Group activity over Zoom

June 17, 2020 1:22 PM

I'm looking for fun things to do with a group of 10-15 teens over Zoom for about an hour. I'd prefer something that is more interesting and interactive than your normal board games (bingo, scattergories, taboo, etc.) or simple games (charades, scavenger hunt), especially if it could involve more interaction or even creativity. It doesn't have to be education or team building focused, but just engaging and fun for all participants.
posted by roaring beast to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (12 answers total)

You could try a version of Bring Your Own Book. If you sign up for their mailing list, you get links to a bunch of print and play cards.
posted by kittydelsol at 1:28 PM on June 17, 2020 [1 favorite]

Give them all a word, have them illustrate it. Hold them all up and try to tell a story from the illustrations.
posted by theora55 at 1:41 PM on June 17, 2020

Skribbl.io?
posted by crazy with stars at 2:19 PM on June 17, 2020

You want to run a jackbox game for them. They are a lot of fun! I recommend party pack 3, though 5 and 6 are also fun. Only 6-8 can play at a time, but the others can be in an audience.
posted by bbqturtle at 2:28 PM on June 17, 2020 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Some collaborative visual/writing creation a la Party in a Shared Google Doc?
posted by stray at 2:34 PM on June 17, 2020 [1 favorite]

I just played a Zoom version of Name That Tune with about 20 people and it was great fun. The host shares computer audio to play the songs. Participants “buzz in” by raising a hand and yelling their name. Points are awarded for song and artist. Others can steal if the original buzzer is wrong.

As with other such online games, lag times can affect play so it may not be 100% fair but it can be a lot of fun.
posted by The Deej at 2:44 PM on June 17, 2020

How about a version of Exquisite Corpse storytelling?
posted by greta simone at 4:01 PM on June 17, 2020

Best answer: We had fun with traditional RPGs over Zoom. There are a lot of pencil-and-paper games you can do online, with a dice app instead of in-person rolls.
posted by blnkfrnk at 4:13 PM on June 17, 2020

Best answer: Virtual escape room?
posted by purenitrous at 6:03 PM on June 17, 2020 [2 favorites]

Major bookworm here and really love my Zoom book clubs. A nice alternate might be a group watch and ongoing discussion of an excellent TV series like The Expanse, or of movies a la book group format.
posted by bearwife at 6:49 PM on June 17, 2020

I was on a team offsite of sorts and we played a fun trivia game on AHA Slides. We had all submitted trivia about ourselves ahead of the event, and then the trivia question would be "This person is a certified SCUBA diver" and there were 3 people and you had to choose which person you thought it was.
posted by radioamy at 8:18 PM on June 19, 2020

There are tons of magicians doing short interactive shows over Zoom. That could work for part of the hour? Full disclosure: I am currently doing the tech for a Zoom magic show performed by British magician, so have an interest in recommending this! I've found that a grown up close up magic and mindreading show (not little kids stuff) goes down well if the teens like that sort of thing. I can give recommendations if you want to MeMail me, otherwise a Google will bring up a bunch.
posted by tinwhiskers at 2:23 AM on June 20, 2020