: roller-coaster rides, awkward situations, lots of laughs and plenty of difficult compromises to make.

Truth or Dare

The game of candid confessions and daring deeds, this game uses questions as facts and challenges. A classic game is given a new twist, with answers to pop culture questions determining who has to answer the truth or act out a dare. This game uses questions as facts and challenges. Be the first player to get rid of all Truth or Dare cards in your hand. Answer pop culture trivia questions correctly in order to force your opponent to tell the truth but if you answer the question incorrectly, you will be subjected to an outrageous dare. To win the game, you might have to lick another player’s arm, run around the block howling like a coyote, or stand on your head?

Never Have I Ever

Questions here are designed to tease out information you might not normally share or have considered e.g “Never Have I Ever… put gum under a table” and the respondent has to admit “yes” or “no” The questions add a degree of challenge and discovery between the players, but it can also be a bit confronting. Never Have I Ever presents the BEST opportunity to learn hilarious facts about the people you THOUGHT you knew. It’s fast, fun, and perfect for your next game night. Conversation can ensue afterwards on an answer you gave, but the game is more suited to just fun and laughter with twists and turns on how you expected people to answer.

Cards Against Humanity

Questions in this game are used to create outrageous combinations. A question is asked with a blank and you play cards you have with answers. Sometimes the questioner chooses the funniest answer, other times the most inappropriate, or sometimes the one least likely to offend. This is more a party game and probably not a single sensible answer or learning would come, but it can be fun and gets people laughing. Cards Against Humanity is a party game for horrible people. Each round, one player asks a question from a black card, and everyone else answers with their funniest white card.

Hasbro Gaming Trivial Pursuit Game

The Classic Edition of this Trivial Pursuit Game is the same original gameplay (Fact question and answer) , only updated but still with a 1980’s retro appearance! Featuring classic gameplay and game board, this game contains 2,400 questions in 6 categories: Geography, Entertainment, History, Art and Literature, Science and Nature, and Sports and Leisure. Players move around the board answering Trivia questions on each topic for points along the board. Gather friends and family to play the trivia game that started it all! The Trivial Pursuit Classic Edition game features the classic gameplay that you know and love.

Dare Duel – A Sexy Truth or Dare Game for Couples

This is more a sex game for couples where you create the sexy dares and favors you compete for, making every game unique. Players take turns drawing cards and selecting words or phrases to create ‘Sexy Dares’ to act out. With hundreds of different words and phrases to choose from, the combinations are almost endless, making every game unique. Sexual preference doesn’t matter, and players can either enjoy the game with their partner or a group of very close friends. Please note that Dare Duel is a game for two grown-up players of any gender that are in a romantic relationship.

Twenty Questions [original question game]

This is a spoken parlor game designed in the early 1900’s which encourages deductive reasoning and creativity through questions. In this deductive question game, one player is chosen to be the answerer. That person chooses a subject (object) but does not reveal this to the others. All other players are questioners. They each take turns asking a question which can be answered with a simple “Yes” or “No.” The answerer answers each question in turn. Lying is not allowed in the game and if a questioner guesses the correct answer, that questioner wins and becomes the answerer for the next round. If 20 questions are asked without a correct guess, then the answerer has stumped the questioners and gets to be the answerer for another round.

We hope we’ve helped you determine the style of activity and game you want, and have also been able to direct you to the best couple games at home to try, play and most of all enjoy.

Our pick of course is the How Game Are You?™ Intimacy Edition because you each learn, enjoy and start new conversations to enhance your emotional and physical intimacy. View full details here or Buy Now for quick delivery direct or through Amazon (US) and Amazon (AU).

Relationship Games

Relationship Games For Couples

Relationship Games

Playing interesting relationship games for couples helps bring connection, fun and question cards in particular helps build trust and understanding. It doesn’t matter whether you have been married to each other for five years or five months or you think that you already know everything about your partner. Chances are, there will always be new things to discover about each other or new topics to discuss as your relationship and life stage develops.

There are several activities and games for couples to do together. Firstly, choose games or activities based on your preferences for easy assimilation e.g. do you like factual challenge games (Trivia), competitive (point scoring), joke games (Truth or Dare) or question games that help tease out thoughts and meaning (How Game Are You?).

Start with what’s easy and meets both players expectations, then slowly move to more challenging or ‘less like your normal game’ so you expand your thinking into different ways. If you normally like joke activities and light hearted, maybe the change you seek is by getting more intellectual or emotional in activity style. If you are fact and details normally, perhaps time to play the make-believe romantic (Fog Of Love).

If you feel that your relationship is starting to lack fresh communication, then you can plan activities that involve lots of conversations, questions, guessing and answers. Here are a few ideas:

Activities:

Road trip ideas

There’s nothing like the feeling of freedom when you hit the open road, so it’s no surprise that hopping in the car and heading out on a (long) drive can be a wonderful way to bond with your partner. Childhood games like ‘I spy’ can be great to bring back some fun and nostalgia. Another is to make free-flowing sentences between you where 1 person starts with a word, then the other person makes up a reasonable next word, and you keep taking turns and adding a word until the sentence comes to a conclusion, then start a new one. Create or google a bunch of questions and compile for your road trip, or buy a pack of ready made question cards (How Game Are You?)

Dinner party idea

Hosting a couples only dinner party can be a fun idea. Most people have rarely or never been invited to this kind of party, so just the mere fact that they’re receiving an invitation from you will already make it special. Have a different question planned for each course and once the meal is served, the host asks the question of someone and you go around the table clockwise for each person to answer e.g. What do you think are the biggest challenges couples in our generation face that our parents didn’t. Design these around your audience and make them open-ended and non judgmental to stimulate interactive conversation.

Create a Music Playlist of Your Relationship

Compile all the songs that have meaning to your relationship and put them on an Itunes or Spotify style playlist, USB or even old style CD. Think of the songs that were playing on your first date, before you had the title of “boyfriend” or “girlfriend”, your wedding song or favourite band songs? You can make it a ritual to listen to the tunes on each anniversary or romantic weekend away together.

Charades games with couples

You can play this game with just the two of you or with other couples. Write some movie titles on pieces of paper and keep them in one bowl or box. Take turns in picking a title and acting it out. Your partner or the other couple will then try to guess the movie title. It can quickly get boring if it’s just the two of you, so it’s much better to get other couples to join the game. You can also add new twists to the game to make it more interesting. For example, you can make it girls vs. boys. Or, you can also give a consequence for the person or team who fails to make a correct guess.

Drinking roulette is a fun relationship game

For this, you need two glasses and some beer, wine, spirits or juice. This doesn’t necessarily have to involve alcohol or it can be lower in percentage. You can use whatever drinks you like depending on your preference.

In this game, one person will ask a question they don’t already know the answer to e.g. “Have you ever been caught in public naked?” and the other person has to answer it in “yes” or “no’’. If the answer is “yes”, then the person being asked will have to take one sip. If it is a “no”, then there is no need to take the sip. If you are stuck for questions, Never Have I Ever can help you.

Relationship Games:

How Game Are You?™ Couples Edition

One of the best relationship games for couples that involves conversations, questions and building relationships is called ‘How Game Are You?™ Couples Edition’.

You take turns in asking thought-provoking questions’ that might not normally be asked, and there is a mixture of trivia for ice-breakers, personal questions, relationship questions and physical intimacy topics that are all designed to get a couple talking, sharing and learning about each other.

‘How Game Are You?™ Couples Edition’ is a respectful adult board game designed to expand a couples connection and intimate relationship through fun real-life conversations and topics covering general knowledge, relationship questions, sex and emotional intimacy.

Fog of Love

This is a game for two players. You will create and play two vivid characters who meet, fall in love and face the challenge of making an unusual relationship work. Playing Fog of Love is like being in a romantic comedy: roller-coaster rides, awkward situations, lots of laughs and plenty of difficult compromises to make.

Playing Fog of Love is like being in a romantic comedy: roller-coaster rides, awkward situations, lots of laughs and plenty of difficult compromises to make.

Much as in a real relationship, goals might be at odds. You can try to change, keep being relentless or even secretly decide to be a Heartbreaker. It’s your choice.

Truth or Dare

The game of candid confessions and daring deeds, this game uses questions as facts and challenges. A classic game is given a new twist, with answers to pop culture questions determining who has to answer the truth or act out a dare.

Be the first player to get rid of all Truth or Dare cards in your hand. Answer pop culture trivia questions correctly in order to force your opponent to tell the truth. If you answer the question incorrectly, you will be subjected to an outrageous dare.

To win the game, you might have to lick another player’s arm, run around the block howling like a coyote, or stand on your head?

The Discovery Game: Board Game for a Married Couple

The Discovery Game is a way for you and your significant other to feel more connected. It’s aimed at married couples, although anyone can use the game to strengthen their relationship.

This is not a tired old card game. The balance of competition and intimacy makes for an entirely unique and exciting way to connect and discover one another, and the game is designed to cultivate intimacy and connectedness.

This game brings all the excitement of a first date, regardless of how long you have been together. You control the pace of the game so your experience will be tailor-made specifically to fit your relationship.

Making a relationship work is a serious task, but it doesn’t mean you can’t add some fun and mix things up. Fun relationship games for couples starts with breaking the mundane and it happens whether you are an established couple or a very long term relationship.

For new couples, these activities can act as an icebreaker to help you know your partner better so go ahead and give these suggestions a try or better yet, get a copy of our game which was put together specifically to get couples talking and learning. Buy Now for quick delivery direct or through Amazon (US) and Amazon (AU).

Couple Games

Couple Games At Home

Couple Games

Once upon a time you just selected couple games at home for a fun night in, but with self-isolation games for couples now being a need, we thought we’d jump in with some ideas for you and perhaps even some selected extended family (if you have to). Playing couple games at home is an excellent way to pass some time, laugh and make the best of time together be it by choice or through home isolation.

We’ve included free homemade activities, word games, professionally designed games that reduce boredom and hopefully calm self-isolation. There are cheap and easy up to board game favourites and even a couple of cheeky ones like How Game Are You?™ Couples Edition and Dare Duel – A Sexy Truth or Dare Game for Couples. In many cases after these games, you’ll also notice conversation and interaction increases more than usual in the household, and even the bedroom in some cases. Enjoy and read on.

Conversation games for couples at home (or small groups):

  • Take One Game’. A free to play conversation game for a couples game or for anyone which involves finding a small bowl and thinking of one-word answers that each of you come up with and write them on pieces of paper, folded and placed in a bowl.

The ideas can be anything you want from places, home items, tools, adjectives, acronyms, sexy words, body parts and anything in between. Once you have at least 20 or more words, take turns picking an idea from the bowl and say the first thing that comes to mind when you read it. It can be serious, funny, crazy, seductive or scary.

You can add more challenge if you want by needing longer answers of at least 2 sentences, where you have to use the selected word in the opening of the first sentence and near the closing of the last sentence. Alternatively, you can set up a timer or a 30 second alarm on your phone to make it a minimum time someone has to talk or they lose a dollar, or have to do a 5 minute household chore after the game or whatever penalty you want.

  • ‘Favourites Game’. Another free game and simple as everyone has a favorite country, food, place, celebrity, tv show, sport or movie etc. Use these to create a quick conversation game at home, on the road, or just bored waiting in a line.

ONE-FOR-ONE. Write your own topics list or use the one above and work through the list, or separate and place them in a bowl. Player A selects a topic and goes first giving an answer like ‘what they remember about it, why it impressed them and maybe some disappointments about it too’. Each player takes a turn to explain their favourite in the topic. Once everyone has finished, Player B chooses a different topic of interest, for all the other players to answer. You can choose the same topic (e.g. movies) again and again, but always with at least 2 other topics in between to reduce repetition.

ROLLING ON. Player A chooses the topic e.g. ‘Favorite movies’. They answer it then Player B answers and on to any other players in turn and keep going counting how far you got until one player couldn’t answer e.g. 7 answers in total. Player B now chooses another topic e.g. ‘Sports’ and the game continues with everyone taking their turns and hopefully beating the previous answer total. Continue playing to see how far you can get on each topic and which was the winner.

Fun couple games and activities at home:

  • We all know that sometimes one partner in the relationship needs a little help knowing what to plan. This fun and easy couple’s ‘quiz and interview’ idea will get both of you planning a date night that the other would love without even knowing. Each partner takes the pre-made quiz, or makes a blank one for each to create. The interview allows for each of you to answer life questions that will also lead you to knowing what your partner wants out of a date night.
  • Have a fun dessert cook-off. Depending on your respective skills, you can create an easy romantic dessert or something more extravagant, where one person cooks dessert one night and the other person another night and both bathe in enjoyment of the flavours and the love/ effort put into making it. It’s not a competition but more the basis for upping the ante on your enjoyment and skills together. Over time you’ll both expand your cooking repertoire and have a short list of favourites.

If you are in total lockdown or self-isolation, then time to get real creative with whatever limited ingredients you have. If it ends up just being cheese slices for entrée, beans for main and chocolate bar for dessert, put some effort into creating a nice plate decoration, candles, flowers and lighting ambiance. It can be as fun and enjoyable as you creatively make it.

Couple games, card and board games at home:

  • How Game Are You?™ Couples Edition. This is one of the best relationship games for couples because it involves real-life questions that encourage conversations and therefore builds understanding and an enhanced relationship.

It’s a respectful adult board game with questions about general topics, as well as personal and physical intimacy topics.

Over 150 base questions plus 25 bonus questions develop increased emotional and physical intimacy. Laugh and learn together to untap more understanding and connection as each question is answered.

Players take turns drawing cards and selecting words or phrases to create ‘Sexy Dares’ to act out. With hundreds of different words and phrases to choose from, the combinations are almost endless, making every game unique.

Sexual preference doesn’t matter, and players can either enjoy the game with their partner or a group of very close friends.

  • Fog of Love. In this game you’ll create and play two vivid characters who meet, fall in love and face the challenge of making an unusual relationship work.

Playing Fog of Love is like being in a romantic comedy: roller-coaster rides, awkward situations, lots of laughs and plenty of difficult compromises to make.

Much as in a real relationship, goals might be at odds. You can try to change, keep being relentless or even secretly decide to be a heartbreaker. It’s your choice.

The happily ever after won’t be certain, but whatever way your zigzag romance unfolds, you’ll always end up with a story full of surprises.

  • Truth or Dare. The game of candid confessions and daring deeds, this game uses questions as facts and challenges. A classic game is given a new twist, with answers to pop culture questions determining who has to answer the truth or act out a dare.

Be the first player to get rid of all Truth or Dare cards in your hand. Answer pop culture trivia questions correctly in order to force your opponent to tell the truth. If you answer the question incorrectly, you will be subjected to an outrageous dare.

To win the game, you might have to lick another player’s arm, run around the block howling like a coyote, or stand on your head?

We hope we’ve helped you determine the style of activity and game you want, and have also been able to direct you to the best couple games at home to try, play and most of all enjoy.

Our pick of course is the How Game Are You?™ Intimacy Edition because you each learn, enjoy and start new conversations to enhance your emotional and physical intimacy. Buy Now for quick delivery direct or through Amazon (US) and Amazon (AU).

Relationship-Questions

Relationship Questions

Develop your marriage/ partnership and keep it flourishing by incorporating relationship questions into your discussions, drive trips, date nights or game nights. Relationships are created from commitment, communication and are continued due to mutual respect and effort. It’s crucial to really get to know your partner by asking everything from everyday clarifying questions, to the deep questions that expand your relationship in a variety of contexts.

Everyday questions are more clarifying e.g. do you think we should look to upgrade the car soon, or go on a holiday. Relationship questions focus more on each other’s feelings towards each other, how you support each other or not, and a raft of misunderstanding can be avoided by making sure questions about your relationship are adequately covered amongst your busy life.

More often than not, questions that build deeper connections can make people feel uncomfortable at first. They can take more effort to make sure the intent is to learn and expand, rather than seek justification.

If your partner is able to speak about difficult topics while listening and empathizing with you, a natural trust will start to grow. So here are some questions you could ask your partner before you take things to the next level.

Sample Relationship Questions:

  • What do you value most about our relationship? This question is helpful to ask because it allows our partner the space to acknowledge the strengths they see in the relationship, while also understanding what we might be able to tend to a little bit more. Asking this question facilitates a conversation about what’s going well and what we’re doing right, which can help bring us closer together in the hustle and bustle of transitions and changes. It can also lead to a conversation about what needs improvement.
  • Do you feel that we make each other better people? Before taking your relationship to the next level, it’s important to make sure that you both feel like you are better together and not better apart. Asking this question opens the door to evaluate how far you have come as a couple and how far you want to go when approaching the next level in your relationship.
  • How much honesty do you believe is actually needed in a relationship? Honesty is obviously one of the most important things you can have in your relationship but it’s not just telling the truth, but rather revealing parts of yourself or thoughts that might be difficult, but build empathy, trust and a more workable relationship. What do you want out of this relationship? If you’re going to take your relationship to the next level, you need to be on the same page. It’s important so you and your partner know what to expect from each other and how to fulfill each other’s changing needs.
  • How do you think we’ve changed over the past few years? Asking your partner this can say a lot about the growth, challenges and support you have been to each other. It can reinforce the benefits and sometimes reveal areas that might have slipped (like regular date night discussions) and need to change.
  • How do you deal with difficult situations? It’s important to ask and/or observe how your partner copes with difficult emotions, relational situations, and conflict. This will give you an idea of how they will cope with these things in the relationship with you. It’s important to have open and honest communication about these issues and how you both want to handle them in a long-term, committed relationship, in order to avoid disconnection and intense conflict down the road.

You don’t have to ask your partner every single one of these questions all at once. But you should have an idea of how they would answer before you decide to take that next step in your relationship. Some of these may be super uncomfortable and may even trigger some unpleasant memories. But if you truly trust and love each other, there’s really no topic you shouldn’t be able to discuss openly and honestly.

To save you the trouble of creating questions, we did the hard work for you. We developed an easy to play game with over 150 questions, 50 specifically focused on relationship questions. Places forward on the board are given for more detailed or honest answers, and at the end the after-game tasks can be chosen to help take your relationship fun to new directions. View full details on the game or Buy now for quick delivery.

valentines day gift ideas

13 Unique Valentine’s Day Ideas

valentines day gift

If you don’t know exactly what you want to do this Valentine’s Day, but you know you don’t want to get stuck in a Netflix or movie binge, even worse, end up at an overpriced clichéd dinner out, there’s no need to worry. 

Here are 13 Unique Valentine’s Day ideas for all types of budgets, that will make your V-day special. It doesn’t matter whether you’re single, a couple already, married, or just looking for a fun activity with special friends. Either way, choose an activity that best fits your comfort level and let the fun begin. 

  1. Beach Picnic: Grab a blanket, food and drinks and head to a nearby beach. Find a place out of the wind, maybe take some chairs, and have a romantic night by the water and waves. Every time either of you hears a bird noise or fish splash, you have to say something nice about your Valentine, and they reciprocate.
  2. Make a Donation to Charity: If your partner isn’t into traditional gifts but you want to get them something anyway, consider making a donation to charity. It can be a donation to a local organization, Doctors Without Borders, or even Heifer, which allows you to give enough money so that someone in a developing country can, for example, buy a flock of chickens. (Because who doesn’t like offering chickens for Valentine’s Day?)
  3. Have a Game Night of Personal Connection: Dust off some of the fun games in the cupboard, or better still, play the How Game Are You?™ Intimacy Edition game and plan a night in to talk, laugh, share and connect more with each other. No need to think of questions as there are 175 already created for you.  Couples Intimacy Edition gameCouples Intimacy Edition BoxCouples Intimacy Edition board and card game set
  4. Molten Pleasure: If you live somewhere cold grab some marshmallows, chocolates, cheese, biscuits and wine and spend the night cuddling up in front of a fire. For every mouthful you have a something sweet, you have to say something you like/love about your sweet valentine. 
  5. A Themed Dinner and Movie Night at Home: Watching Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck fall in love in Roman Holiday is definitely more satisfying when accompanied by a big plate of homemade spaghetti and meatballs. Maybe it’s a ‘Love Actually’ theme, or ‘Pretty Woman’ dress-ups, act out the names and roles then have a big bath together.
  6. Handmade Paper Flowers: The usual flowers are, of course, a sweet gesture, but they do die after a week or so and can be outrageously expensive around Valentine’s Day. Instead, make your own flowers out of paper (some craft stores even have kits) for a present that will last a long time and remind your partner how much you care. You might even write special notes or words on some.
  7. A Paint and Sip Class:  A hilarious way to bond with your S.O. or friend is to take a paint-and-sip class together, which involves–you guessed it–painting a masterpiece (or something) while sipping on wine or a cocktail. Plus, you’ll have a memento to take home with you.
  8. A Wine Bar Crawl: Instead of sticking to just one spot, hop from place-to-place and order different kinds of wine and tapas along the way. It’s waaay more interesting than a boring ol’ sit-down dinner (and even your regular bar crawl). Of course, it doesn’t hurt to stash one away for later too.
  9. Roller Skating: It’s just as romantic as ice skating, but with a little more pizzazz. And since it’s V-Day, your local rink will likely have a lovey-dovey theme. Look for one that’s kind of retro and caters to an older crowd. Just be careful it doesn’t become overly memorable due to a trip to the hospital to get a broken leg fixed.
  10. Karaoke: Leave behind the friend group and head to the karaoke bar with just you and your Valentine. What better way to celebrate your chemistry than singing classic couples duets such as ’03 Bonnie & Clyde’ and ‘I Got You Babe’ together? This is about fun, laughing together bonding time.
  11. A Bike Ride: You might have to plan this during a time when the streets aren’t quite so crowded (especially if you live in a city). And/or, find a scenic location nearby that’s bike-friendly, so you can stop along the way to sit and chat. Maybe write 6 quality questions out and at each stop, ask another question and you both answer. 
  12. A Hotel Stay: Book a romantic hotel that’s free from roommates, dirty dishes, and paper-thin walls. Many inns and hotels host their own Valentine’s specials, from champagne service to three-course meals at the hotel restaurant. 
  13. An Amusement Park: Whether you’re close to the coolest parks in the U.S. or a little wooden roller coaster, riding the rides, munching on cotton candy, and people-watching can be tremendously fun. Just make sure it isn’t, you know, pouring rain—or make sure the venue has indoor attractions if the weather is not good.

We think the best Valentine’s Day activities lead to more understanding, connection and emotional/physical intimacy and this all happens through the tasteful Intimacy game. So, get a copy of How Game Are You?™ Intimacy Edition game for Valentines Night, or if you have other plans, give it as a Valentines Gift for your relationship. Plan a great Valentines day in to talk, laugh, share and connect more with each other.

Romance Games For Adults

Best Romance Games For Adults

Romance Games For Adults

Finding the best romance games for couples can be tough, so we’ve broken down some of our favourites.

Where to start though, for you specifically? We all know love and romance is not just about holding hands or walking in the park, but what type of romance are you seeking? Couples need interesting and fun moments to keep their relationship lively, spark up different topics, learn new things about each other and feel the true connection that is special between you. Games have many benefits and are a great way to do this because they spark creativity, the thinking is largely done for you, a game played this year and again next year might yield different answers and the fun is already built-in for you.

The first step is determining your thoughts on what type of ‘romance games’ you and your partner are actually after. They can be any one of these types, or a combination:

LAUGH TIME GAMES. Light romance really. More about just having a laugh together without daily distractions and have the game help make it possible around adult topics.

INCREASED CONNECTION GAMES. The desire to really get closer together and strengthen the romance and relationship. Talk and share your feelings with each other, be more vulnerable, give positive affirmations and re-spark the romance. More about quality and outcomes.

ESCAPISM GAMES. Where you’re not interested in being serious, you just want romantic role plays and making things up.

ROMANCE = SEX GAMES. Some people just want to set the romantic mood up to initiate sex, or use the game to specify sexual directions to perform.

Following is a shortlist for you, including our TOP CHOICE moniker to make your decision even easier if you’re in a hurry. 👍

LAUGH TIME GAMES: 

#1 TOP CHOICE 👍 Dare Duel – A Romantic Game for Couples. US$25.99

110 cards, notepad. Suitable for one couple.

Dare Duel players take turns drawing cards and selecting words or phrases to create fun and romantic dares to act out, while also battling over who will perform the dare. With hundreds of different words and phrases to choose from, the combinations are almost endless, making every game unique.

#2 Secret Romance Cards – Games For Couples. US$11.99

100 cards. Suitable for one couple.

Secret Romance is just like a tin full of cupids calling cards as they allow you to show your partner how much you care about them without saying a word! You can pick and perform however many of the romantic gestures as you like and whenever you choose too. You can pop them back into the tin too and use them again if you like – just shuffle them up!

CLOSER CONNECTION GAMES:

#1 TOP CHOICE 👍 How Game Are You? Couples Intimacy Edition. US$35

202 cards, board, blindfold. Suitable for one couple, two against each other or just close open-minded friends.

It’s a respectful adult board game designed to expand the connection and intimate relationship through fun real-life conversations. There is a mixture of trivia for ice-breakers, personal questions, relationship questions and sex topics that are all designed to get a couple talking, sharing and learning about each other.

The blindfold is fun with tasks to build your sensitivity and playfulness.

By adding a board instead of just cards, the focus is on the board and players are less intimidated to answer openly.

You earn more places on the board for better or more detailed answers, and there are even 14-day challenge cards at the end to keep the benefits ongoing.

#2 The Discovery Game: Board Game for a Married Couple. US$79.99

Cards, timer, CD, ebook. Suitable for one couple.

The Discovery Game is a way for you and your significant other to feel more connected. It’s aimed at married couples, although anyone can use the game to strengthen their relationship. The discovery Game creates an atmosphere that is exhilarating- where conversation, fun and romance result naturally. This unique resource allows you and your spouse to pursue true intimacy at a pace tailor-made to fit your relationship.

#3 Our Moments: Couples. US$18.95

100 cards. Suitable for one couple.

Conversation starter cards in question and answer format. The questions provoke responses so there is no real scoring. It’s simple and suitable in-car entertainment or when time is short.

ESCAPISM GAMES:

#1 TOP CHOICE 👍 Fog of Love ‘Male-Female Version’. US$42.99

30 tutorial cards, 88 tokens, board. Suitable for one couple.

Fog of love is a game for two players where you will create and play two vivid characters who meet, fall in love and face the challenge of making an unusual relationship work. Playing fog of love is like being in a romantic comedy: roller-coaster rides, awkward situations, lots of laughs and plenty of difficult compromises to make. Much as in a real relationship, goals might be at odds. You can try to change, keep being relentless or even secretly decide to be a Heartbreaker. It’s your choice. The happily ever after won’t be certain, but whatever way your zigzag romance unfolds, you’ll always end up with a story full of surprises to raise a smile! Several versions for different gender preferences.

#2 Consentacle. US$139.97

64 cards, 120 tokens. Suitable for one couple.

It’s a cooperative card game for two players that represents a consensual sexual encounter between a curious human and a tentacled alien. The players build card combinations to figure out how to build trust and do sexual things with each other, even if they can’t communicate easily. The game casts one player as a human and the other as an alien. You both play cards to build trust with each other, and then can cash in that trust for sexual satisfaction. But it’s not just the cards that you play that matter – each action has repercussions and combinations with your partner, meaning that cooperation is key.

ROMANCE = SEX GAMES:

#1 TOP CHOICE 👍 Bedroom Battle. US$25.99

92 battle cards, 210 sexy challenges, 70 reward cards. Suitable for one couple.

Bedroom Battle is a fun card drafting game for two players of any gender where you compete to win sexy favours from each other.

A game for couples where you play to win fun and romantic dares for you and/or your partner to act out. Use battle cards to compete for reward cards containing three dares to choose from. The player who collects the most reward cards wins and gets to pick a special final dare to end the game. Bedroom Battle is a strategic card game that is more complex than many similar games for couples, which also makes it much more rewarding and less repetitive.

#2 Monogamy Adult Couples Board Game. US$20.78

250 cards, dice, board. Suitable for one couple.

Monogamy has 3 sections with the emphasis is on finding out what really turns each other on and then translating this into an erotic fantasy to remember at the end. The emphasis is on finding out what really turns each other on and then translating this into an erotic fantasy at the end.

So we hope we’ve helped you determine the romance style of game you want, and have also been able to direct you to the best romance game for you. Let us know what you think.

Signs You Can Trust Your Partner

Signs You Can Trust Your Partner

Signs You Can Trust Your Partner

Whilst part of trust is simply taking your partner’s word, the following signs you can trust your partner can make it easier to know you’re in a loving and stable partnership. This is the basis of further building a more intimate relationship together. 

  1. Conversation feels natural: A good liar knows that fibbers supposedly can’t look you in the eye, so a deceitful partner might overcompensate by looking you straight in the eye. When someone’s telling the truth, they don’t have to be so dramatic. If being trustworthy, people are casual and direct.

  2. She goes out of her way to put you at ease: Accept your partner’s gestures of faithfulness if you’ve been feeling insecure. For instance, if you feel threatened about her attractive business partner but she offers to introduce you to him, she’s going out of your way to prioritize your relationship. 

  3. He admits when he’s wrong: Admitting small screw-ups, like when your partner put the wrong type of gas in the car shows that he’s willing to be honest and trusts you when he’s vulnerable. On the other hand, an apology shows the desire to build trust in a relationship. 

  4. She gushes about details of the day: A partner with nothing to hide will give you consistent stories that don’t have big gaps of information. There’s trust if they’re willing to talk about things, sometimes share additional details, and have no hesitations.

  5. He looks for excuses to touch you: Sex isn’t the only sign of physical intimacy in a relationship. Holding your hand and giving you a kiss in the morning show that you have a deep connection and that there’s trust in a relationship. Coming behind you to give you a hug when you’re cooking is intimacy. It’s not just the sexual act of sex, it’s those little things that lead to a physical and emotional intimate relationship.

  6. She lets you do the talking: Sitting in silence while you’re venting about your bad day shows that your partner respects your feelings. If you’re the one doing the listening, try not to let the silence make you uncomfortable. When she’s let out her feelings, ask if there’s anything you can do to help rather than immediately volunteering your advice.

  7. She hands you her phone while she’s driving: You shouldn’t go snooping through your partner’s messages when she’s not there, but if she hands you her phone without being prompted, you’ll know she has nothing to hide.

  8. He drops everything to talk to you: Turning around from doing the dishes or resisting the urge to get up for a glass of water during a discussion are good indicators that he cares about what you’re saying. Closed-off body language like crossing your arms are putting your hands on your hips could do the opposite and tell your partner you’re not interested. Even if that guarded position is just a comfortable stance for you, try to keep your body language open to show you’re listening. 

  9. She shares all her feelings: Being honest about all her thoughts and feelings is one of the biggest signs you can trust your partner. Just because your partner doesn’t immediately jump to tell you her thoughts doesn’t mean she isn’t willing to share. Talking helps some people process their emotions, but other people need alone time to sort out their feelings. Even if it takes a couple hours (or even a couple days) for your partner to open, that emotional discussion shows a deep level of trust in a relationship.

  10. His questions don’t feel like an interrogation: Often, though not always, people get suspicious of a partner because they can imagine themselves creating the problems, they accuse their partner of. If there’s trust in a relationship, he won’t give off those skeptical vibes. You show support by displaying that you do, in fact, believe and trust that person by taking their words at face value, not grilling them. Wholehearted acceptance of what that person is saying or asking follow-up questions that show interest in what happened as opposed to what did or did not happen show trust.

  11. They’re prepared to play How Game Are You? Couples Intimacy Edition 🙂 Know more about our game, specifically a couples game that encourages more meaningful conversations. You learn about each other’s thoughts, beliefs on themselves and on the relationship, and have some fun and laughs as well. It’s the new adult couples game that encourages ‘Real Life’ conversations to enhance intimate relationships and build trust.

How Game Are You? Couples Intimacy Edition is now available through our website, Amazon (US and AU) and Ebay (AU). You can order your own copy of the game now and be one of the first to receive it. Let the fun and romance begin and take your intimate relationship to another level.