Have you been stuck on Zoom this entire Covid-19 time? Conference calls, online classes, family meetings, and even parties! Sure you get engaged for a while but within a few minutes, the conversation dies out only to realize you need that same old physical environment to be present at the moment.
Have you ever wondered if you can add a little spice to your mandatory video calling schedule on Zoom? Did you know you can even play games on Zoom as well? Well, I did not know that as well, but when I knew I wanted to share this knowledge with you.
You can play these games and have a good time with your friends and family even in that virtual space. You know what is another good thing about these games? They are absolutely for free! Here is the list of top 10 free best games I found that you can play on Zoom.
Top 10 Free Best Games to Play on Zoom
Bingo
Bingo is probably the best game to play with your friends or families during virtual parties or simply for killing time. It is a board game of multiple players consisting of random numbers. Numbers get announced, and whoever completes rows or columns of those numbers first on their Bingo Board will be proclaimed as the winner.
You will need:
-Zoom on each person’s device
-Bingo Board
-Any online bingo generator.
How to Play Bingo on Zoom
First, you can download any Bingo Board and share it with your friends and family beforehand. After setting up the zoom, all you need to do is to schedule the time and date. Once you have done that, it gives you a meeting id and a password which you can send to your friends and family you want to play with. All you need to do now is to wait for the time to play.
When it is time, you can now join the meeting and type in whatever code they give you. You can now press ‘share screen’ and then Google with the keyword ‘online bingo games’. One of the best sites to play is, www.letsplaybingo.io. You can now restore down the browser so that everyone on the screen can see what you are calling. Press ‘call’ and then the system automatically reads out any random number and highlights it. You can now pause and wait for you and other people to mark on their bingo boards. Now, this is it. You can have your virtual party playing bingo.
Heads Up!
Heads Up! is a charade game introduced by Ellen DeGeneres and Warner Bros. Entertainment on the former’s hit television show, “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” and the latter launched the mobile application in May 2013. Since then, this game has over 10 million downloads on Google PlayStore.
Playing Heads Up! has become so much easier. Thanks to Zoom that allows the users to hide their video display, there is hardly any chance to see the words right above the forehead. For this, the denner must select the ‘Hide self-view’ option once in the video call. It is a fun way to boost up your conversation virtually.
You will need:
-A phone and a phone/PC/tablet (one to operate the Zoom and the other to operate the Heads Up! application)
-Zoom on one device
-Heads Up! game on the other device
How to Play Heads Up! on Zoom
To host Heads Up, you need to set up a schedule on Zoom and send the meeting id and password to everyone playing the game. Every player also needs to install Heads Up! on their mobile phone or tablet. Now that everyone gets the meeting id and password, they can start up playing the game.
First off, you need to select the deck that everyone is familiar with. If you are the denner, launch the game on your phone and select a deck. Then place the phone on your forehead horizontally, with the screen facing out. See if everyone on the call can see the phone screen.
A word or phrase will be displayed and the other players need to try and convey to the denner what there is on the phone, without saying the actual word or phrase. If you guess the word right, flip the phone downward. If you find it difficult flip it upward.
Heads Up is a game of 60 seconds. The denner must try and guess the maximum number of words within the time frame.
Chess
Chess is a strategy game played on a Chess Board generally played among two players. There are two sets of colors with 16 pieces of the members on each team having different movements. What is better than playing an age-old game with your friend online? There are numerous ways to hone your strategic skills by playing Chess over Zoom using various online platforms. If you do not have multiple friends and are looking for spending your quality time with your best friend, this game is for you.
You will need:
-Zoom
-A version of Chess(downloaded or online version)
How to Play Chess on Zoom
There are numerous ways to play Chess online. www.chess.com provides a free game playing opportunity. You can simply create an account and then challenge your friend or family member for a match over Zoom. Share both of your screens, and Voila! You are good to go!
Trivia
Another games which you can play on zoom is Trivia. If you enjoy playing quizzes with your friends and family members? Do you need anything to relieve the conversation inhibition? Well, for those who love playing trivial quizzes, a Trivia game is just for you. It is a set of trivial questions to be answered by the players.
You will need:
-Zoom application
-Online trivia quiz generator
How to Play Trivia on Zoom
Organizing a Trivia game on Zoom is as easy as an ABC. Simply schedule a Zoom meet and share the id and password with your friends and family. Now that everyone is online, you can select ‘Share Screen’. You can make anyone a co-host and let them share their screens too.
One of the most popular websites to play Trivia is on www.sporcle.com. From its home page, you can select a category that everybody in your group loves, or you can go to the ‘Random Quiz’ button. Now, the next step is to play the quiz. See who contributes the most right answers and let that person be the one to pick the next quiz, or split the group into breakout rooms. Repeat the process up to the time you want to stick around.
Scattergories
Did you love playing the categories game while you were bored in school? This scattergories game is the same categories game with a little different sets of questions. You can play this game with your classmates during your online classes and forget to get bored.
You Will Need:
-Zoom
-A Scattergories Generator
– A Pencil
– A Paper
How to Play Scattergories on Zoom
To play Scattergories, join in a Zoom group and see who is online. No, you do not need a rolling dice or anything as such! You already have numerous scattergories generators online. Swellgarfo.com is my personal favorite scattergories site.
If you are the organizer of the game, go to the above site and share your screen with your friends. Press play and the site will provide you with any random word and all the different categories you have to name starting with that initial. You will only be given two minutes and no cheating!!! After two minutes, show your answers on screen and the people who will name all the unique names for those random categories will earn the points. If your answer is common with any of your friends, you will not be given a point for that answer.
You can take turns sharing your screens and generating words, or only one person can better do that.
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Name, Place, Animal, Thing
Name, Place, Animal, Thing may sound like an old school kid’s game, but there is nothing as satisfying as thinking out loud about all the possible names, places, animals, or things starting with any given initials. This is so much better if you are still a student and attending endless online classes. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.
You Will Need:
-Zoom
-Pencil
-Paper
-Ruler(if you want to play a neat game!)
How to Play Scattergories on Zoom
To play Scattergories, take turns among your friends to pick up any initial. Write down all the names, places, animals, and things you can name. Whoever will name everything first will stop others from writing and everyone will have to show their answers. Points to the common answers will not be given. Play unless your teacher arrives for yet another boring lesson!!
Pictionary
Pictionary is a picture drawing game where one player of a team draws a picture of a particular word and the other player of the same has to guess the word based on the drawing. It is a game you can play among 2-6 players. But don’t worry, you can play this game among as many members as you can as long as you can divide the team into two groups.
You will need:
-Zoom
-A Pictionary word generator
How to Play Pictionary on Zoom
To play Pictionary, both teams need to have a Pictionary word generator. randomwordgenerator.com is a cool site to generate a word. The word generated has to be drawn by Team A for Team B to guess. Whoever can guess the correct word is the winner.
Psych
Psych is a game to fake your wrong answers as the right ones in order to fool your friends.
If you enjoyed the ‘Heads Up!’ game by Ellen DeGeneres, you surely are going to enjoy Psych fooling around with your friends. Psych is one of the best party games you can enjoy with your friends online. From the same creators of ‘Heads Up!’, Psych introduces a sweet new guessing game where one player has to fake the correct answer to any one of the trivia questions and the other player has to guess the right one. Psych is the most fun game to play among your friends.
You will need:
-Zoom
-Psych
How to Play Psych on Zoom
To play Psych on Zoom, you need to first open up the Psych game application. You will be getting two options- ‘Join the Game’ and ‘Start the Game’. Because you are the one organizing the game, press on the ‘Start the Game’. You will then get a lot of trivia categories to choose from. Click on any categories where you will see the green ‘Play now’ option, as they are the ones that are free. Now send the unique code with your friends on Zoom and start playing!
You can also play the game with Ellen. Once all your friends join the group, you can select different rounds of the game like: 5 rounds, 7 rounds and the like. Each player will be getting the same trivia question per round and has to answer a fake answer. Once you have done that you will then have options of the possible answers to the question. You will then click on the correct answer.
Whoever is the one who answered the wrong answer to the second option is the one who has been psyched. So, that person gets 0 points. The one who gives the correct answer gets 2 points and the one who can psych the person gets 1 point.
Easier said than done, but here it is easier done than said! So what are you waiting for? Download Zoom and Psych now and enjoy fooling around with your friends!
Charades
Charades is a game to mimick a particular word without actually saying it for the other person of the same team to guess. If you love fooling around with your friends, Charades is just for you! Thanks to Zoom for its ‘Spotlight’ feature to make you feel like a superstar while you are playing this game.
You will need:
-Zoom
-Charades idea generator
How to Play Charades on Zoom
Charades is such an easy game to play with. You need to split your group into two teams first. Then, choose from the charades idea generator to choose your words and phrases. You need to act out the word. Do not miss the ‘spotlight’ feature on Zoom so that your team will know, you are the one who is mimicking.
Your team members will have to guess the right words or phrases based on your acting skills. If they guess it right your team will earn the point, and the same process will pass on to the other team. Do not worry! Each member will get their chance of showing their talent. Play Charades to have the most hilarious times with your friends during monotonous virtual gatherings!
20 Questions
20 Questions is a great game to ask questions to know people better.
Have you always known your friends, partner, or family members better? With 20 Questions you will certainly be surprised with the answers you will be given and they certainly are great conversation starters. It is better played when there are only two people.
You Will Need:
-Zoom
-Any question generating application
How to Play 20 Questions on Zoom
All you need to play 20 questions is a Zoom and any question generator site https://conversationstartersworld.com/good-questions-to-ask/ is a great website to generate the questions. Take turns to question and answer 20 questions and know yourselves better!
Conclusion
With all the above free online games that can be played over Zoom, you will certainly break the monotony of the virtual world with your people in real-time. Surely we miss going back into the physical world, but these free games are a balm to your current boring lifestyle.
