33 Fun Family Games To Play Over Facetime

Collage of fun family games to play ove facetime.

We've all been getting used to communicating with people over Facetime (or Zoom, or Skype) these days. Whether you're trying to keep your kids occupied through a lockdown, or you're attempting to connect with grandparents who live far away, video calls can really help.

After you've caught up on the gossip, what can you do to keep the conversation going? Why not give one of these games a go? We've got 33 different fun and exciting games that you can play over Facetime with the whole family! Take your pick of board games, conversation games, digital games, and some other great option.

Jump to:

Battleships

A close up of a battleship board with 4 blue boats, 5 white pegs and 1 red peg sitting in the bow of a ship — source: Shutterstock

While you might be used to playing board games in person, there are some that really lend themselves to playing over a video call. Battleships is one of these, as you don't want the other player to see your board anyway! Get ready to sink some ships!

Would you rather?

a boy and a girl stand in front of a large sheet of paper covered in colored post it notes, one green and one yellow counter — Source: Playtivities

This is another board game that you can play via Facetime as long as both sides of the call have a copy of the board. You can download the printables here, and find the instructions for this fun question game.

Guess Who?

If choosing between mugshots is more your kind of thing than sinking plastic boats, then you'll need two copies of this game. Why not ship a copy to the grandparents as a surprise for them to play with the grandkids on the next call?

Balderdash

Do you have a friend who's good at spinning tall tales? Then why not break out Balderdash at your next video chat date? Your perfect party game, get ready to try and convince your buddies of completely made-up things about you!

Pictionary

a small child in a blue shirt uses a red pen to write on a white board. She has drawn a sun with a smiley face — Source: Game On Family

Pictionary is quintessential family game night fun! The great thing is that it's pretty easy to play over Facetime, too! You can either make your own version with Game on Family's instructions, or you can buy it ready-made.

Boggle

This classic word game works well over a video call. Fire up Skype or Facetime, share the screen of whoever has the Boggle board, and get your timer ready. Boggle is a brilliant word game for all ages, as it also helps younger players with their spelling skills.

Chess

Learning chess is a life skill, that you can use to make friends and build relationships for years. Chess is the perfect game to play over Facetime. You can challenge the grandparents or hone your skills with your friends.

Extreme spoons

a family sit around a low table in front of an open fire. there is a bowl of popcorn, water glsses and some playing cards. A girl in a grey shirt is raising her hands in victory — Source: Shutterstock

Technically a card game rather than a board game, Extreme spoons is a really fun game that you can adapt to play over a Facetime call. Each player needs a spoon and their own deck of cards. You can find the detailed instructions from Mary Hanna Wilson.

Hilarious mouth game

a family face the camera wearing dental mouth seperators — Source: Playtivities

This family game from 2016 is still one of the funniest games you can play in person or via Facetime. All you'll need is a mouth retractor for each player and these phrases cards for a lot of laughs!

Shout it!

the top image shows a middle aged man looking confused. The bottom image shows a family around a table holding cards — Source: Playtivities

Another of our favourites, this game is rarely sitting in our cupboard on game night! The bonus? It also works pretty well over a video call. You can find all of the printables you need here, as well as the simple rules.

Charades

a hand holds a phone. On the phone are 3 faces in a facetime call — Source: Shutterstock

A classic for a reason, charades isn't the boring game you might remember from holiday celebrations as a kid. With the right selection of movies or books to guess and just enough enthusiasm, this party game is a great way to connect with friends and family who are far away.

Hangman

Simple enough for even the youngest family member to join in, hangman is a great long-distance game to play. Simply take it in turns to think of a word and get the rest of the team to guess it before you've drawn all of the hanging man.

Imaginary Traveler

A laptop is open and on the screen is azoom call with 7 panels filled with smiling faces — Source: Shutterstock

This fun word game encourages creativity and often ends up with everyone in fits of giggles! Take it in turns to go through the alphabet picking somewhere to travel and something to take. For example "I am going to Antarctica and I'm taking an apple".

Clap the song

2 children sit cross-legged on a bed looking at a tablet propped up. — Source: Hands on as we Grow

Great for music buffs, clap the song needs no prep, no resources, just some willing participants. Simply clap the tune of a song and get the rest of the group to guess what it is. You can stick to clapping, or branch out into humming if you're feeling like mixing it up!

Two truths and a lie

The text reads "Truth or Lie? "I've climbed six mountains". The image is of a mountain range with trees and grass in teh foreground — Source: Hobby Lark

This is a really good game for teenagers, but also for your grandpa who thinks he can fool everyone. Everyone picks 2 truths and a lie about themselves and the rest of the group have to guess which is which. There are loads of ideas here to help with your inspiration.

Scattegories

Fancy a game that challenges your brain cells? Scattegories is a great option to play in a group over Facetime. Free Home School Deals has some printable sheets for a whole evening of category fun!

Never have I ever

4 teenagers sit on the floor of a yard, smiling at each other — Source: Shutterstock

While you might be more used to playing this game with your friends as a drinking game, or with your mates as a teenager, Never have I ever can also be a great family game to play over your Zoom call. Just keep the categories clean and you can find out loads about your relatives.

Find me something

a youjng girl sits at a table holding onto a tablet. She is looking at the camera with a srprised expression on her face. In the background are some soft toys and lego — Source: Shutterstock

If you're struggling to try and find ways for your younger children to engage via a Zoom call, then this simple game might help. Get the grown up on the other end of the call to challenge the child to go searching their house for something. For example: "Find me...something blue", or "find me a red piece of clothing".

Last letter

on a yellow background are building blocks with letters on, spelling out "Last game" — Source: Shutterstock

Another simple conversation game, Last Letter is easy to play over a video call. Think of a category and say a word that falls into that category. The next person has to come up with a word from the same category that starts with the last letter of that word, and so on until someone gets stuck.

Just a minute

the image is split into 3. The first shows emojis bouncing in front of a phone. The second shows a boy in a green-starred shirt wearing headphones and looking up at the sky with his fists raised in victory. The third is a girl sat on a sofa playing a game on a tablet — Source: Two Scots Abroad

Do you think you know your stuff? Can you ramble on about any old subject? Then you'll be ace at Just a Minute where you have to talk for 60 seconds without hesitation, repetition or "umm-ing and ahh-ing". Find some great ideas for topics here.

Zoomed in

A split screen with a small photo of a stag in the top left hand corner and a close up of the stag's antlers in the main shot — Source: Nerds Chalk

This game is perfect for the beady-eyed, observant family members in your midst. Zoomed in is pretty much exactly what it sounds like, involving sharing your screen within a zoom call to guess what a picture is. Find out more at Nerds Chalk.

Photo scavenger hunt

a brunette girl in a pink shirt sits at a garden table holding a small photo — Source: Craftaholics anonymous

Having digital devices at our fingertips can be great for gaming too. If you're keen to get your kids out and about in a safe way, but you still want to connect with long-distance family, then why not try a photo scavenger hunt? These kind of activities are perfect for a zoom call, as you can send photos to each other and chat as you search. Find out how to run an ace scavenger hunt here.

Draw something

If you're looking for an app-based game to play over Zoom then Draw Something is a great choice. A sort of online Pictionary, you choose a word to draw for your friends and they see it appear on their screen as you draw.

Caribu

Another ingenious app, Caribu was developed to help make video calls more interactive. You can read, play games and draw together while on a call. This is particularly great for younger family members, to help keep them engaged.

Heads Up!

The last app on our list, Heads Up from Warner Bros is a hilarious guessing game that even Ellen DeGeneres is playing! Download it onto your phone and try to guess the word on your head from your friends' clues. With all sorts of categories, it'll keep you entertained for hours!

30 day lego challenge

a child in a yellow shirt kneels on a carpetted floor putting together a lego model with a book of instrctions — Source: The Shirley Journey

If you're anything like me then you probably have at least 47 different lego sets laying around the house. The Shirley Journey has a 30-day lego challenge printable that can keep you and your kids' friends busy on your next Zoom call. You might even get to drink a cup of tea!

Simon Says

If you're looking for something that requires absolutely no prep, or even advance thought, then this is for you. Simon Says simply involves one person giving an instruction and the others following it. The catch? You only follow the instruction if it's prefaced by "Simon Says...", otherwise you ignore it. See who gets caught out first!

Dance Party

in a white living room with a wooden floor a family of four dance in front of a cream sofa — Source: Shutterstock

Do you need to blow out those cobwebs, but also get on a Zoom call with Nanna? Then why not have a Zoom dance party? Put on some lively tracks, and enjoy throwing your coolest shapes, or your silliest moves! It will be almost as good as being in the same room.

Indoor scavenger hunt

a page of a scavenger hunt with different items to find indoors on it — Source: About A Mom

As much as we'd all love to be outside, sometimes the weather doesn't play ball. On those occasions, an indoor scavenger hunt, like this one from About A Mom, is a perfect choice.

Drawing game

on a yellow background is a sheet saying "Drawing Challenges for Kids" colored pencils are arranged above it. The text reads "52 Drawing prompts for kids" — Source: Adventure in a Box

If you love to draw, but you'd rather keep things app-free, then we have the perfect idea. Well, Adventure in a Box does. You can find 52 ideas for a DIY Zoom call drawing game there for you to enjoy!

Memory game

A blue and white striped rectangular tray holds a tiny red chair, a pair of glasses, a yellow duplo block, a green dragon, a yellow toy car, a red plastic spoon, an orange marker pen, a small blue plastic bowl, a rubber egg, and a green diamond shape — Source: CBC

If you've ever seen The Generation Game, then you'll be familiar with this concept. Fill a tray with random items and see who can remember the most in 60 seconds. It's great to play over a Zoom call because it doesn't matter if you're not in the same room. Find out more here.

Origami challenge

on a white table hands fold yellow paper. Around them are different colored origami swans and some flat sheets of colored paper — Source: Shutterstock

Origami animals and shapes are great fun to make, and you can hype up the fun by racing to make the same design against your buddy on the other end of the Zoom call. Find inspiration for different designs here.

Just talk!

a family of four sit on a sofa looking at a tablet screen and smiling — Source: Shutterstock

It's great to have lots of options to make Zoom calls a little more interactive But sometimes the best thing you can do to build relationships over a long distance is just to talk. Catch up on the gossip, or have some interesting questions ready to go. Why not find out a little about your Grandad's college life or Auntie Sarah's first job? Who knows what you might discover?