20 of the best online activities to keep you connected while you're away from family and friends

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Darcy SchildApr 29, 2020, 00:40 IST
20 of the best online activities to keep you connected while you're away from family and friends

Instagram's Co-Watching program, Cards Against Humanity, and Mario Kart are just a few features and games that can be enjoyed with friends.Instagram; Penty Photography/Shutterstock; Mario Kart Tour, Nintendo

  • There are many ways to stay connected with friends and family who live in different places.
  • People living apart can watch a movie together using Netflix Party or set up a makeshift trivia night over Zoom or another video-chatting platform.
  • Aside from video calls, playing games like Monopoly, Clue, or Mario Kart with friends is a foolproof way to spend time together, even when you're apart.
  • Insider has rounded up all the best virtual games and activities to let friends, partners, and family members spend time together without leaving home.
  • Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.
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Play the classic dice game Yahtzee with friends, even when you're not together.

Play the classic dice game Yahtzee with friends, even when you're not together.
The multiplayer Yahtzee game. Celia Fernandez/Insider

Yahtzee With Buddies lets users play against people in their contacts.

The app can be downloaded for free on the App Store and via the Google Play Store.

Challenge friends to a round of virtual Battleship without physically setting up a board.

Challenge friends to a round of virtual Battleship without physically setting up a board.
Battleship is traditionally played with tons of tiny pieces. Lora_Aks/Shutterstock

The popular Hasbro game Battleship can be enjoyed at any time thanks to its digital versions, which have multiplayer functions.

It's available for $3.99 on the App Store and $2.49 on the Google Play Store.

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Play a Pictionary-like game on your phone with friends.

Play a Pictionary-like game on your phone with friends.
The app Draw Something Classic. lonniedos/YouTube

The virtual drawing game lets friends and family connect, be creative, and share laughs — making for hours of entertainment.

Draw Something Classic can be downloaded for free on the App Store and Google Play Store.

Invite a friend to do a yoga or exercise video with you while on a video call together.

Invite a friend to do a yoga or exercise video with you while on a video call together.
A woman practicing yoga in Turin, Italy. Nicolò Campo/LightRocket via Getty Images

Schedule a time to have a virtual yoga, meditation, or workout session with your gym buddy, using FaceTime, Facebook Messenger, Zoom, or any preferred app to connect with each other, then pressing "play" on the same exercise video.

YouTube is home to a plethora of workout routines, and at the time of writing, many gyms, studios, and fitness brands — from Nike's Training Club app to the YMCA — have made exercises free and accessible online.

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Create a book club with your friends, or join a book discussion group and connect with new people.

Create a book club with your friends, or join a book discussion group and connect with new people.
In-person book club gatherings may be on hold, but you can still chat about your latest reads with friends virtually. Paramount

Pick a book that you and your friends or family will all read, and set a date on the calendar where you'll discuss the story over video call — with a beverage and snack of choice, perhaps.

You can also join a preexisting book club, or browse for ideas on what to read or discussion ideas on Facebook Groups or Goodreads. Celebrity book lists, such as Reese Witherspoon's monthly book selection, are also great places to start.

Share your computer screen with friends and virtually take a group trip to a world landmark.

Share your computer screen with friends and virtually take a group trip to a world landmark.
Yellowstone National Park can be toured virtually. MARK RALSTON/AFP/Getty Images

Whether it's a digital tour of a US national park like Grand Canyon or Yellowstone, or a cultural excursion to the Louvre, there are tons of ways to virtually explore landmarks around the world without leaving home.

Add friends and family to the mix by inviting a group to chat over Zoom or another app, and have one user share their screen so the whole crew can virtually tour one of many wondrous landscapes or museums available online.

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Play Scattergories with a group of people even when you're at home alone.

Play Scattergories with a group of people even when you're at home alone.
Scattergories is a classic party game. Scattegories/Magmic Inc./App Store

Scattergories, where players brainstorm words that fit a specific category, is most enjoyable with a ton of friends or party-goers. The mobile version is the perfect alternative, as it lets users invite their friends to a virtual "room" and play for hours on end.

The free app can be downloaded on the App Store and Google Play Store.

Challenge your fellow wordsmiths to a game of Words With Friends.

Challenge your fellow wordsmiths to a game of Words With Friends.
The game is essentially a virtual version of Scrabble. OpturaDesign/Shutterstock

Each Words With Friends game has two players, but users can have multiple games in progress at once, making the free app a fun way to stay connected with family and friends while engaging in a little healthy competition.

The classic version of Words With Friends is free and available to be downloaded from the App Store and Google Play Store.

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Use Kahoot! to create quizzes to play with friends.

Use Kahoot! to create quizzes to play with friends.
Kahoot! can be played on mobile and on a web browser. Kahoot!/App Store

Kahoot! has become a popular tool for educators to create engaging, in-class quizzes for students, but it can also be used as a fun way to have virtual trivia sessions with friends and family. Users can create their own quizzes for free and send the link to as many people as they'd like.

Host a trivia night over a video call.

Host a trivia night over a video call.
Host a makeshift "Jeopardy!" trivia game with your friends. Getty/Amanda Edwards

Many trivia fans may be excited to know that the popular game app "HQ Trivia" was recently re-released. While the app itself is not exactly conducive to connecting with real-life friends, there are still creative ways to have trivia sessions with friends.

For example, schedule a time for your group to video call. Pick one caller to be the host, and the other users can be contestants.

Each week, a different person will be the host in charge of brainstorming categories and questions. Other rules like time per question, and how contestants can "buzz in" with their answers, can be determined by the players.

For a more traditional route, download the "Jeopardy!" app, which has a free version for Apple and Android and has a multiplayer function.

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Throw a virtual party over Zoom, where you can catch up with colleagues and friends over video.

Throw a virtual party over Zoom, where you can catch up with colleagues and friends over video.
The app Zoom has surged in popularity with online learning and virtual work meetings. Dominic Lipinski/PA Images via Getty Images

Insider's Kat Tenbarge shared how to throw the ideal Zoom hangout session with friends and family, from using custom backdrops to having stable a WiFi signal that can handle the video call.

Pick a vowel in a game of "Wheel of Fortune" on your phone, which can be played with friends you invite.

Pick a vowel in a game of "Wheel of Fortune" on your phone, which can be played with friends you invite.
There's an app that mimics the famous "Wheel of Fortune" TV show. CBS Television Distribution

Fans of the word puzzle-esque game show "Wheel of Fortune" can play alongside their friends in mobile versions, which are available on Android and Apple. The mobile "Wheel of Fortune" games appear to offer in-app purchases but are free to download.

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Invite a group of card-game enthusiasts to play a round of UNO! online.

Invite a group of card-game enthusiasts to play a round of UNO! online.
UNO! is a nostalgic card game for many. Shutterstock.com

When scrolling endlessly through social media or even having virtual hangouts on Zoom gets old, it doesn't hurt to go back to basics. A classic game of (online) UNO! with friends might be the ideal boredom cure.

Connect using Houseparty, the video-calling app that makes for an easy and fun virtual gathering.

Connect using Houseparty, the video-calling app that makes for an easy and fun virtual gathering.
What the Houseparty app interface looks like. Houseparty

Houseparty allows for up to eight people to be in a video chat, and it can be downloaded for free on phones via the App Store or Google Play Store. The app also comes with a few games, like "Heads Up!" and trivia challenges, which can be played during the video call.

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Challenge friends to Monopoly — without the complicated board-game setup.

Challenge friends to Monopoly — without the complicated board-game setup.
There's nothing like a game of Monopoly. Kirsten Acuna/INSIDER

The Monopoly app brings the board game to any mobile device. Once the game is downloaded, users can play the mobile version of Monopoly with family and friends who also have the app.

It can be purchased for $3.99 on the App Store and Google Play Store.

Race your friends in Mario Kart Tour, which is available to play on mobile with up to seven players.

Race your friends in Mario Kart Tour, which is available to play on mobile with up to seven players.
A view from Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. Nintendo

Channel your inner Princess Peach with a mobile version of the beloved game Mario Kart, where you can invite other players to race you in adventurous courses.

The game is available to download for free on the App Store and Google Play Store. It contains optional in-app purchases, and in order to play, users must have a Nintendo account.

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Scroll through Instagram memes with friends by using the app's new Co-Watching feature.

Scroll through Instagram memes with friends by using the app's new Co-Watching feature.
Explore Instagram while video-calling with friends. Instagram

Co-Watching, a new addition to Instagram, is available to users who are video-chatting in the app. It lets users see the same screen and look through a fellow video-caller's liked photos and bookmarked and suggested posts, which is meant to mimic the experience of scrolling through the app together in person, according to Business Insider reporter Paige Leskin.

Gather a team of detectives and solve a mystery with a digital version of Clue.

Gather a team of detectives and solve a mystery with a digital version of Clue.
Characters in the Clue game. Clue/Marmalade Game Studio/App Store

The Clue app is reminiscent of the Hasbro board game. Players can pick from iconic characters like Mrs. Peacock and Colonel Mustard as they solve a variety of entertaining, mysterious scenarios.

The game is available on the App Store and Google Play Store for $3.99.

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Try out Netflix Party, which lets multiple users watch a TV show or movie at the same time.

Try out Netflix Party, which lets multiple users watch a TV show or movie at the same time.
Popcorn makes any movie night complete. Rosana Prada / Flickr

Netflix Party is a new feature that can be added as a Google Chrome browser extension. Once it's been downloaded, a Netflix user can host a "party" by inviting friends, family members, coworkers, or anyone they'd like to watch a TV show or movie with them at the same time.

Members of the virtual party can also talk via chat box as a way of sharing commentary throughout the film or episode.

Invite your friends to an online game of Cards Against Humanity.

Invite your friends to an online game of Cards Against Humanity.
The popular card game is sort of like Apples to Apples for adults. Nicholas Carlson/Business Insider

Cards Against Humanity, the game that involves fill-in-the-blank cards and humorous categories, can be played online here.

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