The 10 Virtual Party Games For Your Next Zoom Meeting

Online conferences are a new way to meet people, but they can become boring. Fortunately, you can spice them up with the right group activities. 

You could play virtual party games on Zoom video calls for work and school. As a result, you 

could engage guests and get their attention for your meeting. 

This article will show some of the best virtual party games for your next online call. See which ones would work as an icebreaker or introduction. 

1. Lightning Scavenger Hunts
2. Zoom Trivia
3. Something in Common
4. Charades
5. Five Things
6. Heads Up!
7. Bet on the Crowd
8. Most Likely To
9. Virtual Rock, Paper, Scissors
10. Wordle Together

1. Lightning Scavenger Hunts

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Let us start with a game that takes advantage of Zoom’s functions. Lightning Scavenger Hunts involve looking for specific items found in their background.

The host will prepare cards that contain items usually found in a Zoom background, such as curtains or pillows. Then, guests will have to find it in each other’s backgrounds.

The game often consists of three rounds, but you could add more. People who find an object first win a point. Afterward, the person with the most points wins.

If it is too easy, you could give participants clues instead of telling them the exact items. Also, you could adjust the Lightning Scavenger Hunts to fit your meeting’s theme.

For example, let us say you are a teacher and will discuss plants. Your cards could list common household plants like cacti or Monstera plants. Then, you could transition that to your lesson.

2. Zoom Trivia

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This virtual party game resembles common game shows like “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?” You ask random questions, and people who answer them correctly receive points.

Zoom Trivia could be a race to get 10 points. Moreover, you could divide your guests into teams if there are too many. You might want to use questions related to Netflix and other online streaming platforms.

Many people have become fond of online shows due to the pandemic. Your trivia could quiz them on their favorite shows so that you can catch their interest.

3. Something in Common 

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Let us say you will meet people who do not know each other via Zoom. Imagine you will brief new hires for your company or start the first days of an online class. 

You could use Something in Common as an excellent icebreaker. As the name suggests, the goal is to find similar characteristics among team members. 

Divide your guests into groups, then ask them to find the unique thing they have in common. Give them two minutes to discuss among themselves per round.

Each team should have breakout rooms to have excluded discussions. It is one of the new Zoom features that make such virtual party games possible.

Next, ask the team members their most unique characteristics while excluding appearances and locations. Lastly, tell the members to find their most unique thing in a specific category, such as profession. 

4. Charades

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Zoom lets you and your friends see each other, so why not play charades? After all, its new spotlight feature makes this virtual party game better.

You divide your guests into groups. Then, you give a member from each group a word that they must act out via gestures. The others should guess that word based on that person’s actions.

Use the spotlight feature to help people focus on that one person. The group that guesses the most number of words correctly wins. 

5. Five Things

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You name a topic, and people must share five related things. That is enough to explain how Five Things works! It is one of the virtual party games that offer much flexibility.

You can turn it into an intro to your meeting’s theme. For example, let us say you would discuss how cryptocurrencies work. You could ask people to name five cryptos, such as Ethereum and Dogecoin. 

On the other hand, you could play Five Things to ease boredom. For instance, many students are K-Pop stans nowadays, so a teacher could ask a student to name the five members of BTS. 

6. Heads Up

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This example is one of the virtual party games you can download on Android and iOS. Open the app, and hold it up to your forehead.

It will display a word after a few seconds, and your guests will give clues as to what it is. You must figure out the word before time runs out. 

Heads Up may sound familiar if you are Filipino. People in the Philippines call it Pinoy Henyo, typically using paper slips instead of an app. Of course, you will need the Heads Up app for a Zoom meeting.

7. Bet on the Crowd 

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You could turn Zoom polls into a game with Bet on the Crowd. You give guests a question, and they must vote on an answer. It lets everyone know everyone’s preferences, so it works as an icebreaker.

For example, you could ask them whether they like dogs or cats. Use the Zoom polling feature to get their responses. Then, ask a few folks what they think the winner would be.

Afterward, tell them the most-voted answer. Repeat these steps for more questions. The people with the highest number of correct guesses win the game. 

8. Virtual Rock, Paper, Scissors

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One of the most fun virtual party games is also one of the oldest. You can play rock, paper, scissors with your guests via gestures and Zoom reactions:

• Thumbs up emoji for rock
• Clap emoji for paper
• Crossing your arms for scissors

Start by saying the classic rallying cry, “rock, paper, scissors, shoot!” with the participants. Then, give them three seconds to answer. The answer with the most number of people wins.

9. Most Likely To

Photo Credit: psycatgames.com

This game works like Truth or Dare. You ask the guests a silly question, such as, “Who’s most likely to run for president?”

Then, the guests vote on who among them fits the description. The person who receives the most votes may serve a penalty like singing a song.

This game is ideal for close friends and family members. If you need an icebreaker for new friends, you may need to try other virtual party games.

10. Wordle Together 

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People have been getting into Wordle lately, an online word-guessing game. Now, Wordle Together lets you play with two to four friends.

If you have never played it, here is how it works. The player must guess the day’s word in six tries or less. Also, every word you enter should be in the word list.

Guess a word correctly, and it turns green. The right words in the wrong position turn yellow. Incorrect letters turn gray.

You can use letters more than once, but the words never use their plural form. You could play Wordle Together by starting a session on the website. 

Then, you could share your session with two to four people. However, this game is down on the list because you cannot play with more folks in a single round.

Conclusion

Virtual party games could make online conferences less awkward and boring. They could work as icebreakers, or smooth segways into topics.

However, it would be best if you could hang out face-to-face afterward. Most countries do not require face masks and other COVID guidelines anymore.

You could also have fun by reading more Inquirer USA articles. Those contain interesting topics that you and your friends can enjoy.