When it comes to hanging out with friends, there are plenty of ways to have fun. This is especially true when you gather together to play games, whether it be a board game or a video game. The only issues that could occur could be you or your friends don’t have a specific game, or that you or your friends are a long distance away. Well, that would be where several browser games could come along, and all of the free games that are mentioned in this article. Keep in mind some games will obviously be “not as good” to their legitimate counterparts, but it is something rather than nothing at all.
OPTION #1: Cards Against Formality [https://www.cardsagainstformality.io/]
If it couldn’t be inferred by the name alone, this serves as a browser alternative to playing Cards Against Humanity. From the initial deep dive done on the website it doesn’t seem like it’d be that bad of an option. The game allows you to play anonymously, along with providing a way to sign in via social media (mainly Google and Facebook). Whatever option you decide to choose you will be tasked then with creating a username, and from there you will be able to get access to the game. There will be many servers listed, but the option you’d want, so you can just play with your friends, is the “Create Room” button. After setting it up as you’d like, the rest should be able to be deduced on your own to get the game rolling. You can have up to a 50-player lobby and select from roughly 30 card sets besides the base set provided.
OPTION #2: Skribbl.io [https://skribbl.io/]
If playing a card game isn’t ideal, another option could be the game Skribbl.io. This game works like Pictionary. You take turns drawing a picture on the screen while the others attempt to guess what it is. The difference in this game from Pictionary is you and your friends can come up with custom words. The setup is quite easy and doesn’t require a login requirement to access either. All it asks for is to simply input a username, select the language you wish to play in, and customize your own avatar to your liking. From there you can create a private room in which, after sending them the private link at the bottom of the page, they can join you too. This game only allows for up to 20 players maximum, but that is surely enough room regardless to have your friend group join in.
OPTION #3: Gartic Phone [https://garticphone.com/]
What if I told you there was a game that is like the Telephone game, but the premise now involves drawing? That’s the premise of Gartic Phone. Just like the previous options, you can log in anonymously without the need to remember any sort of login information, but just like Cards Against Formality, it does feature an authenticated login option. Logging in with an authenticated login seems to make it so only other players who have done the same can access your created lobby. Even though the authenticated login does that, the anonymous option doesn’t allow random people to join either unless they are given the invite link. So, in this case either option should be fine. After logging into the game with either method you are presented with several mode options and a dropdown menu to choose the lobby size. The lobby can range from 4-players maximum to 50, but it doesn’t require that all slots be filled to initiate the game to start.
OPTION #4: Tetr.io [https://tetr.io/]
A final option is the Tetris browser game called Tetr.io. Just like the other options before, you can log in anonymously or register. Keep in mind, if you decide to play anonymously you won’t gain access to a couple of features, but this doesn’t hinder the ability to play with your friends. When you do find your way through the navigation menus you will find out that the game has a lot of options available for customizing the game to your liking. After it is set up you and your friends will be greeted with a free-to-play browser version of Tetris. The craziest thing about this is that if you know enough people you could set up a game involving a 999-player maximum. A very crazy idea to be sure, but a welcomed one if it could be achieved.
These may only be four options that were mentioned in the article, but there are plenty more to find out on the internet. All it would take is a little searching, and who knows what can be found. All in all, regardless of what you choose to do with your friends it will turn out to be a fun experience for everyone involved.