Virtual Drawing Games

These are really fun ways to hang out from a distance.

My kiddo's been playing lots of online drawing games with friends throughout the year and I must say that it's a really fun way to connect. You don't even need to use a special program; you can play regular Win, Lose or Draw and hold up your drawings. I suggest using dark markers!

You can also use the drawing options on Zoom, which allow you to share a screen and draw together. This is especially fun for kids. You can also try apps like Scribblio, which is what my teen uses with friends a lot of the time.

Have you tried any drawing games via Zoom? Which ones?

Klat Categories: 
Hobbies

Holiday Games Wish List

What's on yours?

This winter is sure to be a challenging one with lots of time at home, so I know we're going to want to play lots of games. I've been eyeballing some fun-looking games and I'd love to know what you are considering!

In honor of RBG, I'd love to get ahold of a copy of I Dissent, an opinions-based game for ages 14+. I think it would be perfect to play with my family, and I love that you can play with three players, which is one of the things we look for.

I've heard great things about Kids Against Maturity and its many cousins. At this point I think my teen is ready for Cards Against Humanity, though, so we may not wantt this one. It's also best for four players, although we could bring someone in on Zoom to play. 

Abandon All Artichokes looks SO fun! It also looks like a quick game to play without a lot of rules to learn, which I love. If you can start playing instantly without watching a 30-minute tutorial, it's my kind of game!

What games are you looking at for the holidays and winter at home? Share them in the chat! 

Klat Categories: 
Hobbies

Things Is Now Available For Virtual Play!

Hopefully more game companies will continue to make their products available for remote play!

Knowing how difficult it is to stay socially active during a pandemic, many companies are adapting quickly to our New Normal, which is usually a good sign of not only their care for their communities but their stability. Companies that can adapt with the current climate, cultural or otherwise, definitely have more staying power.

This may be exactly the case for QUINN & SHERRY, INC. & PLAYMONSTER LLC, creators of THINGS... a game that my family and I love to play. They've created an app so we can play with family and friends remotely, which is not only a lucrative idea to benefit them but a wonderful way of helping us all stay connected. It's a classic guess who said what game so it helps you learn more about players but it's also open enough to play with people you don't know as well, too.

What other great games have you seen developed into virtual games for the pandemic? I hope we continue to see many more for as long as we need to social distance!

Virtual Halloween Games

What are you playing this year?

While it's bound to be a different kind of Halloween for all of us this year, plenty of businesses are stepping it up, providing online celebrations and contests for local communities in place of the beloved in-person events that we've come to expect. One of our favorite events this year is now a drive-through event, which we are very excited about.

I've read that neighborhoods that usually host in-person costume contests and other events will be doing so virtually, and you can still even enter them if you would like to from home. Unfortunately there's not a lot of regulation where I live, so plenty of activities will still be happening in real time, but the ones occuring virtually will provide a safe way to interact for everyone this year.

What fun virtual events will you be attending? Share them in the chat.

Klat Categories: 
Holidays

Non-Speaking Remote Party Games

Share your ideas!

As a parent and teacher, it's recently come to my attention just how often our Zoom and Google Meeting calls exclude people. Much of these experiences depend on vocalization, as well as hearing and seeing the people in the call, and if you can't do these things, they may not provide you with the connection they're intended to help provide.

So how can we make these spaces more inclusive? A colleague of mine makes both video and vocalization optional so the participants can type into the chat box, which is helpful. My teen has done several activities throughout quarantine and the teachers who give this option have definitely made it more inclusive, and I wish the teachers who didn't would do so. But what about game play?

I'd love to know what kinds of games you can play remotely without requiring voice and/or video. I can see how holding up cards might work without voice and with video, but what if the participant would like to avoid both? I'd love to make these esperiences as inclusive as possible.

Please share your ideas in the chat!

Klat Categories: 
Culture

Improving Zoom Game Time

How have you made it more fun?

Plenty of people are getting bored with Zoom calls, especially when they're required to use them on a daily, and even hourly, basis. So how do you go about making time spent on Zoom calls more engaging?

Letting people choose whether or not to use the video option is a big must since many of us have bad hair days, messy house days and other reasons why we may not want to have our faces on video. Hiding yourself can also make you feel more comfortable.

What other tips do you have in helping people feel more comfortable playing games over Zoom? Share them in the chat. 

Klat Categories: 
Hobbies

Google Meetings For Party Games

Have you tried them?

Last week we held a Two Truths and a Lie game night from home over Google Meetings and it worked out quite well. The great thing about Google Meetings is that you don't have the time limits imposed by Zoom, so you can hang out for much longer than 40 minutes if you want to. We used the platform for an hour and a half and still could have stayed on longer.

The other great thing that I love about it is that you can set it up through Google Calendar, so you can invite people directly to your meeting via email and not only give them a link to join that you don't have to approve, but also automatic Google reminders! This is so helpful. You also don't have to admit anyone in if they have a direct link, but be sure you log in to admit people in if they are using a different email than the one you send the invite to.

Have you tried Google Meet? Do you have any tips for using it? Share them in the chat.

Klat Categories: 
Lifestyle

Prizes for Party Games

A fun way to get more participation!

Do you ever give out door prizes or prizes for the winners of party games at your events? This is a tradition in my family that enables us to get rid of things from our homes since we all bring things we want to get rid of as prizes!

This might seem more difficult during Covid times, but there are other ways to do this. How about posting pics of all the prizes and having people claiming them for porch pick-up at some point? You could also try buying gift cards or making donations in each others' names.

What sorts of prizes, if any, do you give out for game night? Share them in the chat!

Best Halloween Drinking Games

Share yours!

Drinking games are a great way to have fun and enjoy a few laughs, especially while you're at home under quarantine. Halloween drinking games are great for celebrating the holiday at home, too!

Some of my favorite Halloween drinking games involve drinking every time a horror trope happens on screen during a movie. Say the hero or heroine runs upstairs, or assumes the killer is really dead, or does something else you know to be a mistake. Drink up! It's even more fun when you point it out with friends.

What are your favorite halloween drinking games? Share them in the chat!

Making Up Games in Quarantine

What have you created?

One of the best things about quarantine is seeing all of the creative things people have come up with to both keep themselves entertained as well as to share with the world. We've laughed and cried but we've also been quite inspired by everything we've seen. Cool new games are among these.

We've been playing the Blockbuster game lately, but frankly the most fun thing to do is to issue fake movie quotes to get someone to guess the title! So we've been doing this goofy game on our own without the game itself, making up quotes for movies to get each other to guess and it's hilarious.
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What fun games have you made up during quarantine? Share them in the chat!

Klat Categories: 
Hobbies

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