Dating, in general, is an exciting way to get to know new people, but there’s a reason why it makes people very nervous. The biggest fear most people have with modern dating is fear of awkwardness. There’s not much that’s more cringe-worthy than being trapped on a dating in the middle of an awkward moment. The awesome thing about chat line dating, or phone dating in general, is that there are tons of ways to bypass that awkwardness.

Now, if you’re reading this article at all, you are probably thinking to yourself, “Ok, but I’ve had so many awkward silences throughout my phone dating life.” I completely hear you! You aren’t alone in that at all. I think the texting age has made it difficult to even speak on the phone without some level of awkwardness, not to mention the lack of ability to play off a person’s physicality.

There’s one easy and fun way to cure awkwardness and make sure it doesn’t happen to you in the future, and it’s through the magic of phone chat games.

Ok, don’t roll your eyes! Just hear me out. When you break it down, chat line dating is really just about one singular thing: Getting to know someone on the other end of the line through the sound of their voice. It requires some momentum but once the conversation gets really good, amazing unforgettable connections can be made between you and people in your area. Whether you are in this thing to meet singles or make friends, I promise you phone chat games are the way to go.

First, let’s get into what chat line games actually are. If you skip ahead a bit in this article, you’ll find the list of suggested games to choose from for your next phone date. But at their core, phone chat games are conversational games based on ‘get to know you’ questions. They are meant to inspire deep conversation, make you and your date smile, and push the date in a good fulfilling direction.

Here are just some of the ways in which conversation games can help you out while chat line dating:

• It gives you a chance to get to know someone else: This is the most obvious benefit to playing games with your chat line partner.

• It’s a stealthy way to ask burning questions: Let’s say you want to know something really personal about your date but don’t want to come off as creepy. These games provide you the excuse to ask whatever questions you want!

• Change the subject quickly: If a topic is too sensitive or there’s an awkward lull, the nature of conversational games allows you to go in a new direction in a way that is subliminal.

• Momentum: This is really important to the world of phone dating. There’s got to be a direction in which the conversation is going and the ‘question-answer’ premise of the games is what keeps that train moving.

Ok, now for the fun stuff: The games themselves! I’ve come up with a list of some of the best question-answer type of conversational games that you can use as tools to enhance your chat line experience. Read them through and consider the benefits to the games individually. What are you looking to get our of your chat line experience, what kind of questions do you want to ask, and (equally important) what kind of things do you want your date to know? For example, there are some games that lend themselves to meaningful relationship development and others that tend to get a little kinky quickly. The latter are best if you’re into erotic phone chat or calling a party chat line. The benefit you have when you read through each of the games is that you then have the power to totally control the conversation while still leaving room for your date to express themselves. Check it out!

Never Have I Ever

This is an example of a game that can turn sexual on a dime. Never Have I Ever is played by each player confessing things they’ve never done. You usually play in-person by lowering a finger if you’ve done the thing your partner has never done, but that’s not an option here. You can either count on a piece of paper or in your head. Person who gets to 10 first is the loser, or winner. Anyways, who cares?! The point is that you’ve asked some burning questions without directly asking them! And, just maybe, the game has gotten saucy. Here are some examples of ‘Never Have I Ever Statements.’

• Never have I ever had a threesome

• Never have I ever been to Paris

• Never have I ever had an affair

Would You Rather

Would You Rather is a fun phone dating game full of hypotheticals. As kids, you played this by listing two scenarios. Would you rather turn into a dog or cut off your hand? Remember that silly nonsense? Now let’s crank it up a notch. Utilize this game of hypotheticals to get to know your date. Here are some awesome get-to-know-your-chat-line-date (whew- that was a mouthful) ‘Would You Rather’ questions…

• Would you rather be flown on a private jet to Australia or spend a month in Thailand?

• Would you rather have 10 kids or live on a farm full of 100 animals?

• Would you rather go on a lavish date out to a club or a private cuddle session at home?

Truth or Truth (or Dare)

Hopefully, if you’re a human being who lives on this planet, you know about Truth or Dare. To play this on the phone, however, it can be tricky because you can’t technically ‘dare’ someone to do something… or can you? Truth or Truth (or Dare) is a fun way of saying… “Let’s be totally honest with each other and ask each other whatever we want.” It’s fun. How does dare come into play? If someone doesn’t want to answer a ‘Truth’ they can be dared to do something virtual. Maybe it’s exposing their Social Media to you, giving you their digits, or shouting something silly. Now, make sure you follow chat line safety guidelines and don’t give out any credit card numbers… but have fun with it!

21 Questions: Chat Line Edition

21 Questions is a guessing game in which one player picks something, anything in the world, and your date has 21 questions to try to figure it out! However, instead of picking your ‘thing’ as a giraffe or a sneaker, like you would have in grade school, you can frame it as something really important to you (like a favorite movie, hometown, special place, etc.). Allow your dating partner to pry into these intimate details of your life under the guise of a game!