Since the pandemic hit in March 2020, a lot of things have changed about the world, but nothing more so than the lack of in-person socialization. Not being able to hang out with your friends and family can be rough, especially if you live alone or are immunocompromised. Luckily, there’s Zoom: finding a way for in-person work meetings to keep going (ugh) but also allowing you to call friends or family members in other households and chat (yay!). But have you taken full advantage of the possibilities Zoom offers you? The platform isn’t just good for chatting. It can also be used to play games across long distances, including board games. If you’re looking for a way to keep the family game night going from a distance, here are the best board games to play over Zoom.
This game is super easily adapted to online play. Players simply roll dice to see who can rack up the highest score, then keep track of their results on a sheet of paper. Simple, right? And you can even remotely monitor your opponent’s honesty by making sure they roll their dice on camera.
Another popular game well-suited to remote play is Boggle. In Boggle, players are required to come up with words using the letters they are given from a series of die rolls. They have three minutes to come up with as many words as they can, and the player who comes up with the most words wins. While the host of the Zoom chat will need to own a Boggle board, the online adaptation is as simple as showing the given letters to the camera before you start the timer.
- Life
A slightly less conventional game to play over Zoom is Life. This is definitely a game that’s very heavily reliant on its board: unlike Boggle and Yahtzee, it’s important that players are able to track their progress as they go, so they can see what squares they land on. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t play this game over Zoom. So long as all players own a board, you can very easily ask everyone to track their own progress. Just pick one “host” player’s deck of cards to draw from, and use the squares on your own board, sharing your results with other players as you go.
- Pictionary
Pictionary is one of the most easily adaptable games on this list. To play Pictionary remotely, simply make sure everyone has their own whiteboard or notebook to draw on. That’s it! Gameplay can continue exactly like it does in a normal game, with players simply showing their creations to the camera as they go. It’ll almost feel just like you’re all sitting in someone’s living room, eating cheap crackers and sipping wine.
Another absolute classic: Trivial Pursuit. Again, it’s not difficult to see how this game could be adapted to online play. Only one player, the host, needs to actually have a copy of the game. As in normal gameplay, they can read out clues for players and write down responses, keeping track of the winners of the game. Just make sure you have a strict code of honor between all players so that nobody is Googling answers on their turn!
- Chess
This may seem like an obvious option, but it really is one of the best! Outside of the fact that chess is one of the most popular digital games, the intellectual nature of chess makes it very easy for players to play remotely on a physical board. Merely have one player set up the board, and then have the remote player instruct them how to move their pieces. There are codes for chess squares for just this reason!
- Guess Who?
This game is also great for Zoom play, so long as both players have copies of the game. In this game, players each have a board of cartoon characters, out of which they pick one character to be “them.” The other player then has to guess which character is them by asking yes or no questions about their appearance, like what their hair color is or how big their eyes are. This is another great option for kids to play with relatives over Zoom.
This fun mystery game is great for would-be detectives. Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective requires players to investigate materials like newspapers and maps to decode a mystery. You might think this would be hard to do remotely unless both players have a copy of the game, but in fact, the game was specifically designed to be accessible remotely, with online copies of the materials being made available to all who purchase the game. That means the owner of the game can share links with friends and family and set up a Zoom brainstorm session where they can work through the clues together.
