Best free games to play on a video call with friends

A video call with friends is great for the first twenty minutes and then everyone runs out of things to say. A game fixes that. It gives the call a shape, creates inside jokes and makes silences comfortable. This list covers free games that work well over Zoom, Google Meet, WhatsApp or any other call, split by how much setup they need.

What makes a game work on a call

• Short rounds. Calls drift, so pick games where a round takes five to fifteen minutes.
• Easy to join. If someone needs an account or a download, you will lose them.
• Room for talking. Games with a bit of downtime between turns suit conversation.
• Works on a phone. Half your friends will be on one.

Board games in a private room

This is the easiest route if you want real games with a board. On inkmate you make a room, send the short code, and everyone joins from their own phone or laptop with no sign-up. Keep the call running alongside and chat as you play.

• Ludo: up to six players, with bots filling empty seats. Loud, quick to learn and made for trash talk.
• Snakes and ladders: pure luck, which makes it a good warm-up and a good game for mixed ages.
• Chess: for two, with optional clocks. Pair it with a spectator audience on the call.
• Carrom: a skill game for two, with spectators making noise.
• Toot Boat: a co-op river game for two to six, where the whole call steers one boat. Details in how to play Toot Boat.

No-equipment games

These need nothing but the call itself. They are also good fallbacks when someone has a poor connection.

• Twenty questions. One person thinks of something; the others ask yes-or-no questions to guess it.
• Charades. Act with the camera on and let the others guess. Choose categories such as films or jobs.
• Would you rather. Cheap, quick, and you learn surprising things about people.
• Two truths and a lie. Each person shares three statements, and the group votes on which is false.
• Categories. Pick a letter and a category, such as animals, and go round naming something that fits. Anyone who repeats or stalls is out.

Drawing and guessing games

Drawing works well on a call because bad art is funny. You can share your screen with a plain whiteboard or hold a piece of paper up to the camera, and the others guess. It rewards the worst artists, which makes everyone relaxed. A dedicated Draw and Guess game is on the way on inkmate, and a couple quiz is planned too.

Word and trivia games

• Quizzes you write yourselves. Each person prepares five questions on a topic they love and runs a round.
• Daily word puzzles. Everyone plays the same puzzle and compares notes afterwards.
• Geography or capital cities. Name a place that starts with the last letter of the previous one.

Games for different group sizes

• Two people: chess, carrom, twenty questions and would you rather all shine.
• Three to four: ludo is at its best here, as is categories and a home-made quiz.
• Five to six: use the full six-player ludo board, Toot Boat, or a group charades round.
• More than six: split into teams, with one person playing for each team while the others advise from the call.

How to set up a smooth game night

1. Pick a time and a length. "Thursday at eight, ninety minutes" is more likely to happen than "sometime this week".
2. Send the link or room code ahead of time so nobody is scrambling.
3. Choose one host to pick the next game, so you do not spend ten minutes debating.
4. Mix competitive and cooperative games. A shared-goal game such as Toot Boat evens out the mood after a ruthless ludo round.
5. Keep an eye on time zones. Use a converter and agree on the time in everyone’s local clock.
6. Use headphones. It reduces echo and makes the call far more pleasant.

tip: If your friends are on different devices, test the game once before the big night. A thirty-second trial saves a frustrating start.

A sample evening

Start with five minutes of catching up, then a round of snakes and ladders as a warm-up. Move to a long ludo game while people eat. Finish with a co-op game to wind down, and promise a rematch for next week. If you are planning it for two people rather than a group, our ideas for board game nights for long-distance couples fit better, and families will like games to play with family far away.