Are you far away from your friends and family but don’t want to sacrifice quality time with your loved ones? No worries! There are a ton of games you can play while on FaceTime with your friends and family. The isolation of the COVID-19 pandemic paved the way for many games and applications for interacting with people remotely. There’s no need to have a physical board game for board game night, and you won’t need a physical deck of cards to play something fun with your friends. With technology and a bit of imagination, any game is possible – even over the phone. Thanks to the advent of FaceTime, Zoom, Skype, Whatsapp, and Facebook Messenger, all you need is good WiFi to get connected with your friends and family. So, without further ado, here are the 10 best games you can play on FaceTime.
SCATTERGORIES
Yes, Scattergories! This may originally be a board game, but Scattergories works super well as a game to play on FaceTime. Grab a piece of paper and pen, and get ready to rack your brain for everything that fits into the decided category!
WHAT YOU NEED
- Phone
- Wifi connection
- Paper
- Pen
- Timer
HOW TO PLAY
Before you begin, all players must decide on a category and a letter of the alphabet. The category can be anything, but some examples include:
- Animals
- Colors
- Cities
- Beverages
- Sea creatures
Once you have decided on the category and a letter, set a one-minute timer. Each player has one minute to write down 12 responses that correspond with the category and the letter of the alphabet the response must start with. So, if the category is animals and the letter is A, you could write down “aardvark,” “anteater,” and “antelope.”
When time is up, each player must read off their 12 responses. If any two players have written the same answer, that answer must be crossed out. In other words, players cannot win points for any duplicate answers! Instead, players are awarded one point for each answer that no one else in the group has. At the end of the round, each player must add up their scores and write them down.
Generally, there are only three rounds in each game of Scattegories. But if you want to play more, feel free! Repeat the above process for every round and add up the points each time. The player with the most points at the end of the three (or more) rounds wins the game!
FACETIME TRUTH OR DARE
If you want to play a juicy game with your friends even if you’re far away, play a game of FaceTime Truth or Dare! Played just like normal truth or dare but done virtually, this game is sure to challenge even the most confident person.
WHAT YOU NEED
HOW TO PLAY
Once you have the individual or group on FaceTime, take turns challenging each other to answer scandalous questions or perform dares. When it’s a player’s turn, they can decide between answering a question (truth) or performing an action (dare). Then, the other players must challenge the player with a truth or dare, depending on what the player chooses.
Examples of truths include:
- What’s something you love most about yourself?
- Who is your current crush?
- What’s your biggest fear?
And examples of dares include:
- Booty call your crush
- Go on Instagram and like every photo of the first person you see
- Chug hot sauce for 5 seconds
If the dare requires some kind of proof, make sure to ask the player to send a screenshot.
There is no winner or loser in Truth or Dare; just play for fun!
CHARADES
Of course, one of the best games to play when on FaceTime with your friends and/or family is Charades. No materials are needed for this game, so it’s a perfect addition to a virtual game night. People of all ages can play this game, and it can be as simple or as complicated as you want!
WHAT YOU NEED
- Phone
- Wifi connection
- Timer
HOW TO PLAY
To play Charades, pick a player to go first. This player will choose a word or phrase that they want to act out. Then start a one-minute timer (or predetermined time), during which time the player must act out their chosen word or phrase. The other players must try to guess the word or phrase.
If a player manages to guess the word or phrase, they and the mimer win a point each. If no one is able to guess before the timer wins, no one wins any points. Then, a second player gets a turn to mime their chosen word or phrase. And so on
Continue playing in this manner for a predetermined number of rounds or when everyone is ready to move on to another game. The player with the most points by the end of the game wins!
20 QUESTIONS
What better game to play on FaceTime than a question-based game like 20 Questions? Everyone will have played this classic at some point in their lives, and it’s super easy to convert this to a virtual game as you don’t need any supplies.
WHAT YOU NEED
HOW TO PLAY
In order to play 20 Questions, one player must think of an object, a place, or a person. Once the player has decided on one, the other players have to ask questions to get to the answer. The questions can only be “yes” or “no” questions. A guess counts as a question as well. The other players may only ask up to 20 questions, so make sure to ask questions that will help narrow down the answer instead of blindly guessing!
If a player manages to guess the object, place, or person within the 20 questions and guesses, that player now gets a turn to think of their own object/place/person. If none of the players correctly guess within 20 questions and guesses, the first player gets another turn to lead the round once again.
READ MY LIPS
Read My Lips is one of the best games to play on FaceTime because to play this game, you don’t even need audio! So, if you’re having some trouble with lousy WiFi or data connection, you can still play this fun game with your friends and family.
WHAT YOU NEED
- Phone
- Wifi connection
- Timer
HOW TO PLAY
Before starting the game, hit the mute button. Once that’s on, say a word or common phrase and start the one-minute timer. The other players must try to read the lips of the player saying the word or phrase and try to guess what they’re saying. The speaker can repeat the word or phrase as many times as they want, and they can answer some questions by nodding or shaking their head. The other players must try to guess within the one-minute timeframe.
The player that manages to correctly guess the word or phrase then gets a turn to say their own word or common phrase while putting themselves on mute.
THIS OR THAT
Looking for a simple game to play on FaceTime to pass the time? This or That is something you can easily play when you run out of things to talk about. This game is perfect even for children who want to have a playdate with their friends on FaceTime.
WHAT YOU NEED
HOW TO PLAY
All you need to do to play This or That is to ask questions that ask the other player to choose between two options. Have you ever played Would You Rather? Well, this game is very similar but even more straightforward – is that even possible?
Examples of questions to ask include:
- Dog or cat?
- Sunrise or sunset?
- Dragon or unicorn?
- Breakfast or dinner?
- TV show or movie?
- Netflix or Disney?
- Coca Cola or Pepsi?
- Sushi or ceviche?
- Europe or Asia?
- Cruise or resort?
As you can see, there’s really no limit to what you can ask. Simply take turns asking each other This or That questions. If you want to turn this game into a conversation, you can even explain why you’ve chosen a particular option rather than the other one.
GARCTIC PHONE: THE ONLINE TELEPHONE GAME
Paper Telephone is one of the most exciting games you can play with your friends and family. But if you’re apart from them, no worries! In that case, you can play Garctic Phone: The Online Telephone Game! Thankfully, in this day and age, there’s an online version of pretty much any game – and it’s just as fun.
WHAT YOU NEED
- 1 phone per player
- Wifi connection
- Your Imagination!
HOW TO PLAY
To play the Online Telephone Game, each player will need a phone. One player goes to the Garctic Phone website and starts the game. For the other players to join, the first player will need to send a link to the rest of the players.
Once everyone joins, the first player can start the game! In the first round, all players must think up a phrase. If you’re stuck, no worries, you can also just use the random phrase given to you. Examples of phrases include:
- A unicorn crossing the street
- Meeting the president
- Going to church on a Tuesday
- Drinking a pink coffee with marshmallows
- Falling up the stairs
- Wearing shoes on your hands
After submitting the first phrase, the second round starts. In round two, players must draw a representation of the random phrase written by one of the other players. In round three, the players will receive the drawing from one of the other players, and they will have to write what they believe the original phrase to be (according to the drawing). The game continues, switching between writing and drawing until all players have contributed to every player’s original phrase.
Everything is anonymous until the end of the game, so you don’t know who wrote what and who drew which drawing. You’ll get to find out at the very end when the game ends! Get ready to laugh out loud as you witness just how warped the original phrase gets by the end!
RAINBOW RACE
Are you after a kid-friendly FaceTime game to play with your friends and family? Try Rainbow Race! This game will get your kids tired out by the end. And even if you don’t have kids, Rainbow Race can be plenty of fun – especially with some alcohol involved!
WHAT YOU NEED
- Phone
- Wifi connection
- A house filled with objects
HOW TO PLAY
Rainbow Race is a type of scavenger hunt but with a twist! To play, start with the color red. Then quickly count down, and all players must run to find an object of that color. There are two ways to play this game:
- The first player to find an object of said color wins the round and a point.
- The player to find the most objects of said color wins the round and a point.
However you play is completely up to you! Once you are done with the color red, move on to orange. Play through all the colors of the rainbow and tally up the points at the very end to see who wins the game.
Alternatively, you can pick any color you want, not just the colors of the rainbow!
VIRTUAL HIDE AND SEEK
Hide and Seek is a classic game, but did you know that you can play this game with a digital twist? It may sound impossible, but with some imagination, you can certainly play Virtual Hide and Seek – a perfect game for kids and adults alike!
WHAT YOU NEED
HOW TO PLAY
While you would physically hide in a game of Hide and Seek, in Virtual Hide and Seek, you simply think of a place to hide in your house. Once the person “hiding” thinks of a spot, the other player(s) must try to find the hiding spot. To do this, the person “hiding” switches the camera to the back. The seeking player can ask questions to get to the hiding place, such as:
- Are you hiding in the kitchen?
- Are you hiding in the bathroom?
- Are you in that second cabinet?
The hiding player may answer yes or no. If yes, they can take the phone to the correct area so that the seeking player(s) can have a look around to see where the hiding place may be. Continue playing until the seeking player(s) finds the hiding spot. The player that finds the hiding spot is the next hider!
Generally, you should have a rule that the hiding spot must be a place where the player can actually hide. However, if you want to ramp up the game a little bit, make it so that the hiding place can be any nook or cranny! If you play in this manner, the hiding place can be something as crazy as a toaster!
WORD ASSOCIATION
Ready to play a fun word game on FaceTime with your friends and family? Word Association is a simple but fast-paced game that can be deceptively hard. So, make sure to brush up on your vocabulary and quick-thinking skills to master this game!
WHAT YOU NEED
HOW TO PLAY
Word Association is the perfect game for one-on-one Facetime calls. To play, the first player says a random word. Then, the second player must say a related word. The first player then says yet another word related to that second word. Continue bouncing words back and forth until:
- A player says a word that has already been said, or
- A player hesitates for more than a predetermined number of seconds.
Start with 5 seconds, and if you want to make the game even harder, amp it up by making it so that if a player hesitates for more than 2 or 3 seconds, they lose the round!
Once a round is over, the winner wins a point and can start a new round with a new word.
I am a passionate writer who enjoys inspiring others to play games and have fun. I ran a pub crawl for 3 years, running drinking games almost daily with my guests. I also come from a huge game-loving family, so you could say games are in my nature.
I am also a huge fan of travel and music and have started personal blogs about travel and music.
