Bring your friends together for these online multiplayer games
Over the past year, more than ever, people have been forced to figure out how to get together digitally. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has made many of us get creative in order to spend some time with our loved ones and has most of us used to seeing each other behind the great wall of the Zoom screen. However, to those whose passion lies in gaming, hanging with friends digitally is nothing new.
Gamers across the globe have been used to playing with pals & strangers alike equipt with headsets & digital message boards long before Twitch & Discord gained an uptick in usership since March 2020. Those hopping on the digital gaming bandwagon in 2020 soon learned the joys of playing with friends online, and now as vaccine rollouts bring shut-ins out to play IRL, some gamers continue to enjoy Discord nights during the week.
If you’re not planning on making any ventures out into the world anytime soon, or are simply hooked on gaming with friends online, check out our list of online multiplayer games anyone can enjoy.
Sketchful
One of the most accessible online multiplayer games right now is Sketchful. Anyone can use their browser to head to sketchful.io to start a game of their own to play with friends, or join an existing game and play with strangers. But what kind of game is Sketchful?
Sketchful is basically an online version of Pictionary, in which the players trade screaming out their guesses for quick-draw typing in a live chat. Millennials will get a nostalgia blast in seeing the format of Sketchful, which harkens back to the early days of the web with a primitive layout & barebones animation.
Furthermore, cursing in the chat is automatically censored, and no words are too difficult (unless you use Sketchful’s word bank function), so the game’s designed for gamers of all ages. If you love Pictionary, you’ll soon see why Sketchful is one of the best online multiplayer games online right now. Plus, it’s free to play.
Quiplash
If you didn’t learn about Quiplash over the past five years through a workplace icebreaker, consider yourself lucky.
Quiplash is one of the most popular user-friendly online multiplayer games, and as a result, the game can make for some cringey clashes of senses of humor in workplace settings or parties bringing together different groups of friends. However, many have picked up the game over the past year to connect with friends through the joy of laughter.
Quiplash comes from Jackbox Games and gives players the opportunity to show off their comedy skills filling in the blanks of phrases in a digital Mad Libs of sorts, which (with the right people) can yield some knee-slapping laughs. Make sure you play with friends of a similar mindset; if players aren’t on the same page comedically, Quiplash won’t work as it’s intended.
Among Us
Finally, Among Us is one of the most popular online multiplayer games gaining a massive boost of playership over the course of 2020 as a result of lockdowns imposed by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Twitter is full to the brim with Among Us memes, and Reddit is teeming with pages about the popular game. If you haven’t sampled Among Us yet, why should you start now?
Among Us brings classic elements of games like Clue to the table in a multiplayer whodunit bringing friends & strangers together online. In joining or starting a game of Among Us, you enter an outer space crew trying to uncover an imposter covertly murdering all the crewmates.
When you join, you’re either a crewmate grilling other players as you try to discover the imposter, or the imposter themself trying to cover your tracks and kill all the players before they find you out. Whatever position you end up in, one game of Among Us will have you hooked.
