The fact that board games are better in person is commonly acknowledged. However, getting your gaming group together regularly – or at all – can be a tedious and time-consuming process of arranging schedules, traveling, and carving out enough time to play something from beginning to end. Fortunately, there are now hundreds of fantastic online board games that can be played over the internet, allowing you and your friends to overcome some of the conventional barriers to enjoying a regular activity session regardless of how far apart you are. Here, we offer these recommended games to play to help fill that void.
While board game apps provide a dedicated experience that you can take with you on your phone or PC, many online versions don’t require you to download anything at all. Instead, they give a smooth and polished experience that you can open up in your browser and begin playing in seconds. Many also take care of the difficult task of remembering the rules and making it simple for newcomers to join in and learn how to play. Even better, a lot of them are completely free. So, without further ado, I give you the best online table games available.
Codenames
Two teams compete over a grid of words in Codenames. However, only the spymaster of each team knows the words their team must choose to win. So the spymasters must lead their group of pals to the correct answer by providing single-word clues and various associations. It’s challenging to connect clues, but avoiding the game-ending Assassin card is even more critical.
Scrabble
Scrabble is a game that may be played on a variety of platforms. There is a version that links to popular social media channels, as well as a mobile app. It’s also available as part of certain Hasbro compilations on consoles and PCs.
Online matchmaking is available in all versions of Scrabble, allowing you to play with friends or strangers and put your vocabulary to the test. There are a lot of similar applications and activities out there, but the officially licensed Scrabble has a digital replica of the exact board you’re used to, complete with the same rules.
Scattergories
Scattergories is a word game that requires players to come up with words that fit into specific categories and begin with a particular letter. The activity is also one of the most straightforward online versions available. While a typical board game would include lists, a letter die, a timer, and secrecy folders, the only things needed to play online are a list of categories and a method of generating random letters.
To play scattergories this way, one player should go to scattergoriesonline.net and share the screen. You may also utilize the site to play online with friends without using video chat, and you can generate prompts in more than a dozen other languages.
Ticket to Ride
Consider trekking across the globe via Ticket to Ride. Players embark on a cross-country train adventure in which they collect and play matching train cards to claim railway routes connecting cities across North America.
Monopoly
Everyone’s favorite capitalist-minded board game has a nifty app in which your virtual crew can establish its own private session and take turns rolling the dice to see who can acquire the most properties. We recommend sparring over a video-conference call to pump up the party atmosphere.
Game of Thrones
This has long been one of our favorites. Based on the books rather than the TV show, but yet capturing the duplicity and careful planning of both. You play as a member of one of Westeros’ great houses, and your goal is to gain control of the Iron Throne by forging alliances and plotting betrayals. External dangers will be following you and all other players at all times. It’s a lot of fun, and the new digital edition makes it simple to play with friends from afar.
