Do you find yourself connecting virtually with friends and family and asking, why don’t we do this more often? By now you’ve likely experienced virtual meetings and possibly even virtual happy hours but have you tried a virtual game night?
A couple of weeks ago my cousin Ann-Marie messaged all the cousins on my dadâs side of the family to ask if we were up for a virtual game night. Desperate for some adult socialization we quickly replied âWeâre in!â
The only thing she told us was we needed a computer, our phones and a drink or two!
Saturday night came and we logged in to Zoom. The people I consider to be more like siblings than cousins appeared on the screen (I was happy to see my actual sibling Andy too!)
Ann-Marie found a really creative way to hang out virtually and play a ton of party games. The games are what you sometimes see at a bar⌠thereâs a trivia game on the big screen and you answer by logging in to a website or app on your phone. The only difference is we werenât together in person, but instead on screen. It was so fun, that I had to bring it to Grace in the Race and share the idea. Find a group of fun-loving people and read on to organize your own virtual game night.
- Set up a Virtual meeting. We like Zoom because itâs easy to share your screen and allow your guests to see you.
- Invite your guests. Be sure to let them know they need a computer for the virtual meeting call, and at least one device to play the game. Itâs more fun if each player has their own device though.
- Before Game Night, buy and install the party games on your computer. Drawful 2 is FREE at the time of this story, and the Party Pack is $12.49 and includes 5 games! We got both.
- Follow the instructions in your email to install the software to run the games.
- Test out the game with your spouse or family before adding the virtual call into the mix (only Drawful 2 has settings to make the game âfamily friendlyâ). Once youâre comfortable with how to play the games, youâre ready to play it virtually.
- Right before Game Night, open up the game on your computer. Log in to your virtual meeting and then share your screen with your party guests. This way they can see the main screen for the game. Wait for everyone to join the call.
- When the game is loaded, and your guests can see your shared screen, a 4 character code will appear on the screen. Direct your guests to go to jackbox.tv on their phone/tablet (itâs not an app, but just a website) and enter the code.
- The game will direct them on what to do next and then the game will start!
We had such a good time playing, laughing, drinking and chatting. It was almost as nice as being together in person. We plan to continue this even after in-person game nights are a thing again because we live all over the country.
We also started playing these games with our own family at home, other groups like family friends, and anyone else we are missing. Itâs been a really fun way to connect.
If you try this out, please comment below to let us know how it went! What games did you play and how hard did you laugh?!
Sound Advice From My Virtual Besties