6 – Jackbox Party Packs
If you’re looking to match up to play some Drawful or Fibbage together with coworkers, friends and family during these tough times, Jackbox has a simple solution to the problem. You can use Zoom or Google Hangouts to round up the party members, then have them use their phones to connect, just like any typical game of Jackbox. You (or they) share their screen on a PC or Laptop on the conferencing service and the rest is nothing but good times.
Jackbox has always been a collection of fun, conversation-inspiring games that often brings the naughty side out of most, but there’s a lot of laughter to enjoy when providing silly answers or drawing obtuse versions of common objects. With this simple solution to the distance problem, anyone can band together for a party and let the good times roll.
The Jackbox Party Pack is available on nearly every platform, but a PC version for your laptop or desktop can be picked up at the Humble Store.
7 – Battle Royale games
I know many have moved on from Fortnite as they search for something new to play, but there are a handful of other titles to whet your appetite for an online squad shooter that gives you quick-fire satisfaction match after match. Both Apex Legends and Call of Duty: Warzone provide an FPS experience with the same formula, but offer different power-ups and perks, and divert away from the building aspect that defines Fortnite’s formula.
Apex Legends is very similar to Overwatch in that it has distinct heroes with their own classes that you play as, which makes the game feel like Titanfall — to be fair, it’s set in the same universe — but without all the wallrunning. With a particular set of special moves that refresh over time, your character may be able to heal or move quickly or even turn invisible as their ability. You may not get the character you want, but they are all equally fun to play. Otherwise, as far as gameplay goes, it feels very familiar to the squad-based loop of finding loot, swapping it out, healing up, shielding up and searching out or hiding from other squads.
Call of Duty: Warzone is a Battle Royale version that piggybacks on Modern Warfare, but is available completely free. All the classic guns and gameplay that you know and love from Call of Duty are available to you, plus the more PUBG-esque vehicles that give you the fun and freedom of moving faster across the dangerous warscapes with your team. A new idea in Warzone that adds to the Battle Royale formula is “the gulag”, which is an arena you are taken to upon your demise, to fight out in one-on-one duels. The winner is given another chance to parachute down to rejoin their team and fight once more, but they can only be revived this way once per match.
The Battle Royale genre has grown popular over the last several years with millions of players, and these games give a great way to teamwork, even though you’re working together to take down others. Synergy. Oorah!
Apex Legends is available for PS4, Xbox One and PC on Origin.
Call of Duty: Warzone is available for PS4, Xbox One and PC on Battle.net.
