20 Best Instagram Story Games to Increase Engagement (2026)

A Story game gives people something to tap, and taps and replies are what Instagram counts as engagement. How much any of it moves your reach is not something Instagram publishes, so treat the specific percentages you see quoted elsewhere as invented.

What almost no list mentions is that these stickers have hard limits, and you will hit them while building rather than while planning. Those are below, before the games.

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Before You Build Any of These

Polls and quizzes both take up to four answers. The poll sticker launched with two and was raised to four in January 2022. If you only see two slots, the fields appear one at a time: the third shows up once you fill the second. That progressive reveal is why "polls are yes or no only" is still repeated everywhere. Full breakdown of every poll surface and who can see individual votes in our Instagram polls guide.

The quiz sticker gives you 52 characters for the question and 26 per answer. Instagram does not publish these numbers or warn you. The field simply stops accepting input, so a question written long gets cut mid-word. Write the question first, count it, then build. See how to make a quiz on Instagram Story.

Every interactive sticker stops working after 24 hours. Adding the Story to a Highlight keeps the image and kills the sticker. Nobody can answer it afterwards and your results view goes with it, so screenshot the breakdown before the Story rolls off if the numbers matter to you.

Story poll votes are not anonymous to you. You see who voted and which option they picked, by name, in the Story viewer list. Everyone else sees only the percentage split. Worth knowing before you run "Two Truths and a Lie" on your own followers.

Screenshot games work because Instagram does not tell anyone. Story screenshot notifications were removed in June 2018 and have not come back, which is what makes bingo and this-or-that viable at all. The details are in does Instagram notify when you screenshot.

Anything you design as an image needs to be 1080 by 1920 pixels, 9:16. Bingo grids and this-or-that boards built at any other ratio get letterboxed or cropped.

Poll & Emoji Slider Games

1. "Rate This" Emoji Slider

Post a photo and use the emoji slider sticker. Ask followers to rate it.

Examples:

Rate this outfit (fire emoji slider)
How badly do you want this? (heart eyes slider)
Rate my morning coffee setup (coffee emoji slider)

2. Two Truths and a Lie

Share 3 "facts" about yourself using the Poll sticker. Two true, one false. Followers vote on the lie. This one needs three options, which the poll sticker did not have before 2022 and does now.

3. Predict the Outcome

Before an event (sports game, product launch, award show), ask followers to predict the result with a Poll.

4. "Would You Rather" Polls

Use the Poll sticker for would-you-rather questions:

Beach vacation or mountain trip?
Early bird or night owl?
Coffee or tea?

Quiz Sticker Games

5. Trivia Time

Use the Quiz sticker to test followers on a topic:

Brand trivia ("When was our company founded?")
Industry facts
Pop culture questions
Niche knowledge

6. "Guess the Price"

Show a product and use the Quiz sticker with multiple price options. Great for e-commerce brands.

7. "Who Said It?"

Share a quote and quiz followers on who said it, a team member, a celebrity, or someone else.

8. "Name That Song"

Play a clip using the Music sticker, then quiz followers on the song title or artist.

This or That Games

9. Classic This or That

Create a graphic with two options on each side. Followers screenshot and circle their picks, or reply with their answers.

Popular this-or-that templates:

Summer vs Winter
Netflix vs Cinema
Morning person vs Night owl
Sweet vs Savory
City vs Country

10. "Build Your Perfect Day"

Series of this-or-that choices that build a perfect day:

Slide 1: Wake up at sunrise or sleep in?
Slide 2: Coffee or smoothie?
Slide 3: Beach or mountains?
Slide 4: Dinner out or cook at home?

11. Product Edition This or That

For brands: show two products side by side and ask which one followers prefer. Great market research disguised as a game.

Quick Knowledge Check

Test your understanding

Which Instagram sticker lets you start a chain that followers can add to?

Bingo & Template Games

12. Instagram Bingo

Create a 5x5 bingo grid with relatable items. Followers screenshot, mark off what applies to them, and share to their Stories.

Bingo themes:

"Have You Ever" bingo
"Monday Mood" bingo
"Traveler" bingo
Industry-specific bingo

13. "Put a Finger Down"

List statements starting with "Put a finger down if you've ever..." Followers count how many apply to them and reply with their number.

14. Fill-in-the-Blank Templates

Create a template with blanks for followers to fill in:

"My dream vacation is ___"
"I can't live without ___"
"The best advice I ever got was ___"

Challenges & Interactive Games

15. Screenshot Challenge

Post a fast slideshow of options (colors, places, foods). Followers screenshot and share what they landed on.

16. "Add Yours" Sticker Chains

Use the "Add Yours" sticker to start a chain:

"Show your workspace"
"Your pet right now"
"Last photo in your camera roll"

17. Countdown Guessing Game

Post a series of clues over multiple Stories. Followers guess the answer. Reveal at the end. Pair it with the countdown sticker so people can set a reminder for the reveal instead of relying on catching it.

18. Emoji Story Challenge

Post a sentence using only emojis. Followers translate it in their replies.

19. Caption Contest

Post a funny or interesting photo. Followers submit their best caption via the Question sticker. Share the best ones. If you are short on prompts, there are 200+ questions to ask on Instagram Story to borrow from.

20. "Spot the Difference"

Post two similar images. Followers find and reply with the differences. Good for brands (product photos with subtle changes).

How to Create Story Games

What you need it for	Use
Polls, quizzes, sliders, questions, "Add Yours"	Instagram's own sticker tray. Nothing else can add an interactive sticker
Bingo cards, this-or-that boards, fill-in-the-blank templates	Any 1080 x 1920 design tool, for example Canva
Getting the image live at a set time	SocialRails, then add the sticker yourself when it publishes

Tips for Maximum Engagement

Post games during peak hours, check when your audience is most active
Keep it simple, one tap or screenshot should be enough to participate
Share responses, repost follower answers to encourage more participation
Be consistent, run a recurring game (e.g., "This or That Tuesday")
Mix game types, alternate between polls, quizzes, and template games
Screenshot your results before the 24 hours are up, because the sticker breakdown disappears with the Story and a Highlight will not save it

Sticker taps, replies and shares all show up under Story interactions, which is where you find out whether a game actually did anything.

Quick Knowledge Check

Test your understanding

You add a Story with a quiz sticker to a Highlight. What happens to the quiz?

FAQ

Do Instagram Story games actually increase engagement?

They give people something to tap, and sticker taps, replies and shares are all counted as Story interactions. What nobody can honestly tell you is by how much: Instagram does not publish reach figures for interactive versus plain Stories, so any specific percentage you see quoted for this is invented. Judge it on your own numbers by comparing interactions on game Stories against your normal ones.

How many options can an Instagram poll have?

Up to four. The poll sticker launched with two and was raised to four in January 2022. The extra fields appear one at a time, so the third only shows once you have filled the second, which is why the two-option limit is still widely repeated. The quiz sticker also takes 2 to 4 options, with one marked correct.

How long do Instagram Story games stay playable?

24 hours. Every interactive sticker stops accepting answers when the Story expires. Saving it to a Highlight keeps the image but not the sticker, and your results breakdown disappears too, so screenshot it before the Story rolls off if you want to keep the numbers.

Can I see who voted in my Story poll?

Yes, on a Story poll you see each voter by name alongside the option they chose, in the Story viewer list. Other people watching see only the percentage split. There is no setting that makes a Story poll vote anonymous to the creator. Caption polls on feed posts and Reels work the other way round: nobody sees names, not even you.

How often should I post Story games?

Instagram publishes no guidance on this and anyone quoting an exact cadence is guessing. The practical constraint is that a game only exists for 24 hours, so a recurring slot people can learn, such as the same day each week, tends to work better than a random burst. Watch your own Story completion and interaction numbers and back off if either drops.

What is the best Instagram Story game for a business?

This-or-that product comparisons and quizzes about your own industry, because they collect something useful as well as a tap. A two-product this-or-that is genuine market research, and a quiz about your category tells you what your audience does not already know, which is the next piece of content.

Can I schedule Instagram Stories with game stickers?

You can schedule the image, not the sticker. Interactive stickers can only be added in the Instagram app at the moment you publish, so the workflow is to schedule the game graphic in advance and add the poll, quiz or slider by hand when it goes live.

Scheduling the image part in advance is covered in how to schedule Instagram Stories.