7 Best Online Family Games
Family game nights are a great bonding experience, but what happens once everyone leaves the house and goes off on their own?
Nowadays, there’s no reason not to play a family online game when you can’t get everyone together in the same place.
Ahead, we’ll take a look at some of the best online family games to rekindle those family game nights of the past.
You’re sure to find something here that appeals to your family - no matter how technologically inclined they may be.
If you're looking for the best games to play with your friends, head over here.
Or if you're just you and your special one, we've made a guide on games to play as a couple.
Jackbox Party Pack Games
Jackbox Party Pack offers a wide variety of games for the family online or in-person. There are ten packs out at the time of writing, each providing unique entries that vary in their level of playability.
Each of the Jackbox games is different, but they all follow a similar format. One player hosts the game while the rest watch their screen and play along on their phone from the Jackbox.tv website. Some of the fan favorites in the pack are Fibbage, Quiplash, Drawful, and Split the Room.
Although you can buy packs that each include five different games, you can buy each individual game separately - albeit for a higher price overall. Still, the games are inexpensive and are great if you’re looking for online family games.
Skribbl IO
Skribbl IO is a free browser game that is another great online game for the family. Essentially, it is Pictionary, but it is a free-for-all rather than a team-based game.
Each round, one player gets a prompt and tries to draw it to the best of their ability. They get points for how fast the other players are able to guess their drawing. The rest of the players get points by guessing the prompt correctly, and then the pen passes to the next player.
Skribbl IO is an excellent family online game for those not trying to spend anything before playing. It’s a simple concept, so even the non-gamers in your household can have a good time. Like the other titles on this list, you can play Skribbl IO either remotely or in the same house.
Among Us
Among Us took over the world during the 2020 pandemic. It’s a simple concept for a game where two players serve as imposters. Their goal is to eliminate the rest of the players while they try to complete their tasks.
The crewmates, as the non-imposters are called, will need to complete their tasks before the time runs out while voting out the imposters to save themselves from death.
Among Us is a bit more of a “real” video game than most of the others on this list, so there’s some barrier to entry if your family is less technology-inclined. Still, it’s a simple concept and one that anyone who has played Mafia will recognize.
It’s also a very small, easy game to run on any platform. You don’t need to have a PC to play it - a laptop will do just fine. You can even play on your phone, but you may want to use third-party voice software like Discord to talk with the other team during meetings. You lose a lot if you discuss everything via the in-game text chat.
Chess
Chess might not be the first game you think of when looking for games for the family online, but its increasing popularity means that more people will be interested in homemade chess tournaments.
You can only play Chess with two players, but nothing is stopping you from making a small bracket and seeing who comes out the victor. If you want to give some of the older, more traditional gamers in your family a chance, Chess might be a great option for your next family game night.
You can also play Chess with your family rival in your downtime - no need to create a whole schedule for everyone to get together. You and one of your siblings or parents can play a game in ten minutes, so it’s a great option to get into if you’re looking to connect with one person, particularly.
Heads Up
Heads Up is an online family game that can be played remotely but is almost always better when played in person. There are dozens of similar games, but the most famous of these is probably Password.
Created by talk show host Ellen DeGeneres, Heads Up is a downloadable app that has one player guessing and the other describing the word. The guesser puts their phone to their head as the other player describes the word without saying it.
There are multiple categories like celebrities, movies, history, and more - so you can pick whichever niche best fits you and your family.
Heads Up can be played by two or more people, and you can even create teams to battle with one another. It’s a simple, fun concept that even non-gamers will understand.
Monopoly
Online family games don’t need to be exclusively video games. Most popular board games now have online applications that allow you to play with your family remotely without having to be in the same place.
Monopoly is one of those options and remains one of the most entertaining board games for the family online. Almost everyone knows how Monopoly is played, so you don’t need to explain any complex rules to your family members who don’t play other games.
The best part about online Monopoly is that, in our experience, the game tends to move much quicker than it does in real life. Sure, you should still expect to be playing for over an hour, but games don’t seem to drag on as long as the over-the-board Monopoly tends to.
Yahtzee
Like Monopoly, Yahtzee is a board game that doubles as a great online game for the family when you aren’t together.
You can play Yahtzee on your computer or on your phone through the app, making it simple to get a game going with family members who don’t often play games on their desktop or laptop.
Again, since Yahtzee is already a known entity, you probably won’t need to explain any rules - so you can jump right in.
If you’re looking for an online board game to play with your family but don’t want to spend over an hour per game, Yahtzee is the better choice over Monopoly.