Make those video calls more exciting with games like online charades and trivia quizzes. — AFP
As the movement control order (MCO) comes into effect today (Jan 13) in six states, restrictions include no dining-in at restaurants and no interstate travel. With most social activities limited to online interactions, here are some virtual games you can play on the next video call with loved ones.
Bingo
Players will get scorecards with 25 numbers (the numbers can vary from one to 99) randomly placed on squares. The objective is to be the first to cross out five numbers either in a horizontal, vertical or diagonal row. Traditionally, the numbers are called out randomly using a Bingo machine. For the online version, users can generate their own Bingo cards and rely on a virtual caller to make the draws.
Website Bingo Maker lets users create game rooms with passwords and a link can be generated to invite friends into the game. When all players have entered the room with their cards, the host can click ‘Make a draw’ to start calling out numbers. A winners list box will show which player has the winning card.
A free version is available for up to 25 players with a game duration of up to 30 minutes. Then after 23 hours, users can play another free game. To continue playing with additional cards, it starts at US$2.96 (RM12) for 100 cards.
The website also provides a free Bingo caller but it doesn’t come with the ‘validate the winner’ feature. Users are recommended to display the Bingo caller to other players using screen share. They can also generate free virtual cards on the website.
Guess the drawing
Gather three or more friends, divide into two (or more) teams, and get set for a game to guess what a teammate is drawing within a time limit. The team that makes the most correct guesses is the winner.
To play this game online, users can rely on their own pen and paper to draw via video call or use the whiteboard feature on Share Screen via Zoom. Then they can use Pictionary generators for the clues, such as this website where they can select the category and number of items.
They can also check out skribbl.io, a free drawing and guessing game site. Create a private room, customise settings such as number of rounds and draw time, then generate a link to send to friends.
In the game, users get an on-screen drawing board and can choose from a series of clues to draw for the other players in the room, who must then guess the item being drawn and enter the answer in the chatbox. Get the most points to win.
Trivia
Host a quiz night with friends by going on websites like Random Trivia Generator for an endless amount of questions and answers. Users can pick from categories like entertainment, science and history. Users can also customise the number of questions and rounds.
Website Sporcle also has a number of fun quizzes to choose from such as Harry Potter Logic puzzles, cartoon characters for kids to guess and more. The person with the most right answers is the winner.
Charades
This is another team game where users take turns to guess a word or phrase but instead of drawing it like Pictionary, they have to act it out. Websites like Charades Ideas Generator and Play Charades can help users come up with words and even provide the timer.
Now, playing team guessing games via video call requires a bit of work as the person or persons making the guesses should not be able to see the words they’re supposed to guess that have been generated by their teammate or other players. So, users need to be able to exclude certain players from the chat room when it’s their turn, or feed them clues by messaging privately.
Then as the game starts, the other users can keep track of the secret words or phrases in a private window or in a chat room minus the person having to make the guesses. Use a spotlight feature to make the window of the person acting out the clues bigger or more prominent. Beat the other team by making the most right answers.
Room for two?
For users who prefer something different, maybe a more slow-paced quiet game, then websites like Playing Cards lets users create virtual rooms for two-player games like chess or checkers. They can start a game and then generate a link to invite another player.
Users can also opt for conversation-based games by taking turns to ask each other questions. Websites like Conversation Starters World have a list of questions for users to choose from.
