What can I play online with one friend?

Whether it’s puzzling strategy games or hilarious battle royales, the amount of free online games you can play with friends is growing quickly. 

As an international student, these fun online games can be an excellent way to stay connected to family and friends back home. Or, they can offer a cheap and entertaining night-in with local friends (or, a way to meet new people!).

With a huge variety of games to choose from, such as free online card games or team-focused strategy games, there is a game to suit all tastes. Let’s take you through some of the best free online multiplayer games to try.

Gartic Phone

Genre: Guessing/strategy 

Number of players: Up to 30

Best feature: It’s extremely easy to play

Gartic Phone, a.k.a. The Telephone Game, is a hilarious mix of Pictionary and a game of ‘whispers’ (which you might remember from your childhood). Players draw a picture or write a sentence based on what another player has drawn or written, resulting in very weird and funny misunderstandings. There are also a huge number of additional mini-games offered by Gartic Phone.

You can play with friends in a group of up to 30. Or, join a group of strangers and challenge people across the globe.

MultiVersus

Genre: Platform fighter

Number of players: Up to 4

Best feature: The beautiful visuals and the iconic characters you can play as (with new ones being added all the time)

Batman versus Arya Stark? Steven Universe versus Bugs Bunny? MultiVersus is a cross-platform, free online multiplayer fighting game, where you play as characters from across the Warner Bros. roster (like characters from DC and Cartoon Network).

You can co-operate with your friends in a 2v2 match, or try a battle royale where you all compete against each other.

League of Legends

Genre: Multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA)

Number of players: 1-5

Best feature: The enormous variety of characters (there are 161 to choose from!)

If you’re looking for online games to play with friends that require some practice and skill, League of Legends (LoL) is the perfect option. This extremely popular game relies on teamwork to defend your own ‘Nexus’ and destroy opposing teams. There are more than 140 unique ‘champions’ to play as, which allows you to find your favourite playstyle and master it. For example, if you’d prefer a character that can fight from a distance, there’s an option for that. Maybe you’d rather have a sneaky character with powers of invisibility – there are champions that do that, too!

League of Legends will guarantee that you and your friends stay in contact, no matter the distance, through in-game communication. You can make new friends this way, too.

Among Us

Genre: Survival

Number of players: 4-15

Best feature: Hilarious discussions

Do you think you can trust your friends? Among Us might be the best online game to put that trust to the test…

Among Us is an atmospheric survival game where you are joined by up to 15 players. Use your deception and detective skills to work out who among your group of players is a killer. Players meet for discussion throughout the game, which leads to some hilarious accusations. Among Us is free on iOS and Android. 

Brawl Stars

Genre: MOBA

Number of players: 1-3

Best feature: Portability

Brawl Stars is a fun game to play with your friends online while you’re on the move (like when you’re stuck on public transport) as it’s available for free on iOS and Android phones. One of the best things about Brawl Stars is that each match takes up to five minutes, so you can sneak in a quick game before a lecture starts or during a study break.

Fortnite

Genre: Battle royale 

Number of players: Up to 4 per team

Best feature: Celebrity ‘skins’ you can dress your character in (see if you can spot any Ariana Grande or Keanu Reeves as John Wick lookalikes in-game)

Famous for the viral dance trends it has spawned, Fortnite is one of the world’s most popular battle-style games, with thousands of concurrent players every day. There are three game modes, but only Battle Royale and Creative are free to play. Battle Royale is a player-versus-player battle, where you fight to survive against 99 other contestants. In Creative, you can create and publish your own custom islands, or explore the islands of others in the online community.

It’s easy to play with friends, and you can even join the same game regardless of the console you’re using.

Board Game Arena

Genre: Everything from multiplayer board games to card games

Number of players: It depends!

Best feature: The variety of games available

Board Game Arena is a free online multiplayer game that gives you access to hundreds of board games, allowing you to enjoy your favourite board games with your buddies, even if you’re not in the same room (or country!). You can pick from classic games like CATAN and Yahtzee, or discover something new.

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While we currently live in a world filled with video games and ways to connect virtually, it can feel like there aren’t that many online games to play with friends when you’re not actually with them in real life. Game nights can bring out our most competitive side and allow for seriously fun evenings, but what happens when you’re in separate houses, the last game was a tie and you need to clench a victory? (Everybody likes to win, OK?) Even figuring out how to play old-school board or card games over video chat can be a difficult situation. Thanks to a little virtual digging, though, we discovered 21 different games you can play both online and with your friends. Forget the computer-generated opponent — Now you can easily have a virtual game night with your BFFs.

Seriously, there are so many ways to play online games with your friends that are interactive, fun and — in some cases — totally free. Gather your pals for a night of card games similar to Apples to Apples and Cards Against Humanity. Or, stick with classic games like UNO! or Checkers. There’s no wrong way to play these virtual group games, so go ahead and pick your favorite. The only thing that truly makes online games better is getting to share them with your loved ones. Sure, things are starting to slowly open back up, but many of us are still stuck at home, so why not continue game night traditions or late-night friend hangouts virtually?

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Courtesy of HiddenCity.

1. Moriarty’s Game: A Killer in the Hive

HiddenCity’s recently launched Moriarty’s Game: A Killer in the Hive allows you to immerse yourself in a modern adaptation of the iconic Sherlock Holmes stories in the comfort of your own home. The immersive 90-minute game transforms players into private investigators, planning undercover operations, luring in potential suspects, and hacking security systems with the guidance of Private Investigator Kayla Watson. Best of all, players are able to play with friends in teams of one to five players, whether in the same house or remotely via video call.

Moriarty's Game: A Killer in the Hive $15

2. Quiplash On Jackbox Games

Quiplash is a great online option that gets everyone in a group involved, and can easily be played on a PC, Mac or Linux computer. Everyone tries to write the funniest answer to a question, each person then votes and a winner of the round is declared. You can play Quiplash easily with members of your household or friends who are far away.

3. Sims 4 Multiplayer

Because technology is ridiculously innovative, you can now play Sims 4 with other players online. You have to download the Sims 4 multiplayer mod, and then you’re good to meet up with your BFFs virtually and hang out in the Sims world.

4. Skribbl

Skribbl is kind of like a combination of Pictionary and trivia. Once you create a private room on the site for your friends, you choose a word from the list provided and attempt to draw it—in 80 seconds. Everyone else has to guess what you’re drawing. If you’re an artist, this is your time to shine, baby.

5. GamePigeon

The GamePigeon app lets you play different games online with your phone—so you don’t need a gaming device or even a computer. Available right now are 8-Ball (pool), Poker, Sea Battle (which is basically Battleship) and several more. These games are only two-player, though, so best if you just want to play with one other person!

Cláudio Luiz Castro/Unsplash.

6. Mario Kart Tour

The Mario Kart Tour app allows you to race your friends at high speeds. It’s basically like playing video games IRL, except this time, you’re all on your phones.

7. GameFly

If you have a gaming console at home, you’re in luck. GameFly rush delivers everything from classic games from Zelda to Star Wars to recent releases like Disaster Report 4 and Resident Evil 3 to your door. With a free trial for every game, you can test-drive games and only pay for what you want to keep. Depending on your console, newer games allow you to play directly against friends online. Old school game fans can just Zoom their friends when they cue up Super Mario Party.

8. Checkers

If you’re into a one-on-one virtual game, you can play Checkers online while catching up with a friend or family member. This is especially nice for interacting virtually with someone who might not be as up-to-date on technology.

9. Crazy Eights

Re-live your childhood with the classic card game Crazy Eights. Just send your room link to your friends or family members, and you’re ready to play.

10. Chips & Guac on Houseparty

If you use Houseparty to video chat with your friends, you’re going to want to try out their game Chips & Guac. It’s similar to Apples to Apples, so if you love games where you choose the best card to match another one, you’ll love this game.

Courtesy of Uno.

11. UNO!

UNO! has always been an iconic card game , and now you can play it virtually with your loved ones. It works just like it would IRL, only you play with virtual cards. Simple. As. That.

12. Communal Puzzles

Because apparently anything is possible, you can do jigsaw puzzles with your friends online. This might be the most relaxing virtual game in existence.

13. Clue

Now you can play your favorite board game from childhood virtually with all your friends. The app does cost $3.99, but that’s a small price to pay for endless hours of mystery fun, right?!

14. Drawful 2 On Jackbox Games

For a limited time Jackbox Games is offering their game Drawful 2 for free, so you can play with your friends while social distancing. The game basically prompts you to draw different (often ridiculous) things on your tablet or smartphone. You can even play Jackbox Games remotely on Zoom, if that’s your preferred method of video chatting.

15. Oregon Trail

OK, so Oregon Trail might be just a one-player game, but nothing is stopping you from playing while on the phone or video chatting with your friends! Just start at the same time and narrate your journey to one another. You can play online for free and try to avoid dysentery at all costs.

16. Psych

With the game app Psych you can get on your phone and play with your friends while also video chatting. You and your BFFs make up fake answers to trivia questions, and then let one player try and guess which answer is actually true. If you want to get personal, too, there’s an option that allows you to make up answers to questions about your friends—so you can see who really knows you.

17. Scattergories

If you’ve ever played the game Categories, this online version works the same way. All you have to do is pick a category (like books, types of sodas, fruits—You get the picture.) and have everyone name something in that category. The first person who can’t think of anything is out. If you’d rather not come up with your categories, though, you can rely on this Scattergories generator to help out. (It also makes for a really fun drinking game!)

18. Online Bingo

You might think Bingo is just for retirement homes, but it’s low-key very fun. And now, thanks to this online bingo card generator, you can play with your friends while you talk on Zoom. It’s completely free, and you can have up to 30 (!!!) players. If you have a bigger group, though, there’s the option to pay for an extra 70 cards. Huge friend groups, rejoice!

19. Stay The F*ck Inside

Stay the Fuck Inside is a virtual drinking game actually created for social distancing. For $4.99, you get 150 different cards with games like “dare or drink” and “categories” that you and your friends can play virtually. The game allows as many players as you want, so if your Zoom is getting full, this might be the option for you.

20. QuizUp

Available for both iOS and Android, QuizUp isn’t your average trivia game. There are topics ranging from Disney trivia and The Simpsons trivia—and even Game of Thrones trivia. (!!!) Text your pals and tell them to meet you on the app, and let the games begin. You also easily turn this one into a virtual drinking game. Cheers!