Lockdown diaries: Our favourite party games to play on Zoom

By Chris Reynolds

One of the small joys to come out of the coronavirus pandemic has been using Zoom to connect with our friends and family dotted across the UK and wider world.  Over the last few weeks we’ve tried out quite a few games to see if they work well on Zoom and thought we’d spend a moment to share the games we’ve been loving.  In each instance, just one ‘zoomer’ has to own the game in question. I imagine the games would also work on any other video chat - including Skype, Facetime and Houseparty. 

1. Wavelength

Age: 14+ | Players: 2-8 | Time: 30 mins 

Wavelength is our favourite party game at the moment - we love it.  It is played in two teams and has worked really well over Zoom (so far we’ve played it with groups of six and four).  In the game two teams compete to read each other’s minds - but as you soon find out it’s not about telepathy at all - it’s about empathy, understanding and knowing your teammates.  You don’t need to tweak the rules to play over Zoom but whoever has the game in their possession will have to lead the way.  

2. Soundiculous 

Age: 8+ | Players: 3-10 | Time: 15 mins 

Despite creating Soundiculous several years ago we still love playing it, and have found it works really well on video chat.  The game is super simple - the aim is to get the most points by making and guessing ridiculous sounds. Sounds range from nice and easy (monkey, train, eating) through medium (didgeridoo, roller coaster, electric shock) to the truly challenging hard (wrestling, scuba diving, woodpecker!).  When playing over video chat you don’t have to change the rules, but just need players to close their eyes for a moment whilst the noise card is revealed via the webcam to the noise maker. Whoever has the game has to take the lead and keep score but they can still play.      

3. Just One

Age: 8+ | Players: 3-10 | Time: 20 mins 

Just One is a brilliant word game and works really well over Zoom. It is a collaborative word guessing game. In the game all players except the guesser know a word.  Players have to communicate the mystery word to the guesser using a one word clue. The challenge is that the one word clues have to be unique - all duplicates are taken out of the game without the guesser seeing them.  This one doesn’t require any rule changes - you all just need some pen and paper handy. Our highest score to date is eight - I dream of a perfect 13!

4. Shot in the Dark

Age: 12+ | Players: 2+ | Time: 20 mins 

Shot in the Dark is a brilliant trivia game.  The questions are what makes it so good - they are all questions where it is unlikely anyone will know the actual answer, but everyone can have an educated guess and the closest answer wins.  There are a few hundred questions in the game so it will last a good while and it plays really well in groups from 2 to 8 players. The player with the game can still play along.   

5. Frozen Unicorns

Age: 6+ | Players: 3+ | Time: 20 mins 

Frozen Unicorns is one of the games we launched last year and it plays really well over Zoom - especially with younger players. In the game players have to make human statues, with everyone except the guesser freezing to mimic things like frozen pirates, a frozen octopus or a frozen ballerina.  The guesser then has to work out what everyone is. Like all of our games it is simple to pick up and will get you laughing every time. 

If you try out any of these games over Zoom, we’d love to know how you get on! Let us know - or share your own top tips - in the comments below.