With so many day-to-day activities still on hold, kids can get pretty bored once school’s done for the day. A great idea to solve this problem is putting some pep in their step with fun games played right over Zoom. Gather their friends and set up a Zoom time, keeping them all entertained with games designed specifically for video calls. Kids will love hanging out with their friends while playing everything from classics like digital trivia or cards games, to totally new game-night contenders that are equal parts competitive and hilarious. Ahead, find all our favorite Zoom games for kids, ready for playing with school buddies or even the whole extended family.
Related: Expand Game Night Beyond Your Walls With These Online Games For Kids
Psych!
Psych! is a group game that’s marketed as “trivia meets Cards Against Humanity,” where players make up fake answers to real trivia questions in specific categories. Competitors must choose the right answer out of all the fake ones, and a lot of laughing ensues. For this one, everyone should just download the application, get on Zoom, and start concocting their sneakiest answers.
Scattergories
Ah, the return of the classic, Zoom-ified. Kids will love playing virtual Scattergories over Zoom, choosing their favorite topic, and then just sending the link to friends so they can join. Splitting the screen between the game and Zoom, this one can get competitive (and fun) quick.
Skribbl
If your kids love drawing, Skribbl is a virtual Pictionary they’ll love to play over Zoom with friends. To play, they just have to share their Zoom meeting ID with the rest of the players, then share the Skribbl private room link with everyone to get started. Once there, each person just has to try their hand at drawing their prompt, and the guessing game starts. Split the screen between Skribbl and Zoom so the kids can see each other’s reactions, too.
Name Place Animal Thing
Kids can now play the classic Name Place Animal Thing game virtually, simply choosing multiplayer mode and logging onto Zoom at the same time. This game involves getting a random letter of the alphabet and trying to find words that start with it, split up into categories like names, colors, plants, or more. This is also a great game for family Zoom nights.
Playing Cards
An incredible resource, the website Playing Cards allows kids to choose from all kinds of card games like Go Fish or Hearts, and even play classic activities like Chess, Checkers, or Backgammon. Kids will love choosing their game, sending the link to friends, and getting competitive while video chatting.
Tuku Tuku
If kids already enjoy the game 5 Second Rule, Tuku Tuku will become an instant favorite. The original game requires players to pick a category and go around naming three things within it, only getting five seconds to do so. Tuku Tuku works the same way, but picks the categories for you, and kids can share their screens on Zoom so everyone can see the new prompt.
Guess Who?
A spin on the old game night classic, Guess Who? might just be the best question-based game of all time. For this virtual version, it’s just like the original: kids must choose their characters, and then ask “yes or no” questions to guess who everyone is. Prepare for all the laughs, especially as they try to keep a straight face on the Zoom call.
Pictionary With Zoom's Whiteboard Feature
A fantastic resource for both educational purposes and play is Zoom’s whiteboard feature, which can make for one of the best Pictionary games your kids will ever have! To enable the whiteboard on Zoom, share the screen, select the whiteboard, and click share. The annotation tools will let your kids draw as the rest of the players guess the word, and this Pictionary Word Generator will make the game run even smoother.
TriviaMaker
Although there are a few virtual trivia games online that are great for Zoom, Trivia Maker is perfect for kids because parents can make up the questions first. Once you’ve thought up the trivia style and questions, share the link and password with all the players, and let the games begin. This one is a great resource for teachers, too!
Overcooked! 2
If your kids (or you) like the game Diner Dash, Overcooked! 2 is like a reloaded version, with funny plot twists and some unexpected turns. Up to four players at a time can team up to cook and serve the Onion Kingdom’s guests. They’ll have so much fun over Zoom they’ll never want the game to end.
Wordscatter
Remember Boggle? Wordscatter is the virtual version of the traditional word game, where players simply have to log onto Zoom, share the game link, and find as many words as they can from the board. Whoever ends up with the most words at the end wins.
Bingo Maker
Bingo Maker is a simple activity kids always love, and the amount of players is limitless. Just create the game, share the given password and everyone’s Zoom screens, and start!
Factile
If your kids love watching Jeopardy with you, why not make them a Jeopardy game of their own? With Factile, you can make a custom Jeopardy-style quiz just for the kids (which only takes a couple minutes). Users buzz-in just like in the show. Your kids will look forward to play this over Zoom with friends, and it’ll be educational too.
Codenames
Codenames is a mystery game kids will love as they pretend to be James Bond for an hour (and in all honesty, you’ll probably love it too!). This game is all about using clues to identify and make contact with your special secret agents before the rest of the team does. Whoever guesses the most agent codenames wins – you’ll never believe how competitive this game can get.
Taboo
The virtual version of the hilarious board game, Taboo is about getting your teammates to guess the secret word without saying the word itself or the five additional words on the card. For Zoom play, kids should split up into two teams and take turns sharing screens. Players on each team try their hand at getting their teammates to guess their word, and whichever side ends up correctly guessing the most wins.
Things
Similar to Scattergories, but more tailored to video call play, this categories game allows players to choose “Remote Game” as they split screens on Zoom. Things will work seamlessly as each player comes up with items in different categories before the clock runs out.