If you’re like most people who have hunkered down as a way to practice social distancing, you’re probably feeling pretty bored right about now. After all, there are only so many times you can walk your dog, home school your kids. So, it’s time to let off a little steam with a game night. But if game night usually includes other friends and relatives, it might feel like something (or someone) is missing. That’s when you need to log back onto your computer and figure out how to have a Zoom family game night.
Hopping on video chat can be a great way to feel less isolated. Folks everywhere are propping up their phones while they cook together, watch movies, or simply have conversations. But the fun of a game night, in particular, can make these quiet evenings seem a little less strange and a lot more nostalgic. Battling it out with friends might even ease coronavirus-related anxiety as you focus your mind elsewhere.
Here, a few ideas for ways to have a Zoom game night, so you can stay connected from afar.
1) Trivia
You may not be crammed into your favorite bar booth with five of your closest friends, but you can still recreate trivia night by playing together on Zoom. Start by making sure that every body has the same set of Trivia cards.
From there, figure out how you'll communicate. Each team will need a private space to whisper answers, like a breakout room, but you can all meet back in the main "bar" area on Zoom. Give everyone 30 seconds to deliberate, and then have them submit answers via DM.
Of course, as with any trivia night, you'll want and need rules. Remind players to stay off Google, to put their phones down, and to only get answers from teammates — not their roommate, who is a fount of 90s music knowledge. And just like that, you'll have recreated trivia night from the safety of your homes.
2) Charades
This is probably one of the easiest games to play over video chat because it involves little to no setup. Mostly everyone knows and loves the concept of charades. It is a great party game to choose when you cannot decide on anything else to play.
Over your Zoom video chat, form two teams and make sure everyone has the ability to connect via a webcam or a built in camera. Choose someone from your team to privately chat one other person on the opposing team to tell them which word or phrase they must act out.
The person must act out the word or phrase while everyone on their team tries to guess. You can pin the person’s video who is doing the acting out on camera so that you can see their video full screen. Have someone from the other team set a timer for 30 seconds or a minute (based on preference).
If the team can guess what the person is acting out within the timeframe, then they recieve a point. If they fail to guess the word or phrase, then they receive no points and its the other team’s turn.
3) Pictionary
Pictionary is a classic game-night game, in part because the rules are so simple. To play, divide your group into teams. Use the actual board game or look up a Pictionary word generator on line, and choose a team to play first, as well as a designated drawer on that team. The drawer generates a word and has one minute to draw that word for their team to guess. If the team guesses the card correctly, they get a point.
These games listed above are just a few of the easiest to play with friends over Zoom! There are so many more, most of which can be purchased at The Shop in South Egremont! We get new games almost weekly, so stop by to check them out, and start planning your Zoom Game Night today!
