Your loved ones may be just down the road or on the other side of the world, but with the new
COVID 19 restrictions on movement, getting together has only become more challenging if not
downright impossible. While getting together at the moment may not be that practical, that does
not mean that you cannot keep in touch during the lockdown.
You can still keep your family and friends safe while still finding a way to interact and keep in
touch – here’s a few ways to keep in touch, and have fun at the same time!
Zoom
Zoom was initially designed as a commercial tool for teams to get together. However, it has
recently become more than just that, given that its screen share function makes it possible to
play games on mobile and PC with friends and family. Some of the interesting games you can
play with friends on Zoom include Trivia, virtual Scavenger Hunts, and Ludo.
Houseparty
The classic app has been generating a lot of attention during the lockdown. Designed as a face
to face social networking app, Houseparty has both desktop and mobile apps that allow you to
play games with your friends during video calls.
The best thing about Houseparty is that it notifies your friends when you are online and also
notifies you when they come online so that you can video call and play games. As such, you
can often find someone to play with, even with an irregular care schedule. Some of the most
popular games on the app include Quick Draw, Trivia, and Heads Up.
Google Hangouts
The handy PC and mobile app comes with chat, video, and image functionality, which makes it
an excellent choice for pub quizzes. Just because you can’t go to the pub, doesn’t mean you
can’t have some fun with a classic pub quiz online.
Get all your friends to come up with several pub quiz questions that may include anything from
quotes, sports, emojis, penguin jokes, geography, music, sizes and shapes, and memes. Pub
quizzes can get very shambolic, especially if there are many people playing, but they can be a
lot of fun that once you try it, and you will always want more.
Dedicated Game Apps
Taking care of your partner or parents can get boring, especially when you have watched
everything interesting on Netflix. One of the most effective though not so much talked about
ways of playing games is through a dedicated game app.
There are thousands of multiplayer games on apps such as Cards Against Humanity, the
classic Mario Cart, Psyche, and Words with Friends that you can play on Apps on Facebook, or
if not, you can download the app to your phone OR gaming console and invite friends to join in.
Play Online
There are a ton of games that you can play online, whether its simple card games like online
solitaire, racing games, and board games, among many others. Even if it’s a solo game, you
can still compete and try and beat each others scores. But one of the ones I have found is Cards
Against Humanity.
The game aims to make the crudest and bizarre sentences from the collection of statements
provided. This can be a lot of fun as you can usually come up with some very interesting
sentences and sometimes hilarious sentences.
One of the best things about playing a lot of these types of games is that you don’t need to
download anything which makes it a whole lot easier to play.
Wrapping Up
The biggest gripe most people have with the lockdowns is that the amount of time where we’re
forced to spend time alone or with the same people for weeks on end. This can make it very
easy to feel disconnected from family and friends.
Luckily, there are all manners of virtual games that can be found online or stuff that you can
make or modify by yourself or with friends to ensure you remain connected. Its never going to
be a substitute for meeting them in person, but, it makes getting through the pandemic and
lockdowns, just a little bit easier…
–Guest Blogger
