Games to play on a video call

Why most video call game lists do not work

Search for games to play on a video call and you get the same advice, much of it written during lockdowns: open Skribbl in a tab, or Wolfy, or a question generator. It can work, but it has three flaws you notice immediately in practice:

• Switching tabs breaks the call. You share a link, wait for everyone to follow it, then sort out whoever cannot connect. Those three minutes are enough to kill the mood.
• Someone always drops off. A link to open, a nickname to type, and you reliably lose one or two people on the way.
• The video becomes secondary. But what makes a game night funny is not the game: it is the other people's reactions. If the game fills the screen, you are each playing alone.

So the useful question is not "which game" but "which game fits inside the call".

The games that launch inside the conversation

On PLOXX the mini-games are built into the chat and the group room. Nobody switches tabs, nobody signs up, and the video stays on screen while you play:

• Would You Rather - two absurd options, everyone picks, then you compare. 139 questions across 6 categories, with a theme vote and a coin flip when you disagree. The best opener there is: silly questions trigger real conversations.
• Who is most likely to… - 65 questions, everyone votes, then the reveal. This one works best from 3 or 4 people, because it is about the group itself.
• The Impostor - everyone gets the same word except one person. One clue each, then a vote to unmask them. 28 word pairs, and it needs at least 3 players.
• The drawing game - one draws, the others guess, first to get it wins the round. 58 words, and your drawing skill is irrelevant: it is better when it goes wrong.
• Two truths, one lie - 42 statements, for anyone who would rather talk about themselves than draw.

→ Start a round

Watching a video together: the most underrated option

It is not a game, but it often rescues an evening that is winding down. Watching alone and watching while reacting together are two different things - and here too, the whole point is that it is synced and inside the call.

The group room includes a TV that starts a YouTube video at the same moment for everyone, with control either reserved to the host or open to all. Details on the watch YouTube together page.

Running a video call game night, practically

1. Start with the silliest thing. Would You Rather first, always. It takes thirty seconds and gets everyone involved without anyone having to perform.
2. Keep rounds short. Ten mini-rounds beat one two-hour game nobody finishes. Change game when the energy dips, not once it has already gone.
3. Someone has to start it. The evenings that collapse are the ones where everyone waits for somebody else to suggest something. Name a host at the start and the problem disappears.
4. Check the headcount. The Impostor and Who is most likely to need at least 3 players. With two of you, stick to Would You Rather, the drawing game or Two truths one lie.
5. Plan the exit. When it genuinely runs out of steam, a synced video ends the night better than one more round.

Two, four, or ten people

• Two - the games are built straight into the chat, on webcam or behind an avatar.
• Four - Duo mode (2v2) puts you and a friend facing another pair. It is the format where awkwardness disappears fastest.
• Up to ten - the group room gathers your friends with chat, a video call, sounds, a synced TV and the mini-games.

And if you are after a list of ideas rather than the mechanics, we wrote that too: 7 free online games to play with friends.

Frequently asked questions