7 Video Games You Could Play With Friends & Family Online
Tired of puzzles and need to kill time while your sourdough bakes? Well, here’s a thing you may not immediately think of as a family activity: video gaming. If you can’t see people in person, you can always meet up online and play a few rounds of something fun. Here are a few family friendly games you could try.
Mario Kart 8
Platform: Nintendo Switch
The best kart racing game is back with new and classic levels, a huge cast of Nintendo characters, and the same gameplay that makes it so much fun. If you’ve never played, never fear. It’s easy to pick up. And here’s a tip: if you’re behind in a race, always go for an item box. The further behind you are, the better stuff you get.
Rocket League
Platforms: Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, macOS, Linux, Nintendo Switch
Rocket League is just soccer. But with rocket-powered cars instead of players. So it’s better than soccer. It’s also one of the best games for cross-platform play, so if you have a PS4 and your friend has the game on Stream, you’re still in business.
Splatoon 2
Platform: Nintendo Switch
So, this game is a shooter, but it’s what you think. Instead of being army guys, you’re Squid Kids. Instead of shooting bullets, you shoot paint. And instead of getting points for shooting each other, you win by painting the environment. The game quickly turns into a wild painting free-for-all of bright colours and frenetic action.
Overcooked 2
Platforms: Playstation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One
So, imagine having to cook a series of incoming orders in a restaurant kitchen. And you have to do this while coordinating with someone else. And then wacky things like part of the kitchen floats away because your kitchen is suspended in the air with balloons keeps happening. That’s the basic gameplay loop going on here. Have you ever wondered why Gordon Ramsay yells the way he does? You’re about to find out.
Super Mario Maker 2
Platform: Nintendo Switch
Have you ever wanted to build your own Mario levels? With Super Mario Maker 2, you can. Build your own levels, post them online, then challenge your friends and family to beat each other’s levels. It’s pretty fun.
Jackbox Party Pack
Platforms: Microsoft Windows, macOS, Linux, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Android, Apple TV
The Jackbox Party Pack is actually a collection of board games. Oh, and there are actually six iterations of this collection, each containing at least five games. So if you were to get all collections, you’d have more than twenty board games to choose from, including Drawful, a drawing game where players have to draw a playful phrase and other players guess what it is, Quiplash, where players must come up with funny responses to questions and then everyone votes on who was funniest, and You Don’t Know Jack, the classic trivia game with a very sarcastic announcer. Best of all, only one person needs to own any given game, so you can invite your friends who don’t own the game to play with you.
Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes
Platforms: Microsoft Windows, OS X, PlayStation 4, Android, Linux, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One
This game needs at least two players. One player is the diffuser. The diffuser looks at the bomb and sees what puzzles need to be solved to diffuse the bomb. The rest of the players are the experts. They don’t get to see the bomb. They must rely on the diffuser to explain what they need to solve, then they can look up the right information and communicate it back to the diffuser. Oh, and players are on a ticking clock, so this game is a challenge in fast communication.
The Big Takeaway
Even if you’ve never played a lot of video games before or feel intimidated by them, give it a shot. The games listed above are very easy to pick up and pretty welcoming to new players without a lot of video game knowledge. After all, it beats another card game, right?
