More and more of us are getting bored of the same Zoom hangout games. After a million rounds of Scribble.io or Codenames, or even playing the Psych app on my cellphone to roast my friends, I realized it may be time to play some more personal and original games. So, in the last few Zoom hangouts, I introduced friends to some ideas for Zooming fun, such as:
- PowerPoint Party
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TikTok provided me with the inspiration for this idea. Have each of your friends make a PowerPoint and have each of them present it during the Zoom hangout. The more niche and weird, the better. In the Zoom hangout, I had each friend present someone else’s presentation, as if it was her own. Another twist could be to present your own, but have the presentations graded on the PowerPoints themselves and on your presentation. A competition could definitely make things more interesting!
- Zooming Home Made Board Game
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We all love board games, so why not take time to make your own? You will need blank poster paper, markers, and whatever else you want to use to make your masterpiece. And, depending upon your time and creative spirit in these pandemic times, you may make something that is fun to play and duplicate with others–and have fun in the process of creating the board game. Those 21 and up can make the board game a drinking one, as seen in Kelsey Kreppel‘s video.
- Burning Questions: TIME TO BOND
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This was a hit at my 21st birthday party, but I think it works well on Zoom, too. Since many of us college students are not socializing much in-person these days, and sometimes it is hard to talk seriously about personal stuff on Zoom, this game may be helpful to open up to each other in the absence of an in-person experience. The idea is to have everyone send you questions, which you, as host, write out on a small portion of paper. You then place the written questions into a cup or bag, and pull out a question. You then may popcorn people as to who answers. Some questions may be spicier than others, while some may be more wholesome. Some example questions are: “What was the last dream you can remember?” “What was your first kiss like?” “What Hogwarts House would our friends be sorted into and why?” or “What does religion mean to you?” I think this game could help us communicate on Zoom as if we were still physically together.
- Friend Trivia: Who Knows Each Other Best?
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Everyone loves a good competition, especially when it comes to trivia. In this game, each person writes personal questions to ask about themselves, with a game host who will then ask these questions to the group. It could be also be a great idea to create teams and could take advantage of breakout rooms on Zoom. The questions can be simple like, “What is Kaori’s favorite color?” or funny questions like, “Who is Erika’s celebrity crush?”
- Homemade Mad Libs
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I always remember having so much fun playing Mad-Libs, especially when I was younger. I would play on car or train rides, or when my friends and I ran out of things to do when at my house. I would sometimes have a friend join me in making our own Mad-Lib, too. By the time we would read the Mad-Lib we made, we would be convulsing in laughter, trying to outdo each other in outrageousness or sexual innuendos. If you are not familiar with Mad-Libs, just Google it, and you can see how it is done.
Just because we cannot physically be with the important people in your life should not stop us from having fun together over Zoom, Discord, House Party, or any other video chatting service. Some of these ideas require more time to prepare than others, but I think all can bring more fun into Zoom hangouts with friends. It is a privilege for those of us who have access to this technology in this time, where we are able to be with our friends, at least electronically, and to have the opportunity to be creative with each other, and enjoy each other’s company.