Living in iso is hard, and it doesn’t look to be going away anytime soon. But there are silver linings in every situation, and for me that is zooming with my friends. A glass of wine in hand, and no pants.
In fact, when everything goes back to normal; I will still probably hang out with my friends virtually. I have even been able to catch up with friends I haven’t seen in a long time, the constraints of distance no longer a problem. Zooming itself is fine, but what makes it a truly fun activity is the multitude of games you can play on the internet.
If you’re not sure which games to play or where to find them, don’t worry- I’ve done all the research for you. Here’s your insiders list of the best virtual games to play with your friends on zoom.
Remote Insensitivity (Cards Against Humanity).
Presumably for copyright reasons, this online version is no longer called Cards Against Humanity. It is literally the exact same game though. Fan favourite black cards like “White people like ___” and “What never fails to liven up a party” are back as well as all the staple white cards you know and love. Perhaps the only draw back to this online version is that it is the American edition, so there are a few cards you may not contextually understand.
The game only has slots for six players at a time, but if you get creative it’s pretty easy to play with a larger group.
*note: The website that creates Remote Insensitivity also has a bunch of other games like Checkers or Go Fish.
This is a favourite of mine. Having played this game at home with friends many times, I was surprised to find that it actually works better online. The game is fairly similar to Cards Against Humanity, in the sense that every turn, a player reads aloud from a card and then everyone must answer the question. Including the reader.
You can answer the question anyway you like, whether it be funny or practical. I always go for funny. Players then take it in turns guessing who wrote which answer. If you’re guessed, then you’re out for that round.
Taboo is a good game to play if you have an even number of people. The aim of the game is to describe a word without using any of the associated vocabulary on the card. Its harder and a lot more fun than it sounds! The pair with the highest score at the end of the game wins!
Werewolf (or Mafia)
I know this game as Mafia, but apparently it is most commonly known as Werewolf. Whichever you decide to call it, it is unequivocally fun! This is a game that requires you to trick the other players. For this game to really work, you have to have about six or seven people playing. Participants are split up into either werewolves or townspeople, and the aim is to catch the werewolf’s before they catch you.
To play this, simply log on to zoom, and choose a narrator. The narrator then sends a private message to the werewolf (or werewolves, depending on the amount of players). The narrator must also chose a seer and private message them. Everyone else is a townsperson.
In the first round, everyone has their heads down except for the werewolf, who signals to the narrator who they want to kill. In the second round, everyone has their head down except for the seer, who guesses a player as the werewolf. The narrator either confirms this or denies it. In the last round, everyone has their heads up and discusses who they think the werewolf is. The werewolf must work to trick the room into believing that they are just a townsperson.
You can also add a healer into the mix, who can save somebody in a seperate round when everybody has their heads down.
The general rule of thumb is
6-8 Players : 1 Werewolf
9-11 Players : 2 Werewolves
12-14 Players: 3 Werewolves
15-17 Players: 4 Werewolves
18-20 Players: 5 Werewolves
Jackbox TV is the only game here which isn’t free. However, for a reasonable price you can get a number of fun, interactive virtual games. There are a variety of different games you can play on this site, some require you to draw weird doodles, write the best joke or answer hilarious trivia question.
These games are 100% guaranteed to create a good Zoom hang out. I would recommend everyone bring their alcohol drink of choice, so that you can cheers the winner- but that bit is up to you. So get zooming, and most importantly, have fun!