34 games

Games to play over Zoom

A video call breaks the two things most games assume — that people take turns, and that whoever is speaking can be heard. These are the ones that need neither.

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FAKE ANSWERSPLUMWho here would lastlongest in a zombie film?Dave — he owns the vanSam, purely by hidingMe. Obviously me.Vote

Psych, Quiplash, Herd Mentality and Boggle have everybody typing at the same time, so a two-second delay costs nothing. Nobody waits for a cue, nobody talks over the round, and the call goes quiet in exactly the places where you want people reading.

Wits & Wagers and Just One work because the talking is optional. You write a guess, you bet on somebody’s number, you write one clue — all of it lands on a screen everyone can read, so the worst connection in the call is not the person who misses the round.

Taboo is the one to be careful with. It is a shouting game against a clock, and over a call it only holds together if one voice at a time is guessing — keep the teams small, or save it for a night when you are all in the same room.

Twelve that survive the lag

Fake Answers3–12 players · 5–10 min Boggle2–12 players · 5–10 min Quip Battle3–12 players · 10–15 min Fake Artist4–10 players · 5–10 min Spectrum2–12 players · 10–15 min Wits & Bets3–10 players · 10–15 min Herd Think3–12 players · 10–15 min Paper Novel2–5 players · 15–25 min Forbidden Words2–12 players · 10–15 min Property Deal2–5 players · 10–15 min Only One3–7 players · 10–15 min Clover2–6 players · 15–20 min

Questions about Games to play over Zoom

Does anyone need to screen-share?

No. Everybody opens the room on their own phone or laptop and the call stays a call — nothing is shared, and no single person’s browser is the one everyone else depends on.

What happens if somebody drops off the call?

Their seat is kept. A lost connection leaves the player in the room rather than removing them, so reopening the link puts them back in the same seat and the same game.

Which is best for a call with a dozen people?

Psych and Quiplash. Both seat twelve, both are answer-then-vote, and all the reading happens on your own screen — so more people changes the scores rather than the pace.

Is there one that avoids talking altogether?

Boggle. Five to ten minutes of everybody hunting the same grid in silence, and then the scoring does the arguing: a word two of you found is worth nothing to either of you.

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