Phones can bring the family together!
Being on your phone at a party or family gathering used to be viewed as a major social faux pas. This remains the case in many social circles, but more and more often these days the smartphone is being embraced (or perhaps folks are just giving up the fight).
But when the phones come out, it doesn’t necessarily mean everyone’s got to retreat into their social feeds. There’s a number of great apps that can bring everyone together for some fun around the holidays.
We’ve included a couple options that use a Chromecast-enabled TV, along with a tried and tested classic to show off that new Daydream View or Samsung Gear VR that little Jimmy got from Santa Claus.
- Psych!
- Who Can’t Draw?
- Teledoodle
- Charades
- Ticket To Ride
- Cardcast
- Big Web Quiz
- Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes!
Psych!
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Psych is a game of trivia and bluffing where everyone comes up with a fake answer to the question, and then try and guess which is the real answer. You get points for picking the right answer, or if someone picks your answer. It’s very similar to games like Balderdash or Fibbish.
This game requires that all players have the app loaded onto their own phones, along with a solid internet or Wi-Fi connection. There are in-app purchases to unlock new categories, or decks, but there’s enough variety in what’s included for free for an evening’s worth of fun.
Download: Psych (Free)
Who Can’t Draw?
Get your friends and family to flex their artistic skills (or lack of said skills) and find out Who Can’t Draw. The first artist gets a word and does their best to draw a picture of that word. The phone is then passed around the room, with each person trying to do their best to copy the drawing they were passed… in just 15 seconds. It’s essentially a sketching version of the old schoolyard game of telephone. Once the phone reaches the last person in the game, they must try and guess what the original word.
At the end of each round, you’re shown a results page with everyone’s drawing. It’s hilarious to see how the interpretation changes from person to person, as guessed word and the original word are rarely the same.
Download: Who Can’t Draw? (Free)
Teledoodle
Another social drawing game, Teledoodle is a mobile version of Telestrations that can be played on a single device with up to 8 people. Drawers get up to a minute to create their masterpieces, but it’s ultimately up to the guesser to determine what was drawn. That guess is then passed to another drawer who must interpret what they are given so on and so on until everyone has had a turn. Then, it’s time to see how the drawings and guesses progressed, often with outrageous results.
Download: Teledoodle (Free)
Charades
Love it or hate it, charades is a classic party game that’s perfect for all ages. The Charades app takes the format and brings it into the 21st century by holding your phone up to your forehead and having your friends and family act out or try to give you clues for the word on the screen. With over 44 categories available in this free-to-play app, there’s a ton of fun to be had.
You might have played this game as Heads Up, which is typically what we would recommend here, but according to reports from the Google Play Store, a recent update has caused the app to become unstable for many users. If you find it working fine for you, it’s another great option.
Download: Charades (Free)
Ticket To Ride
The award-winning train-based board game is a household favorite around these parts, and it’s also got an outstanding, fully-licenced app for Android. It’s a great little game to play with up to four other friends, featuring pass-and-play for playing on a single device, or local area network options if everyone has the app on their own phone. Setup and play time is short and brisk thanks to all the card dealing and pieces being handled digitally, making an excellently designed game even more fun to play.
This is a paid app, with in-app purchases to unlock other game boards. Given the price of the physical version of the game, the combo that includes all expansions and versions is a great deal that increases the game’s replayability tenfold.
Download: Ticket To Ride ($2.99)
Cardcast
If you’ve got a Chromecast, you’ve also got a digital version of Cards Against Humanity to play as a two-screened experience with your TV and phones. It’s an open-sourced game that actually allows you to go in and create your own decks to play with if you so desire, or choose a deck from the deep database of user-created decks. Up to 10 people can play at one time, and players are free to connect or disconnect in the middle of a game.
If you’re not familiar with CAH, it’s notorious for its not-safe-for-work content. However, one of the benefits of Cardcast is that you can find a family-friendly deck to play, so that Granny isn’t offended… unless of course you’ve got a pretty cool Granny.
Download: Cardcast (Free)
Big Web Quiz
Another quick and fun game to play on the Chromecast, Big Web Quiz is a fast and fun quiz game with cross-platform compatibility — whether your friends and family are on iOS or Android, everyone is able to download the app and connect to the Chromecast.
Up to six people can connect up and play. Everyone watches the screen for the question, then uses their phone to answer. It’s a fun, colorful app filled with interesting and quirky trivia.
Download: Big Web Quiz (free)
Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes!
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_dNn7aQbmQ?modestbranding=0&html5=1&rel=0&autoplay=0&wmode=opaque&loop=0&controls=1&autohide=0&showinfo=0&theme=dark&color=red&enablejsapi=1]
It’s not too often we get to recommend a VR game for a party or social gathering given how isolating a typical VR experience is… but Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes is far from your typical VR game. It’s an intense game of bomb defusal that looks to recreate those movie moments where the main character gets diffusal instructions over the walkie talkie.
Available for both the Samsung Gear VR and Google’s Daydream View, one person straps the VR headset on and gets to look and manipulate the bomb, while everyone else in the room consults the bomb manual (downloadable for free from BombManual.com. Can your family or friends work together to defuse the bomb before it goes off? This game is quite stressful at times, but also a lot of fun.
If you’re playing on a Samsung Gear VR, you’ll need to download from the Oculus Store. If you’re playing on a Daydream View with your Pixel phone, you’ll want to download the version from the Google Play Store.
Download Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes from Google Play ($9.99)
Download Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes from Oculus Store ($9.99)
Anything we missed?
Got a party classic that didn’t make our list? Let us know in the comments below!
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