10 Best Apps & Games To Play With Friends On Your Phone
Game-night is back on!
getty We’re all currently cocooned in our homes, hoping to decrease the spread of the coronavirus. Fortunately, living through a global pandemic in the 21st Century is made a little easier by the internet, one of the few virtues of our time.
This has made distant socializing more straight-forward than ever, especially with so many game apps available at our fingertips.
But we’re over a month in and this whole social distancing, while life-saving, is becoming tiring.
It can be hard to keep showing up to your friends’ video calls when you’re running out of things to talk about. No one has any news or funny personal ventures to share, and rehashing the latest media updates over messenger is getting old.
An end to quarantine is not yet visible, though, so it looks like we need to get creative to restore some joy to our social interactions and keep things interesting.
Even though most things on your social calendar have been postponed, game night doesn’t have to be one of them. There are so many multiplayer apps that replicate some of your favorite board and trivia games, as well as many games you may just become addicted to.
Download the best apps to play with friends so you can still have fun from your separate homes.
1. Psych!
This game is a fun twist on regular trivia quizzes.
Each person takes turns coming up with false answers to trivia questions, making them as funny or realistic as they want. Whoever guesses the correct answer among the fake ones earns points. If anyone picks your fake answer, you will earn points.
The app is created by the company behind the popular Heads Up! game, so you know you’re in for a treat.
Cost: Free
2. Monopoly
Monopoly is a game night classic and created mini family feuds while you were growing up. Your mom probably threw your old set in the trash years ago, but luckily, it has been adapted for smartphones.
You can play solo or with friends and discover who in your group is a secret real estate tycoon. You can also play offline with people in your household by passing the phone around.
Cost: $3.99
3. Overcooked 2
If you were a Cooking Mama aficionado in the Nintendo DS days, this is a pretty good dupe.
In this game, you and your friends are line cooks who must prepare meals at a rapid pace in a virtual restaurant. Things get pretty hectic, so you’ll quickly find out who in your group crumbles under pressure.
This is a fun way to distract from our daily stresses with less intense virtual stress. And even though it's not free, it's well worth the price.
Cost: $16.99
Available on: PlayStation, Xbox One
4. 8 Ball Pool
If you’re missing a night of hanging out with friends in a dive bar playing pool, this app will satisfy your cravings.
8 Ball Pool is a virtual game of billiards that will become addictive quickly. You can play with strangers online anytime you want, or link the app to your Facebook to find which friends are playing too.
Cost: Free
5. QuizUp
This a simple trivia app that features rounds of questions on specific topics and themes. (Think Trivial Pursuit but on your phone.) You can customize the quiz by choosing from topics like Disney and world geography.
Playing with friends is easy as you can text them links to join the game you’ve created. If your friends aren’t available, you can also play online with random opponents.
Cost: Free
6. Dungeons and Dragons
If you’ve binge-watched Stranger Things, you’ve probably already heard of this role-playing game the kids on the show love so much. If there ever was a time for you and your friends to get lost in a fantasy adventure, it's now.
Responding to the increase in downloads, the creators have made all expansion packs free until the end of April, so get your hands on this while you can.
Cost: Free
Available on: PC, Mac
7. Mario Kart Tour
Playing Mario Kart on a phone kind of goes against all basic instinct, but desperate times calls for desperate measures.
Playing this with your friends will take you back to your school days, especially when you’re all inevitably fighting over Yoshi. You’ll have to play a few rounds on your own before you can invite your friends, but once you do all you have to do is get their user ID and challenge them to a race.
Cost: Free
8. HouseParty
This app has become particularly popular for video calls now that we’re all quarantined away from friends. It’s easy to sign up and join conversations, and also features games you can play while you catch up.
This is a fun one because you can actually see your friends while you play! The app and lots of the games are free, but any extra decks are just $1.
Cost: Free
9. The Sims
What’s more fun than coming up with ways to fill your day? Being in charge of doing the same for a virtual game character, of course.
If you spent hours as a child making families and building houses on The Sims, this phone app will rekindle that memory. And even though we can’t meet up with our friends, your Sims can.
The app has a “Play Together” feature that allows you to host parties and even move in with your friend’s Sims.
Cost: Free
10. Scrabble GO
The board game Scrabble has been around for longer than most of us, and is now available to play on your phone. It just like the board game but you won’t be scrambling to try and get the pieces into place.
You can play remotely with friends by adding them through your phone or syncing the app with your Facebook account.
Cost: Free
Alice Kelly is a writer with a passion for lifestyle, entertainment, and trending topics.