7 Online Games to Play with Friends
One of my favorite things to do is hang out with friends and play board games. Even though I can’t do this in person right now, there are a handful of virtual options out there to recreate those game nights. While there are tons of video games and apps, this list sticks to games that are best played with friends via browser. In terms of setup, I usually use Zoom, Google Meet/Hangouts, or Discord for audio and video so everyone can still talk and see each other when we play.
Skribblio — https://skribbl.io/
A virtual drawing game that supports up to 12 players. Each player gets to choose between 3 words to draw and the other players use the chat box to guess the word. You get points for how quickly you guess and when others correctly guess your drawings.
Jackbox Games — https://www.jackboxgames.com/
There are over 25 jackbox titles that you can play on so many different consoles: PC/Mac, XBOX, PS4, and Switch, to name a few. Only one person needs to own the game and your friends can join by going to jackbox.tv and entering the 4 letter room code. A majority of the games support 6 to 8 players, and they’re super fun and hilarious. Most of them involve you submitting witty responses for your friends to vote on. My favorite titles are Quiplash, Drawful, Murder Trivia Party, and Fibbage. I recommend buying Game Pack 3 to start!
Jigsaw Puzzles — https://jigsawpuzzles.io/
Puzzles have been all the rage during this weird time of our lives. I love a good puzzle—the feeling of a piece clicking into place, having to closely inspect each piece and figure out where it goes, the dust that spreads when you dump all of the pieces onto your dining room table… okay, maybe not that last one. This site is perfect if you love puzzles and miss the social aspect of hanging out. You can join public rooms or create a private room (which requires an account), where you can invite up to 100 of your closest friends and puzzle together.
Rummikub Online — https://rummikub-apps.com/
If you haven’t played rummikub, it’s a really fun strategy game where you try to get sets (similar to spades or hearts but with tiles). I’m a little embarrassed at how addicted I am to this game. You can play up to 4 people, but you have to use Facebook to connect with friends so I’ve actually just been playing with randos since I don’t have Facebook. This is also an app on iOS and Android, but I recommend playing on your browser because it’s a much better experience.
Board Game Arena — https://boardgamearena.com/
My favorite board games are economy building / resource management ones and this site has an amazing collection of them! There are a lot of board game simulators out there (https://tabletopia.com/ and https://www.tabletopsimulator.com/ are two other popular ones), but I think this one’s the best since it’s in-browser and has a good game library to choose from. I will say the user experience is a nightmare, but if you can get over that hump, there are lots of games that can support 6 to 8 players and fun for your nerdier gaming groups.
Social Deduction Games — https://netgames.io/games /
These games require you to guess and uncover the secret roles or alliances of your friends. While I’m not a fan of social deduction games, this site is easy to use and has a whole collection of them, from Werewolf to Secret Hitler. It works both on desktop and mobile, and is great for big groups.
Codenames (via Horsepaste) — https://www.horsepaste.com/
Codenames is a super popular party game where two teams compete to identify all of the codewords that their team’s spymaster has, using one-word clues they’re given each round. It’s best played with at least 6 people. You can also play Codenames on https://codenames.plus/ or https://netgames.io/games /, mentioned above. I personally like the interface on horsepaste the most because it’s really minimal and easy to use. You create a custom link, share that with friends, and can immediately start playing.
Are there others that I’m missing?
Two others that I haven’t tried yet are https://colonist.io/, which is a virtual version of Settlers of Catan, and http://playingcards.io/, which has Go Fish!, Euchre, and other card games. I’m always on the hunt for new games so reach out or comment if you’ve got any that you recommend!
