Top 4 online games to play with your loved ones while social distancing

Social distancing can be hard. Those who are finding themselves spending more and more time with family members may be realizing that it’s getting harder to stay entertained while at home or engaged with friends and family who are physically distant.

Whether it’s to let off steam, release pent up energy or simply bring together a community of friends online during this time, here are four group games that will allow you to relax at a distance while having some fun.

Group phone games

     1. Jackbox

Looking to mix it up? These games will keep the attention of any age group. With at least 10 games included, Jackbox allows families to keep things fresh while keeping rules simple. Just grab any device, phone or tablet, gather around the TV and let the games begin. You can play with people across the couch or across the country.

A Jackbox party pack can cost $12–30 depending on which game pack a group decides to play. Jackbox is a game that consists of multiple versions and because of this, the entire Jackbox series is $150. The series includes every version of Jackbox available.

Choose one of the 10 games available after downloading a Jackbox party pack, enter a display name and watch the screen of the TV or personal device for instructions on what to do next.

Prompts will pop up to tell players what to do, award points and announce winners. Games include activities such as drawing, filling in the blanks, responding to questions, choosing sounds and more.

     2. Photo Roulette

Are you willing to risk it all? This free game app is for the brave souls who have nothing to hide!

Join the family in a game of Photo Roulette, where players choose random photos from their phone camera roll and send them into a mix of photos from everyone. For each round players must guess whose photos belong to who.

The game awards points to players who guess correctly and guess the fastest. Photos are shown to players for five seconds before disappearing. Find out who knows who the best while remembering old moments. 

The game even has a special feature where players can play video roulette long distance.

     3. Heads Up

Searching for a game that everyone would like? Pick from a variety of categories for the ultimate game of reverse charades.  

Open the Heads Up app on any player's phone and start by choosing a category such as superstars, accents, animals, movies, act it out or characters. 

The first player to go then proceeds to hold the device to their forehead. Words will flash across the screen for the audience, or other players, to act out while the player with the device on their forehead guesses what's being acted out. 

The goal of the game is to get the most correct guesses.

Each round is timed, so each player must stay on their toes in order to win this new fast-paced version of charades.

Heads up is currently free on the app store.

     4. Who Can’t Draw

Have a family of challenge seekers? Competitive groups will love this hands-on competition!

Who Can’t Draw is a free game app designed to make players compete and laugh through rounds of drawing fun. 

Open the app, choose a word then pass a device around and put players' drawing skills to the test. 

Each player will get a chance to draw what they think the previous player drew. The last player has to try and guess what the original word was. 

Watch as silly drawings become even sillier as the round continues.