10 fun Zoom games to play

We may all be stuck inside this holiday season but you can still enjoy socially distant time with friends and family virtually with these fun Zoom games. So, grab your computer, some snacks and drinks, gather your teams and get creative. Here are some games that are sure to entertain all your participants.

• Pictionary
  An oldie, but goodie, Pictionary can be easily played virtually. You can either use the board game or find an online version. For the board game version, you can split people up by Zoom family. Simply show the card to the drawer and their teammates can guess. An online version called Skribbl.io allows you to share a link to log into the game platform, so everyone can see the drawing. You are given a word and have to draw it on the computer. You can type in your guess or say it on camera. This is a good option for those who may be a bit artistically challenged.
• Trivia
  Test your knowledge with apps such as Jackbox or Houseparty that have built in trivia games you can try. On Jackbox there are games called You Don’t Know Jack or Trivia Murder Party. A Jack’s party pack costs between $25 and $30 and it has five games you can try. For traditional trivia, check out this random trivia generator to help you come up with questions.
• Murder Mystery
  Ready to find out whodunit? Murder mystery games will definitely keep your attention even virtually. The online versions offer either a downloadable package or a live host through an event company. Joining a game already created makes it easier with less set up work to do. All you have to do is pick a theme, gather a group and connect online. You can prepare in advance by having your guests dress up, choose creative Zoom backgrounds and review the script beforehand. Some of these hosted services have a cost that range from $25-$45. Examples to check out include Red Herring’s Little Rock Horror Shop Murder and The Mardi Gras Masquerade Murder, or Murder Mystery Zoom parties hosted by Detective Ness.
• Psych!
  Get ready to get creative and outwit your friends. Psych! is an app that every participant would need to download on their phone. Choose a game category and have everyone join. Players have to make up fake answers to real questions and try to have your friends guess your answer. You win by psyching the most people to choose your responses. Play the game on Zoom, so you can interact as you play. A fun and hilarious Psych! game is The Truth Comes Out where everyone has to write the best answer about your friends or family, then you all choose your favorite answer. For example, one question could be if your mom was a Pokémon character what would her name be? Everyone makes up something creative and funny based on her personality and the one answer that gets the most votes wins.
• Bingo
  Use traditional Bingo cards and call out numbers or get creative and make your own. Create a seasonally theme Bingo with boxes to check off like who Got socks for Christmas, whose pet knocked over the tree, who baked cookies, etc. This is a great way to have the group interact with each other to fill in the boxes.
• Name That Tune
  This game can be easily done with a little advanced planning. Pick out some songs and organize a playlist (you can use a platform like Spotify for this). Play the first few seconds of a song and have each team raise their hand with the answer of give them a buzzer or bell to ring. Have them guess the artist or song title for a point each. Add more points if they can sing part of the song or know the album the song appears on. For better audio, test the sound ahead of time and play directly from the computer music app to Zoom.
• Kahoot
  A favorite among kids to help aid in learning, Kahoot is often played in school where teachers come up with questions to test their student’s knowledge on a subject and kids have to be quick to answer. You can create your own questions or there are some categories already prepared. Create a theme and see who is the most knowledgeable.
• Charades
  This is an easy game to play on Zoom and gets you moving. Simply act out a character or topic and have others guess. Or try playing Charades online at https://www.pantoparty.com.
• Headbands
  This is a traditional board game where each person displays a card on their head facing other players. Everyone goes around and asks yes or no questions to find out what their card says. If you don’t have the game, this can be made easily with index cards and string to tie around your head.
• Scattergories
  This game includes a giant die with letters all around. You roll and land on a letter and you have to fill in categories that start with the letter you rolled. Categories can be something like things you find at an airport or types of flowers, etc. You have two minutes to fill in the answers and after you get a point for any answer that no one has written down. If you don’t own the board game, you can create your own on this site.
  
  Having fun playing safely!