Festive games for Zoom or your living room

However you're celebrating this year, we've got you covered with these ideas of games you can play virtually

17 December 2020

For many of us, Christmas will be very different this year.

We know that one of the hardest things about 2020 is not being able to come together with all your loved ones in the way that you would like. However, here at Girlguiding we’ve become very used to the need to adapt and find ways to come together online. Here’s our list of recommendations of how to adapt some classic games so that you can play them easily on Zoom with your whole family over the festive period.

1. Charades

A festive staple in lots of households, this is one you can easily adapt to Zoom! Just make sure that whoever is doing the charade is in full view of the camera. Zoom even has a Spotlight feature, which is great for making sure that everyone can see the charade in all its glory. If you have a lot of people participating, you could split into teams of two or three so that everyone has a turn at guessing. That way there aren’t too many people shouting out at the same time, which we all know is best avoided in virtual calls!

2. Pictionary

Another classic! You have a couple of options for this – you can set the camera up to view a whiteboard or pad of paper that you’re physically drawing on, but you can also try it out virtually using Zoom’s whiteboard feature! Drawing digitally can certainly be a challenge, but it’s a great way to ensure that everyone on the call can fully see and participate.

3. Have a Christmas quiz

After this year, we’re certainly familiar with online quizzes! You could either designate one person to be the quiz master, or ask every household on the call to contribute a different round. However you choose to do it, this is a fun and laidback way to have some fun and games online.

4. Name that tune! 

All you need to do for this one is make a festive playlist. Cue it up on your phone, and you can either play just the first 10 seconds of the song and have everyone guess, or just say that the fastest to get it right wins the point. Finish off with a virtual dance party!

5. Set up a scavenger hunt

This is a great one to get everyone up and moving after a big Christmas dinner! Send all the participants around their home looking for specific holiday-themed items, such as baubles, tinsel, or wrapping paper. You can be as creative as you like!

6. Play some Articulate! 

It’s one of the best-known board games out there, and makes a regular appearance in lots of homes over the festive period! The makers of the game have enabled a free remote version where you can access all the cards and categories for free and play as you usually would on a virtual call. Just sort everyone into teams of two of three and leave Zoom running in the background while you play.

7. Try some of our own virtual games!

Throughout this year, we’ve been releasing new virtual games to play in online unit meetings. We have different ones for Rainbows (4-7), Brownies (7-10), Guides (10-14) and Rangers (14-18), so you’ll be able to find something that works for all ages! They’re all available for free on our website.