Turn your online friend or family video conference into a rockin’ virtual game night with these 12 ideas.
Plus: download your FREE quarantine scavenger hunt list for your next virtual game night.
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Fact: life is weird right now.
One day we have full social calendars and the next thing we know, life is canceled. Never in a million years did we ever think something like this pandemic would happen in our lifetime! And we miss our people…a lot!
It is still 100% possible to connect with our friends and loved ones!
Luckily, I have some experience living in a virtual world with friends and family. My husband and I have lived overseas on and off for many years. So, we are constantly using FaceTime and other platforms to stay in touch with our best friends! In fact, Kaylee and I (you know, the fabulous creators and writers of this blog) only see each other in person a few times a year!
For us, it’s a usual evening to cook dinner together (via FaceTime) and do projects around the house with our phones next to us. We call it “The Box”. And, yes – we spend a lot of time “in the box” together. 🤣
So, put on your makeup and get out of those jammies – or not! Because it’s time to have a virtual game night! (Can I get a “woot woot”?!)
I’ve put together a list of games that can be adapted for online fun. And whether it’s an adult-only night or a family fun day with all of the kids, we’ve got something for everyone!
Adults:
1. HouseParty app for IOS and Android
Chips and Guac anyone?? This app is its own video chat – no Zoom necessary. You can choose from 4 games: Heads Up!, Trivia, Chips and Guac, and Quick Draw! It’s done quite well and easy to get the hang of.
2. Cards Against Humanity
This online version is called Remote Insensitivity. Clever, right?!? This game is really self-explanatory. Share your screen with your friends for a heck of an inappropriate time. Play for free HERE.
3. Scattergories
This is an awesome, free Scattergories list generator. Share the generator on your screen so everyone can see it. It even has a built-in timer. It is very well done and super fun to play. Play for free HERE.
4. Trivia
Who doesn’t love trivia?!? www.triviamaker.com offers a huge variety of trivia collections so whether you are looking for Disney trivia, Game of Thrones trivia, or some quarantine trivia, they’ve got you covered. Create a free account, share your screen and you are good to go! Play for free HERE.
5. Uno – Drinking Game Edition
Each ”box” (or screen) will need a deck of Uno cards and their drink of choice. There are a lot of different versions of the drinking rules, and you can make them as simple or as complicated as you’d like. Here are a couple of different versions of solid rules I found around the interwebs. www.drinkinggamezone.com & www.realbeer.com For me, I like it simple. If you get skipped, drink. If you have to draw a card, drink. If you win…cheers all around. However you decide to play, adding a drink makes it more fun!
6. Netflix Party
Are you missing movie nights with your besties? Netflix Party is the next best thing. You can now Netflix and Chill with your buds and chat about what you are watching using the Netflix Party chatbox. Want to take it to the next level? Have you heard of the Hallmark Drinking Game during the holidays? Well, who needs the holidays? Grab a hat from your closet, the bigger the better (think sombrero), and hang it on one corner of your TV. Anytime someone “wears” the hat, you take a drink! Get Netflix Party HERE.
Family time with kids:
1. Quarantine Scavenger Hunt
This was the first game we played with the nephews. It was really cool because it turned into somewhat of a show and tell. Normally, we have a monthly family day at Grandma and Grandpa’s house. But since everyone was home, in addition to the scavenger hunt items, we got to see everyone’s pets and favorite things. It was fun to watch the nephews share their spaces with each other. I put together this free, printable Quarantine Scavenger Hunt list for you based on our scavenger hunt. Download it HERE.
How to play: Everyone is given the list ahead of time. They find what they want to share before we get on the call. Everyone shows what they found for each item on the list. Then everyone votes on their favorite. The person with the most votes at the end of the game wins.
Another way to play this is for one person to have the list and that person would call out each item while on the call. The kids would have one minute to find the items. The rest of the process would stay the same (showing and voting) but it adds a fun, timed element.
2. Family Feud
www.triviamaker.com has loads of Feud-style games to play with the kids. OR if you are feeling creative and are comfortable editing in PowerPoint, you can create your own.
Click HERE to download the template.
Here’s an in-depth, video tutorial on how to edit the template.
3. Yahtzee!
Each “box” (or screen) should have their own Yahtzee! set. There are online options for Yahtzee! – just Google “play Yahtzee! online” but in my opinion, nothing beats the sound of those dice falling out of the cup, am I right?
Here’s a great free printable scorecard.
4. Boggle
This is another great game that is easy to adapt to online. Play for free HERE. Share your screen and let the fun begin!
5. skribbl.io
skibbl.io is a free drawing and guessing game that you can play with multiple people. Think Pictionary but online. You can have your Zoom window open next to skribbl.io open in your browser so you can chat while you play the game.
6. Bingo
Bingo is pretty self-explanatory and easy to adapt to an online setting. First, you’ll want to decide the range of numbers your Bingo game will consist of. Generally, Bingo is 1-75 or 1-90. Then, you’ll need some Bingo cards. Here are some free, printable Bingo cards. If you use these cards, they all have page numbers. Make sure that everyone is using a different card.
To start, decide on who will be the Caller. The Caller can use Google’s Random Number Generator They should share their screen as they call the numbers so everyone can see what’s called. The Caller should also write the numbers down as they come and keep track of them, just in case. You can play for fun or play for prizes. The choice is yours.
Have you tried any of these yet? Do you have any other great games you play? Let us know in the comments!
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