As the UK enters national lockdown, here’s your reminder that social distancing, shielding and self isolation rules do not have to mean total isolation.
Loneliness can have a devastating impact on our mental health, leading to depression, low self esteem and feelings of hopelessness. Studies also suggest that loneliness can impact on our bodies ability to fight disease and ups our risk of cardiovascular disease, stroke and Alzheimer’s disease progression.
It’s important that we stay connected.
So where can you hang out with your friends online in 2021? We’ve got you covered.
This is a list of 10 places you can meet up with your friends digitally during lockdown (and beyond). You will need a smartphone and Internet connection to be able to access the apps on the list, but they are all free to download (although some of them do offer optional in-app purchases) through Apple’s App Store and Play Store for Android.
Houseparty
Houseparty is, at face level, a group video-chat app. We’ve seen the use of video-conferencing software soar in popularity throughout the pandemic and it remains one of the best ways to stay in touch with your loved ones. What we like about Houseparty, in particular, is how easy it is to incorporate games into your conference calls.
By clicking the dice icon in the top right corner of your screen during a call, you can start a game like Heads Up! or Quick Draw with your friends. Perfect for people who are video calling night after night and are looking for an easy way to make sure it’s fun for everyone.
Available on iOS, Android and Desktop
UNO!
You no longer need to be in the same room to play UNO! with your friends. The original popular card game is available to play with friends in “classic mode” via the UNO! app. The aim of the game is to be the first player to play all of the cards in their hands, navigating their way around several “Wild Cards” and various strategies other players have employed, remembering to say “Uno” on playing their last but one card as a warning to the other players.
The app brings this popular card game into the digital world and means that you can easily set up a game to play with your loved ones online. You can copy an invite code to send out to your friends and they can join you for a game of UNO!
Available on iOS and Android
Words with Friends
Remember this classic? This app has been around since 2009 and is still one of the most popular mobile games out there. Words with Friends has similar rules to Scrabble, which makes it fairly easy to get to grips with for friends and family of all ages. Players are given 7 letter tiles at random and take turns trying to form words on the board in front of them.
Different letters and different spots on the board add up to different scores and whoever has the most points at the end of the game wins! Words with Friends is a great choice for people who have a busy schedule because you can play up to 30 simultaneous games with different people and turns are not timed – meaning that you can pop into the app whenever you want and unfinished games will still be there. It also has a chat facility so you can send messages to your friends in-app.
Available on iOS and Android
Boggle with Friends
Another modern take on a classic family game, Boggle with Friends allows you to invite your contacts to join you in a game of Boggle from within the app. The goal is to make as many words as you can from a randomly generated 4×4 word grid.
Longer words earn you more points, with words as short as 3 letters getting you 1 point each. The app keeps track of the score for you. You can also challenge random opponents online in the app, if you want to get some practice in before you take on your own friends.
Available on iOS and Android
Draw Something Classic
In this two player game, you can draw pictures for your family and friends, while they try to guess what it is you are drawing. Every turn you’re given 3 words to draw, ranked by difficulty and you have to try to convey that word to your friend in doodle form. Don’t worry if you’re not particularly artistic, that’s part of the fun!
When your turn is over, you’ll get the chance to look back at the guesses your friend made while you were drawing and then it’s your turn to guess.
Available on iOS and Android
Song Pop 2
Great news for music lovers, you can now play Song Pop 2 with friends right from your phone and see who can guess the song fastest from the clip played. Or you can dive into musical trivia together and test your knowledge of your favourite songs and artists.
The game boasts over 100,000 songs from different genres and includes hit songs from artists such as Ariana Grande, Billie Eilish, Cardi B and Taylor Swift as well as classics from the likes of Queen and the Rolling Stones. As well as being able to play against your friends, the app also hosts a daily tournament where you can play against hundreds of people online.
Available on iOS and Android
QuizUp
This app features themed quizzes from hundreds of topics that you can play with your pals or practice against random opponents online (you can match with strangers within the app). Topics range from general knowledge, sports and history to Disney, Game of Thrones and Internet Memes, there really is something for everyone.
Available on iOS and Android
Kahoot!
Allowing you to invite up to 10 players per game (free version), meaning that you could connect with up to 10 households on their own device, Kahoot is a quiz building game. You can create your own questions with either multiple choice or true/false answers and host your own “pub quiz”.
People can log in on their smartphones, tablets or computers using a unique pin that will take them directly to the quiz you have set up. We love the idea of combining this with themed snacks and a video call to create an all inclusive trivia night for your friends and family.
Available on iOS, Android and Desktop.
Psych!
Psych! Is a trivia game with a difference. In each round, you’ll make up fake answers to the quiz questions and try to trick your friends into mistaking them for the real answers. You earn points by being able to spot the real answers yourself and by coming up with fake answers that are convincing enough that your friends select them instead of the real options.
The game also features a deck called “And then the truth comes out” which allows you to answer questions about each other, making for a hilarious evening of getting to know your friends even better.
Available on iOS and Android.
Mario Kart Tour
Being able to play Mario Kart remotely with your friends for free seems almost too good to be true. But, thanks to Mario Kart Tour, you can now race against your friends on your phones.
You will need to sign up to a Nintendo Account and play through the first level of games on your own before the “Friends” option becomes available in the menu (and they will also need Nintendo accounts), but once you’ve done that you can all smash red shells at each other to your hearts’ content.
Available on iOS and Android
