Host a Virtual Game Night with These Multiplayer Apps

YouTube/Nintendo

There are only so many Parks & Recreation episodes to watch and online fitness classes to attempt on your living room floor before you need a bit more human interaction. Whether you’re social distancing, quarantined, or are looking to avoid further exposure thanks to the new Omicron variant, you are probably feeling restless and bored.

Order booze, set up some group FaceTime calls, and hunker down with friends for a (virtual) game night. Both Apple and Google Play Stores are stocked with all sorts of apps to make yours a reality. Overly competitive friends and lots of wine are encouraged.

Here’s our running list of some of the best games to play with your friends from afar:

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Wine and Cheeseburger

Wine and Cheeseburger: Harley and Lara Pair Falafel with Wine

Apple App Store

Psych!

If you’ve ever played Balderdash, you’ll get the gist. Join the game remotely with your friends, choose from a number of categories, and start making up fake answers. You’re legit encouraged to lie. Fun! Basically, you’ll fabricate fake answers to real trivia questions and your pals will have to guess what’s real. The objective is to trick them into choosing yours. You’ll score points for guessing the right answer and for psyching your friends into guessing yours. Requires a minimum of two players. 
Get it on the App Store
Get it on Google Play

Scrabble Go

Nothing riles me up like three glasses of Cabernet and friend trying to pass off “fleek” as a valid Scrabble word. Then again, isn’t that all part of the fun? Download the Scrabble Go app and get ready to argue for hours on end with your loved ones. A sense of normalcy is a good thing in these hard times, right? The game allows up to four players.
Get it on the App Store
Get it on Google Play

8 Ball Pool 

We can’t go to actual bars anymore, so drinking cheap beer at your go-to dive and betting your pals you’ll sink the 8 ball is off the table. But there’s virtual version that lets you compete one-on-one or in eight-player tournaments. You can sign up through Facebook and challenge your friends from the comforts of your couch. 
Get it on the App Store
Get it on Google Play

UNO

Sure, it won’t be quite as fun to gloat your “UNO” over FaceTime as it is IRL, but we’ve gotta make sacrifices here, people. And the classic card game’s virtual app has all kinds of cool twists. You can play with friends from anywhere, team up for 2v2 mode, compete in tournaments, and more. 
Get it on the App Store
Get it on Google Play

Heads Up! on Houseparty

Instead of downloading the regular Heads Up! app, you’ll need Houseparty, which, in case you haven’t already been using it for your virtual happy hours, is a group video chat service. In essence, the game is a modern spin on charades and can be used as an add-on to your call. This way you don’t even need a separate FaceTime set-up, you can play and chat and drink all in one place.
Get it on the App Store
Get it on Google Play

Yahtzee With Buddies 

Nothing incites a little nostalgia like a good game of Yahtzee. Now, you can play it on mobile with friends — and avoid any dice-related injuries. Just download, navigate over to the “social” tab, and connect with your Facebook friends for a spirited round.  
Get it on the App Store
Get it on Google Play

Boggle With Friends

Another classic board game gone virtual, Boggle With Friends lets you play solo, with random opponents, and friends. You can even compete in live head-to-head tournaments if you’re feeling especially competitive, try out daily challenges, and more. 
Get it on the App Store
Get it on Google Play

Scattergories

The gist is all the same—roll the die and create an answer for each category that fits with your starting letter.  But the app version comes with way more features than the IRL board game. Try out multiplayer mode, duels, access power-ups, make it on the leaderboard, and play with all your friends. 
Get it on the App Store
Get it on Google Play

Smule

Oh, so you want to bust out those karaoke skills? You might not be crowding into the bars to share a mic with germ-y strangers right now, but you can still scream-sing “Sweet Caroline” like it’s the good old days. That’s the beauty of Smule! The multi-player karaoke app allows you to duet with your friends, join a singing community, or even record yourself. 
Get it on the App Store
Get it on Google Play
 

Spaceteam

Spaceteam brings the whole crew together for a collective mission: Stop your ship from exploding. The eight-player game gives each member their own control panel and time-sensitive instructions to help save the ship, pushing you to complete the team-bonding activity together.
Get it on the App Store
Get it on Google Play

Apple App Store

Mario Kart Tour

You may have retired your Gamecube a while ago, but luckily, you can still challenge your nearest and dearest to a cutthroat competition of Mario Kart via your phone. Race up to seven other players.
Get it on the App Store
Get it on Google Play

Trivia on Houseparty

Heads Up! isn’t your only Houseparty game option. In fact, there are a number of them, including trivia. Battle your friends on various subjects, like “Finish the song lyric” or the app’s brand-new Fortnite spinoff. There’s a total of 18 different trivia decks, so everyone has a chance to show off. 
Get it on the App Store
Get it on Google Play

Monopoly 

Monopoly is a classic for good reason. And while I can admit it’s remarkably less fun when I can’t cheat (don’t get all high and mighty on me, you did it too), for the rule followers out there, the game’s all the same. You can set up a private game with friends and steal Park Place right from under your boyfriend’s nose just as you would IRL. Game allows up to four players.
Get it on the App Store
Get it on Google Play

Drawful 2

Drawful is like Pictionary’s weird cousin. The “game of terrible drawings and hilariously wrong answers” lets you use your phone or tablet to sketch your best “creepy tiger,” “death by trombone,” and more while everyone makes their best guess to decipher your, uh, artwork. The app requires a minimum of three players, but allows up to eight in your crew. 
Get it on the App Store
Get it on Google Play

Chips & Guac on Houseparty 

Chips & Guac is a lot like Cards Against Humanity or Apples to Apples in that it’s a word association game. You’ll get a random word, like dangerous or sneaky, and your friends will have to play a card they think matches the phrase.
Get it on the App Store
Get it on Google Play

Quick Draw on Houseparty

Houseparty’s Quick Draw feature is basically Pictionary you can play while video calling. The word or idea will pop up right there on your screen and you’ll have to draw out your best sketch of it. And considering drinking while playing is encouraged (mainly, by me) there’s no doubt you’ll get some… interesting works of art. 
Get it on the App Store
Get it on Google Play

Kahoot!

Kahoot! is a quiz-style game that diverts from classic trivia. Instead of testing your friends on the 12th president of the United States or the capital of Montana, you can create your own about more important things (like, I don’t know, yourself!). 
Get it on the App Store
Get it on Google Play

Would You Rather 

The game’s about as straightforward as it gets, but somehow never ceases to drum up some entertainment amongst a crowd. The app version is all the same. You’ll get a variety of “would you rather” questions, so you can really see where your friends stand on the subjects that really matter. 
Get it on the App Store
Get it on Google Play

Evil Apples vs. Humanity

This one’s for the Cards Against Humanity fans. Evil Apples vs. Humanity is inspired by the cult-favorite game, in which a question card is shown to everyone and each player selects an answer card, but with a naughtier spin. In fact, the App Store suggests leaving Grandma and the kiddos out of your next round. 
Get it on the App Store
Get it on Google Play

Dual!

Experiencing some pent-up angst thanks to a little thing like this seemingly endless pandemic? Work out your frustrations by battling with friends on Dual! The two-player game allows you to shoot from one screen to the next. There are three modes: Duel, Defend, and Deflect, each of which allows you to play differently. Tilt your phone to dodge fake bullets, work together to defend yourself against other attackers, or score goals in a friendlier version.
Get it on the App Store
Get it on Google Play

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Megan Schaltegger is a staff writer at Thrillist.