Teleworking has made digital nomads out of most of us. One of the downsides to everyone working remotely is that it’s difficult to organize virtual games for large groups in the office.
If you thought team building activities are a frivolous pursuit that eats into the work hours, remember that saying, All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. You wouldn’t want to boast about your business employing an unhappy and unimaginative workforce now, would you?
In this post, I’ll be talking about some of the best virtual games for large groups that can be on Zoom or any other digital platform.
Read more: 30 And Above Virtual Holiday Party Ideas That Your Remote Teams Will Love
1. What are virtual games for large groups?
Virtual games for large groups refer to online games that 10+ or more people can take part in. These games generally include trivia, quizzes, puzzles, mystery games or breaking out of a digital escape room. There are even online versions of laser tag and paintball that require participants to join in on any video conferencing platforms.
Those games that are played online have a different set of requirements to those in person. For one, you’ll need a moderator and host to walk participants through any instructions and tutorials. If you’re playing the online version, tactical gear is optional to whoever wants to dress up, while in person, you may be asked to suit up or wear a particular kind of clothing or footwear for outdoorsy or sports games.
2. Best Virtual Games for Large Groups
2.1 Virtual Trivia
Virtual Trivia is an excellent game to have a little competition between the participants. It’s a simple game where you respond to questions on different topics and divide the members into multiple teams. The winning team is the one that answers the most questions correctly.
It is a great online game for large groups that can be played on Zoom or any other platform. Moreover, you can even notch up the competition. For example, you can eliminate the lowest-scoring teams in every round and provide the prize to the winner. Some of the most popular virtual trivia websites are VGN Quizzes, Quiz Witz, etc.
2.2 Cribs Quiz
This game is loosely based on MTV Cribs. In this game, participants have to click a picture of their living room, and the others have to guess whose “crib” it is. The person with the correct guesses wins. But you have to get the pictures from the participants before the game starts and file it correctly so as to not get them mixed up.
2.3 Spaceteam
Spaceteam is a fun game that requires collaboration from the team members. Though this game requires 2-8 members, you can create multiple teams. First, all the groups will commandeer virtual spacecrafts. Then, they will be given instructions which they must follow and outrun an exploding star. Following that, you can crown every space team that accomplishes its mission as the winner. This game was a lot of fun and we played two more iterations of it so that the other team members had a chance to play as the ship’s captain!
2.4 Large Group Icebreakers
Icebreakers can be played as a warm-up activity before every team meeting. These games lighten up the mood and make the members more engaged. For instance, you can start a session by asking everyone’s favorite dish or favorite music band.
Through virtual icebreakers, my team found out about my sweet tooth and fondness for red velvet cheesecakes. A few other secret and not-so-secret tidbits got out too! It was quite fun learning more about each other and what we thought we already knew!
Some of the most popular icebreakers games are- “Most Likely To,” “Never Have I Ever,” etc.
2.5 Monster Hunter
Monster Hunter is a combination of popular games like escape rooms and murder mysteries. First, you need to divide your group into smaller teams and provide a name for each team. Then, each team will solve puzzles and find clues to locate “monsters.” Finally, there will be a “boss monster” at the end, and the team that finds the last monster wins.
The International Monster Hunter is a 90-minute game that you can play with groups of all sizes. This is one of the best Zoom games for large groups. All it needs is a skillful host to keep all participants engaged.
2.6 Scavenger Hunt
For a more active game, Scavenger Hunt is a good choice. To host a virtual scavenger hunt, you need to compile a list of items and challenges for teams to complete.
We played a “Things you find at the beach” scavenger hunt which asked players to hunt for items or pictures of
- Sun hat
- Shades
- Bathing suit
- Palm trees and
- Sandcastles
You can even set a hunt time limit and let teams fulfill as many items and challenges as possible before time runs out. The team that finishes the most things or challenges wins.
2.7 Murder Mystery
If you love solving crime and catching killers, then murder mysteries are the perfect game for you. To play, you will assign a role to every player. They’ll either be part of the detective crew, witnesses or suspects. You’ll need to give specific information about their character to help them get their head in the game. The players must find out who the murderer is. If their guess is right, consider it a mystery solved!
Some of the best free murder mystery games are Sour Grapes of Wrath, Way Out West, Murder On the Menu, etc.
2.8 I-Spy
I-Spy is one of those great games that can be taken to new heights as the items you can spy are virtually endless. The more elaborate your backdrop, the more fun and challenging this game will be.
In this game, the host will detect an item on someone else’s Zoom window and they’ll give out hints which the other players have to use to identify the item. This game tests everybody’s attentiveness as well!
2.9 At The Races
At The Races is a virtual game where you can enjoy the excitement of a horse racing competition from your homes. You can train your horse, place bets during the game, and cheer them to victory against your colleagues.
This game can be played by as many as 200 people for 60 minutes. All you need to do is buy a plan and send the link to the participants.
2.10 Desert Island
Desert Island is one of the best virtual games for large groups. In this game, players are divided into teams, and everyone will be left on an island. On that island, they have to find hidden keys by solving riddles and puzzles. There will be a key to a boat that they must find to escape from the island. The team that escapes first wins.
This game requires each person to pay $22 to get registered. It accommodates more than 100 people and lasts for an hour.
2.11 Inquest
Can you put your sleuthing skills to the test to find out what happened to Scott Davies?
Get ready for a fantastic virtual experience that revolves around Scott’s murder. After the open verdict was passed, a new inquest was called. In this game, you and your team will follow the evidence alongside a police archivist and a coroner and try to solve the case.
This game can be played by 20 persons for one show (maximum nine shows). After each show, a team will pass on the findings to the next group. By the end of the 9th show, the murderer has to be found.
2.12 Amazing Race
In this game, you and your team will hop on a journey and travel around the world. While doing so, you will have to solve mysteries from “real-life clues” facilitated by live hosts.
About 100 people can play this game at a time and it requires each person to pay $25 for participation. The maximum time limit is 60 minutes.
2.13 Man on the Moon
Man on the Moon is a space adventure game that incorporates virtual assistants, props that you can control from your keyboard.
My team and I played this game last summer. We were a bunch of 25 people who embarked on the very first virtual space journey in our lives. We engaged with a host during the game and worked together to launch a rescue mission and save a stranded astronaut on the “Moon.”
2.14 Jury Duty
This game is a one-of-a-kind virtual courtroom game. This exciting game unfolds the truths of the actual courtroom and makes you live the life of a juror for some time.
We tried our hands at this game as well. I guess it was in early March when I signed up my guys for the game. We were 18 people, and it took around $600 for a show. And from my experience, I can say that the game kept us on our toes. We could feel how actual jurors think and what it takes to pass the verdict.
The game gave us the opportunity to see how everybody strategized.
2.15 Cards Against Humanity
This is another classic game. Cards Against Humanity is a simple but entertaining game that is sure to make everyone laugh. The host will draw a card at random while the others submit their ideas for the funniest answer.
This game can be played on any of the virtual platforms. There are online versions of the game, but you can also create your version of responses for the extra hilarity.
2.16 Psych
Psych is a free virtual game that can be played by groups of all sizes. All you need is to download the app or the desktop version of the app. Following that, you can create trivia questions or select questions from the list. But make sure to provide silly answers to those questions. The players have to guess the correct answer. The person with the most guesses will win.
2.17 Wildgoose
Wildgoose is a scavenger hunt game that lets you travel across the world. You can embark on your very own adventure from your living room with a murder mystery, an escape room, and more online games for virtual teams.
The game requires you to pay $17 per person for registration. Following that, you and your team can enjoy the game for 60 minutes.
2.18 Heads Up!
This is a simple and accessible game. As a group, all the members have to download the app and take turns one by one. You can even form teams. For example, a person will hold their mobile over their eyes, and the other has to provide examples and try to make the person guess the word displayed on the phone. The person with the most guesses will win.
2.19 Guess Who!
Guess Who is an easy to play and easy to set up game. You and your team can play this over a Zoom call. All you need to do is decide on a category of person (profession, TV show, nationality, etc.). Following that, you will write your choices down. Finally, the others will guess the person with a series of yes or no questions.
2.20 Among Us
This game has swept the world by storm. It is free to download, and everyone can play it over a video call. In addition, you can create custom rooms for 4-10 participants each when there are many people.
Among Us is a simple game. All the participants will be virtual astronauts who are trying to fulfill mission tasks. There will be one imposter among the members. The imposter will try to undo all the work. For instance, if you are a member then you have to fing=d the imposter. Or if you are the imposter then you will have to remain undetected till the end.
2.21 Charades
Charades is one of the classic games for large groups. In virtual charades, you can use an online word generator to find different words. The premise is simple- find a word, assign it to a person secretly. That person has to act out to make others guess the word. The person who has the most correct answers wins.
2.22 Masked Singer
For those with a musical flair, you can host your very own version of Masked Singer on Zoom. All you have to do is ask everyone to blackout their screens and then elect someone as a singer. After the song, others have to guess who that singer was.
2.23 Pictionary
This is another classic. And like most others, our team has also played Pictionary on multiple occasions. We used the platform Scribble to play the game. All the members joined the room created by me. Then a random person was given three choices. He/she had to choose a word and then draw it on the virtual board. The timer was set to one minute, and everyone else had to guess the word within that time. The person with the most points was declared the winner.
2.24 Read My Lips
Read my lips is an alternative take on Pictionary, and it can be played on Zoom or any other virtual platform. First, the host will select a topic and give it to a participant. Then, that person has to mute the mic and say the word. You can even set the timer for this game to one minute. After that, the others have to guess the word, and the winner will be the one with the correct guesses.
2.25 Two Truths and a Lie
This is another simple yet classic game. The members will tell two truths and one lie about them. Then, the others have to guess the lie. The person with correct answers wins.
3. FAQs
3.1 Which are the best free virtual games for large groups?
Here is a list of the best free virtual games for large groups:
- Cards Against Humanity
- Heads Up!
- Trivia
- Psych
- Guess Who!
- Among Us!
- Masked Singer
- Murder Mystery
- Scavenger Hunt
3.2 How to select the best game to play?
Since you’ll be playing these games with many people, you can create a poll on some 10-20 games and send it via email to every member. Following that, you can select the games that received the most votes.
3.3 How to set up an online game for large groups?
Follow these steps to set up an online game for your group:
- Select a date for the game meeting
- Send invites to everyone in advance.
- Choose a platform such as Zoom or Skype.
- Take opinions on the selection of games.
- Ask everyone to bring snacks if they want.
- Make it engaging and lively.
