Games to play on facetime

Facetime has always been a great way to catchup with friends and family. Now, more than ever, we're relying on using one-on-one and group facetime to connect with each other. So - how do we still create those magical moments when we're restricted to virtual catchups during Coronavirus lockdown and isolation?

One on one games for facetime

Perfect for a facetime between a grandparent and grandchild or just two good friends, these one-on-one facetime games will help bridge the gap when the conversation runs dry.

Battleships

The game of battleships can work really well over a facetime video call. You can use a printable battleships grid online to print and play, or alternatively if you both have a similar copy of the physical board game you can use that. Players hide various battlehips on their grid and then take turns trying to guess the location of all the opposition battleships before theirs are sunk.

20 Questions

The game of twenty questions is an all-time favourite and requires no preparation to play on facetime. One player chooses an object or person without the other player knowing. The other play then has twenty "yes or no" questions to try to guess what the object is. This game is great for young kids but can work well for the older age bracket too.

Would You Rather

A simple game that works for both adults and kids alike. Take it in turns coming up with an "either or" question to ask the other person to find out "what they'd rather". The questions might be simple, silly and funny (best for kids) or challenging and more morally complex (for adults). Here are some examples:

• Would you rather eat apples or bananas?
• Would you rather be a elephant or a giraffe?
• Would you rather live in a tree house or an underground lair?
• Would you rather be unable to lie or unable to tell the truth?
• Would you rather only eat fruit or vegetables for the rest of your life?
• Would you rather listen to rock music or classical music?
• Would you rather have dinner with Elvis or Jonny Cash?
• Would you rather watch westerns or silent films?

Read My Lips

Take it in turns putting your facetime app on mute and speak a sentence (with your mouth clearly in view) and see if the other person can guess what you're saying by reading your lips. Make the game extra funny by reading out silly or funny phrases that may not make complete sense.

Lip-sync Battle

Get your hairbrushes out... it's time for a lip-sync battle! This one works best with a little bit of a preparation and practice. Choose your favourite song to sing along to - preferably one that you know all the lyrics to - and practice performing it (without actually singing). Be sure to liven up your performances by dressing up and really getting into the song. Then, once you're ready, connect with your friend via facetime and go for it!

Rock Paper Scissors

The game of Rock Paper Scissors is an all-time favourite. It's universally known and easy to explain. Call your friend up on facetime and do a first to ten challenge. Use this as an opportunity to start looking into the psychology behind the game and seeing if you can outwit and outthink your opponent. Or, if you'd like to get creative and practice some debating skills, then you could try out a game of Rock Paper Anything!

Games to play on group facetime

These games are perfect for a group facetime between kids, friends and family alike.

Props

If you're facetiming with a group of people who like drama games, are keen to be silly and like to have a good laugh, then this is the game for you. You'll need to be a little bit organised for this game - find a selection of random objects that everyone has access to in their own homes (apple, umbrella, rug, shoe etc) Then select one of these objects and take it turns acting out a scene with the object used for something different than normal. To get some inspiration for this game, I highly recommend watching the "Props" game on Whose Line Is It Anyway.

Charades

Another acting game, Charades is a family favourite. The rules are simple - one person on the facetime call acts out a random word or phrase and the others on their team need to guess what they're acting as quickly as possible. You could buy the board game or use an online generator.

Colour Chase

Colour Chase is an especially fantastic game for a group of kids or children on group facetime. It may work best with an adult running the game. The adult/leader says a random colour and kids must race to find something in the room (or house) that is that colour. The first one to bring the coloured object back to the video call is the winner. You can introduce different rules to keep it interesting - like a combination of colours or like another feature to the object (small, long etc).

Spot the Difference

The game leader must set up a scene or a tray with a large amount of random objects in it. Show this to all the people in the group facetime call for at limited time. Then cover the the web cam and take one or two items out of the scene/tray. Once the camera is revealed again, the players must take a look and write down object(s) they think are missing. Then everyone holds up their answer at the same time and the people who get it right get a point.

Topic Time

Pick a random topic and take it turns to say something that represents that topic. If a player is unable to say something that fits the topic, they're eliminated from the round. The last player to be in the round wins a point. The game works best if there is a five second time limt to say something - this will keep it moving at an enjoyable pace. The topics could be anything - vegetables, musicians, foods starting with t, action films, things with wheels etc...