Hey all. If you’re anything like me, this whole COVID fiasco started out alright, then slowly progressed through various stages of mania. Like trying to stick to the walls like Spider Man and learning to do handstands. Other than these noble pursuits, how do we stave off the COVID-induced insanity, you may ask? That’s right, even MORE gaming. Not just any old gaming, however; we’re getting FRIENDS involved this time. I’ve compiled a list of some popular picks my friends and I have used during these troubling times to keep in touch and also keep our minds spry.
skribbl.io
This has been the go-to browser game when we want to get larger groups together. It’s similar to Pictionary, where people take turns drawing based a word/phrase cue while everyone else tries to guess what it is in the chat box. It’s free, easy to use, and supports custom word lists if you somehow manage to play to the point where everyone knows the built-in word list by heart.
Codewords
Codewords is a game where there are two teams, with one spymaster on each team. There is a set of 25 words on the ‘table’, with a handful of words associated with each team. The goal is for the spymaster to tell you words that the rest of your team can associate with the words on the table to uncover all your team’s words to win the game. I’ve played this one a handful of times and it’s a hoot.
Jackbox
The Jackbox series of games are fairly popular, and a lot of them are well-suited for remote play when coupled with a web conferencing app like Zoom. Just keep in mind that the setup isn’t immediately intuitive, so you’ll want to test out different games ahead of time to see how they work over web conferencing. These are premium games that require installation on the host’s computer, so you’ll need to buy them through a distribution platform like Steam or Humble stores.
Dominion Online
Dominion is a “fun” game where each person progressively builds their own deck of cards to accumulate as many victory points as possible. It’s similar to playing Catan in that one experienced player comes to the table with a knowledge of the strategy and ruins it for everyone else. Loads of fun!
Steam
This entry is a bit more open-ended because Steam is a distribution platform and not a game itself. There aren’t many free games on here that I would classify as something with wide appeal, but you can probably find something that your friends will enjoy. Here are some honorable mentions:
Team Fortress 2 – Fun, free, and can run on effectively any computer. Just make sure you’re playing in a private game if you don’t want to get stomped on by people who have been playing this since 2006.
Left 4 Dead 2 – While not free, this one sees big discounts often, so you can probably snag it for a buck or two. It’s also a cooperative game, meaning three people will actively battle through the hordes of zombies to reach the exit while one person goes rogue, setting off every car alarm with a baseball bat, triggering the witch when she could’ve easily been avoided, and just generally causing mischief.
Nidhogg 2 – Matches in this play out in 1v1 duels, but it supports tournaments with up to 8 people. It also supports a Steam function called Remote Play Together, which allows a single person to buy the game and have others connect to their computer to play the game without having to buy it (experience may vary depending on everyone’s internet connection).
Duck Game – You play as ducks and you get to wear hats. A timeless classic that was just updated to support up to 8 players at once. This one can also run on basically any computer and similar to Nidhogg 2, has the option for Remote Play Together.
That’s all I got! I hope these can help you stay in touch with friends/family and keep your psyche from unraveling due to socializing with your coffee mug too much (it’s like a person because it has a cute face on it).