Games That Work on Zoom
The following are some games that work on Zoom. You may share them in any way that you wish.
FOR SMALLER GROUPS
Here are some games that work for smaller groups:
Poking game: (Gallery view) Everyone stretches out of their screen to poke or pat each other, lean on each other, and react.
Freezing: (Gallery view) People pretend that their picture freezes, preferably in the middle of making a funny face.
Computer roller coaster: (Speaker view) The leader steps a little away from the camera and takes people for a ride on a virtual roller coaster—making sure not to go too fast, so that things don’t get blurry. This works nicely with sound effects and a moment of suspense before going down a slope.
Bella banana: (Speaker view) The leader starts by saying their own name and something beginning with the first letter of their name (for example, an animal or a fruit). At the same time, they make a movement. Everyone then together repeats the person’s name and word and does the movement. Then the leader passes it on to someone, and you go around until everyone has said their name. If you’re in a smaller group in which you want people to really learn each other’s names, you can have the second person first repeat the leader’s name, word, and movement before adding their own. The third person will repeat the two before them, and so on, until the last person, who repeats everyone’s before adding their own. (The group only repeats each new addition.)
Sending an imaginary object: (Speaker view) The first person starts playing with an imaginary object. After a while they give it to someone in the group: “I have a present for you! Here you go!” The person receiving the object decides what the object is and says thank you and, for example, “A tiny broken chair—my favorite!” Real and wild guesses of what the first person was trying to show are both fun. The second person then transforms the object into something new and sends it on, until everyone has gotten a gift.
What’s different? (Speaker view) The leader arranges a number of objects in front of the camera. Everyone has a few minutes to memorize them. Then the leader turns the camera off and changes one or a few of them. When the camera is on again, everyone has to guess what has changed—either verbally or using the chat.
FOR BIGGER GROUPS (AS WELL AS SMALLER ONES)
Here are some games that work for bigger groups—and smaller ones, too:
(When you have a bigger group, and if people will be joining when the game has already started, it’s good to write the instructions in the chat as well as say them at the beginning. It’s also nice to have one person lead the game and another write in the chat.)
Send a face, or laugh, or make a sound: (Speaker view) Someone makes a funny face or laughs or makes some sound, and everyone repeats it. Then the person sends it on to someone else, who does something new that everyone copies.
Guess what this is! (Speaker view) Someone places an ordinary object right in front of the camera. Then, very slowly, they pull it back until it is in focus, while people try to guess what it is.
Follow the leader: (Can be done with music or without.) The designated leader makes some movements that everyone else copies. Then someone new leads some movements.
Music and dancing: This works well when people send in their favorite songs beforehand and you can have a playlist ready. It is especially fun if there are participants from different countries who can share their songs. You can sometimes stop the music and have everyone freeze in the middle of a dance move. Please think about inclusion when choosing the music. For example, if there are people with hearing loss, it can be good to have music that is not “screaming.”
Stretching: (Speaker view) Someone leads stretching and then chooses others to lead it.
Touch X! Someone challenges people to touch things that match a description, for example, something of a specific color or shape or that has another attribute.
Recreating funny pictures: Prepare a set of funny pictures, preferably of one person doing something funny with one or two objects. (You can find good royalty-free pictures at <https://www.pexels.com>.) Open a picture on your computer and share your screen with everyone (you need to be host or co-host of the meeting to do this). Give people a short time to try to recreate the picture with objects around them. Then stop screen-sharing so that everyone can see one another.
Color wave: Show an object of a certain color to the camera. Then have people try to find something of the same color to show to everyone. Or you can show an object, and people can try to find a similar object as quickly as possible.
Everyone who: The leader invites everyone who fits a certain description (for example, everyone who is terrible at being on time) to respond. It’s most fun if the leader chooses something that is true of themself. You can also play a climate version—for example, the leader could ask everyone who doesn’t recycle sticky plastic packaging to respond. It’s a good way to get people laughing about the environment.
Vaxholm, Sweden
(Present Time 201, October 2020)