11 Fun Virtual Game Apps to Play with Your Friends and Family
News / 17.04.20
With the majority of the world on lock-down, social media and digital technology make it possible to stay in touch with friends and family.
Whether you’re trying to arrange a remote get together or unleash your competitive spirit with games, here are a few of our favourite apps available for iOS, Android and desktop that you can download for free to stay connected.
Houseparty
You may have used the new Houseparty app recently to keep in touch with friends and family face-to-face by hosting a virtual ‘party’, but did you know that you can also play games too? Simply click on the dice icon in the upper right-hand corner and choose from a selection of games including Heads Up, Quick Draw and a selection of trivia categories including entertainment, slang terms and ‘finish the song’ where you can test your knowledge with up to eight friends.
While Houseparty is supported on Andorid, iOS and desktop, games can only be played on the mobile version.
Scrabble Go
The board game Scrabble has been around for more than 80 years and Scrabble Go is the new and updated version of the world’s favourite word game. This new version offers an experience much closer to the original board game and can be played remotely with friends by adding them through your phone or by connecting the app to your Facebook account.
Kahoot
If you’d rather host your own trivia night, Kahoot allows you to create your own quizzes with multiple choice or true or false answers. After you are done creating your quiz, the app generates a unique game pin code, which you can share with your friends. All they have to do to join in on your live quiz is add the code via the “Enter Pin” button on the home screen. You can invite up to 10 players per game with the free version of the app.
Facebook Messenger
The Facebook Messenger app not only allows you to keep in contact with your nearest and dearest by traditional message, but you also have the ability to play games. Simply video call your chosen contact, and once connected, click on ‘activity’ in the top right-hand corner. Most of the activities available use augmented reality (AR), meaning the elements respond to your camera but Facebook also offers a gaming tab, where you can play against friends.
Uno
While this colorful app offers multiple variations on the popular card game Uno, you can still play the original game in “classic mode” with a group of friends remotely. To invite your friends to a match, click on the “social” button on the bottom right of the screen and then click on the yellow “invite friends” button. From there you’ll be able to send invite links to your friends via text or another messenger like WhatsApp or Slack. The game also comes with text and talk functions so you can speak to each other through the app while you’re playing.
QuizUp
The QuizUp mobile trivia app features themed rounds of questions just like in Trivial Pursuit. You can choose from multiple topics including Game of Thrones, Disney, or world geography, with a subject for every interest. The app can match you up with random opponents from around the world, but you can also invite your friends by clicking on the “invite your friends” button on the homepage and texting them links to play the game with you in real time.
Playing games using video conferencing
Zoom and Google Hangouts were primarily created as a digital conferencing call software, but their popularity has rocketed in recent weeks outside of work scenarios too. The software is now being used for everything from streaming live music sessions and virtual karaoke to hosting family quiz nights and playing boardgames. For standard users, Zoom free sessions are capped at 40 minutes for more than two people and you will need a Gmail email address to set-up a Google Hangout.
Netflix Party
If your favourite thing to do with your friends is usually to sit and watch Netflix documentaries and films, you can still do this virtually with Netflix Party. Watch films and TV shows at the same time as one another, with the option to add a chat feature so you can talk to each other in real time while watching your favourite shows.
All you need to do is download the Google extension from Netflix Party. Only one person in your party needs to do this, and they can share the link to watch the programme or film with anyone they like.
Shared jigsaw puzzles
Puzzles don’t have to be a solo activity. This library of online communal puzzles lets users sign-up, select a puzzle and invite other friends to join your game to complete it together. You can also choose to compete against each other to see who can finish a puzzle quicker. For the best experience, chat over Zoom while you’re playing to make it for personal.
Bunch video chat and games
As well as chatting with friends and family you can also challenge them to trivia quizzes or test their drawing skills, you can play pool together or race against each other in a selection of retro 8-bit games on the Bunch mobile app.
Yahtzee with Buddies
If you grew up playing the classic Hasbro game, Yahtzee, the mobile version will quench your thirst to play it with your far-flung friends and family until you can throw the dice in person. To play a friend, click over to the “Social” tab at the bottom of the screen and either enter their username or click the green circle icon on the bottom right to connect your Facebook friends to your account.