Games to play with your mum, your dad or your sister
Why a puzzle and not a game
A parent who does the crossword already has the habit. What they do not have is somebody to lose to. A shared puzzle with a score attached turns a solitary ten minutes into a small, recurring argument, which is most of what a long-distance relationship with a parent is made of.
Nothing here needs explaining. A crossword is a crossword, a Sudoku is a Sudoku, four in a row is four in a row. The only new part is that the other side of the board is a person you know.
One a day, whenever each of you has a minute
The asynchronous games are the ones to start with. You solve yours over breakfast, they solve theirs after the news, and the head-to-head moves. Nobody is waiting for anybody. If one of you misses a day, the challenge is still there tomorrow.
Something for the weekly call
When you are both on the phone anyway, play live. Co-op Sudoku puts you both on one board with no turns, and four in a row is a shared board with alternating moves, which is exactly as civil as the two of you make it.
Duelo, in plain facts
- iPhone and Android, and the two play each other: an iPhone player and an Android player share one board.
- 13 games in one app: word games, puzzles, board games and two live panic games.
- 7 of them work when the other person is asleep: you play, they answer whenever they next open the app.
- Sudoku and Queens are co-op: one shared board, both of you on the same side.
- No strangers, no bots, no matchmaking queue. Every opponent is a person you invited.
- Free, no subscription. A one-off Pro purchase removes ads and adds cosmetics; it cannot buy a win.
- A permanent head-to-head record per friend, per game. It never resets.
- Made by a one-person studio in London. Last updated October 2026.
Questions
What is a good game to play with my mum on our phones?+
A crossword or a Sudoku, one a day, on your own phones. In Duelo you both get the identical puzzle, each solves it when you have a minute, and a head-to-head score between the two of you updates. It works across iPhone and Android, and nobody needs to be online at the same time.
My dad only wants to play with me, not strangers. Does that work?+
That is the only way it works. There is no matchmaking, no public lobby and no bots. Every game is between the two people who invited each other, and nobody else can see it.
What if we are in different countries?+
7 of the 13 games are asynchronous: you play, the result waits, they play the same puzzle hours later, and the score compares. Time zones do not matter.
Is there something we can do together rather than compete?+
Yes. Sudoku and Queens are co-op: one shared board, both of you filling it in live, no turns and no loser. Good for a weekly call.
Is it free?+
Free on both stores, no subscription. There are ads; a one-off Pro purchase removes them. Pro does not change any game.