If the coronavirus pandemic has prevented you from gathering your regular tabletop game group for an evening of Cones of Dunshire, it doesn’t have to mean that board games are out of reach. While many of your favorite games may not translate well to video calls, plenty of other titles will shine through — especially if you’re willing to play with friends who have different expectations than you do.
Roll-and-write games like Second Chance or Railroad Ink work well, as do bluffing games such as Mastermind (which you can play with this adapted board). Other great options include association games such as Dixit and Codenames, which require communication of some sort and allow you to learn something about the people you’re playing with (do they like bright colors, for instance?). Association games also work well with solo play. Try a simple logic puzzle app like Stacking, or go old school and play Simon Says — it’s easy enough for kids but a fun way to pass the time.
If you’re a fan of multiplayer games, there are a number of platforms that let you host a video call with up to 10 players at once and have the game run in a browser window. Some of these services, such as Discord and Google Hangouts, integrate with some virtual board games to make them even more fun. Others, such as Big Bang Battleship and Dice Tower’s Boardgamer’s Toolkit, are standalone tools that you can use with whatever video conferencing service your friends prefer to use.