More Great Happy Hour Games

After my last post, I’ve found even more fun happy hour games. Don’t settle for boring team video calls!

Just like the last post, this is a list of easy to share and play web-based games that don’t need any setup or install.

Unless otherwise noted, these games are free to play and don’t require creating an account to play.

OpenGuessr

Where in the world is this?
Where in the world is this?

OpenGuessr is a free to play clone of GeoGuessr. Each round, you get dropped somewhere on Google Maps streetview. And you try your best using your immense knowledge of signage, weather, geology, cultural artifacts, and more to divine where you are on earth.

PlayingCards.io

PlayingCards.io game of Mexican Train Dominoes
PlayingCards.io game of Mexican Train Dominoes

PlayingCards.io has a huge library of classic card and board games, such as:

It doesn’t require any login and is a great way to quickly jump into a game with friends or coworkers.

It even has a sandbox mode where you can play any game that uses a 52 card deck.

Vote’s Out

The answer is obviously strawberry.
The answer is obviously strawberry.

Vote’s Out is a party game where you vote for who had the best answer to a question like: I hope my last words are….

It’s a simple game that’s easy to explain and works in larger groups.

Make It Meme

What would you write here?
What would you write here?

Make It Meme is a competition to create the best memes. Each round, every player is given a meme template and can enter the text. Then, everyone votes on who came up with the best one.

There are a variety of game modes. I like “Same Meme” the best because then everyone can compare what they wrote against each other.

Online Clones of Board Games

If you have some time before you start the game, it helps a lot to share a game rules video like those from Watch it Played.

NetGames.io

The beginning of a game of Love Letter
The beginning of a game of Love Letter

NetGames.io is an easy to use, consistently themed set of board game clones, including:

These vary in player count and difficulty for beginners. But it’s great to see so many games in one place with a no-login, quick to share & join format.

Colonist.io

Place your first settlement!
Place your first settlement!

Colonist.io is a clone of Settlers of Catan. Playing with 3-4 players is free. 5-6 requires signup.

This is a classic, so it’s more likely that your friends or coworkers will already know how to play.

It’s great for small groups and usually is able to complete in an hour. And it’s great for casual discussion as well if you’re players are used to the game.

Chicken Koup

Coup box art (left) and Chicken Coup UI (right)
Coup box art (left) and Chicken Coup UI (right)

ChickenKoup.com is a clone of Coup.

In Coup, you play an Italian courtier struggling to be the last man standing by battling your peers over influence. Use character powers or the standard actions to gain or steal coins, block your opponent’s actions, or add character cards.

Chicken Koup’s UI isn’t the sexiest. But, it does work and is easy to start and join a game.

Longwave

Wavelength box art (left) and Longwave game UI
Wavelength box art (left) and Longwave game UI

Longwave is an online clone of Wavelength, where you try to guess what each other are thinking by giving clues. Splitting up into teams, everyone tries to guess where on a dial one player set when they got a question and a clue. The dial ranges from one extreme to another.

This game is a great refresh of the classic Apple’s-to-Apple’s party game format. There’s a ton of room here for in-jokes, funny memories, and unique interpretations that everyone has.

Tixid

One of these reminds me of *Over the Garden Wall*
One of these reminds me of *Over the Garden Wall*

Tixid is a clone of Dixit, where one player chooses a card that best represents a word for them. Everyone else then chooses a card from their hand and everyone votes on what card they think the storyteller chose.

This is another great refresh on the classic Apple’s-to-Apple’s party game format. It’s really visually appealing, which is great to bring in beginners.

Decryptr

What would be your clue for words: 3-1-4?
What would be your clue for words: 3-1-4?

Decryptr is a clone of Decrypto. In this game, you split up into teams and try to communicate in code so that your team knows the order of secret code words without revealing it to your opponents.

The UI here is fairly minimalist. So it doesn’t separate itself too much from the NetGames.io version. But, it does work well and is quick to start and play.

Tabletop Simulators

I’m grouping the 2 web-based tabletop simulators together because I didn’t see a huge difference between them other than the list of games they have. These both are login-gated sites. So, you have to create an account.

They are also partly paid sites, where many games are “premium” and require a subscription.

But, they do have an absolute boatload of games. Basically every popular board game you’ve even heard of is available on these sites. So the upside is that you get a ton of games.

So, Tabletopia has more free games. But, Board Game Arena is cheaper for premium games.

I don’t have an account for either, so I can’t compare the quality of the simulators. But I’d like to revisit this again later once I try them out.

There’s also Tabletop Simulator, however this is way less usable for a happy hour, because it requires everyone to own a copy of Tabletop Simulator and have it installed.

Credit: stevepb on Pixabay
Credit: stevepb on Pixabay

There’s also a huge universe of print and play games out there.

Below is a selection of some I’ve found and seem like they’d work well on a video call.

These games all have print and play versions available on BoardGameGeek.com. Someone needs to signup for BGG and download the files before playing.

So, these works best when there’s a strong “host” that has played the game before and can shepherd the group.

And really, the host should own a physical copy of the game. Not only because it makes it clear that you aren’t ripping off the publisher & designer. But also because then you have an authoritative copy of the rules, cards, and board to refer to. This makes it playing a lot smoother.

Of the games below, they are all fairly similar. They are all roll and write, fit-things-on-your-board-to-score-points games.

And of these, I think Railroad Ink is the best, because it’s easier to manage dice than cards. It has the simplest rules. And drawing trains on a board is fun.

Railroad Ink

Box art for Railroad Ink: Deep Blue Edition
Box art for Railroad Ink: Deep Blue Edition

Railroad Ink is simple but addictive roll and write game, where each turn one player rolls a die showing terrain features and patterns of train tracks. Everyone then draws these on their personal player board to score points.

There are a ton of different versions of the game! Here are a few:

Each edition includes custom die with custom terrain and extra rules. So there’s a ton of variety available if your group gets really into this game.

Cartographers

Box art for Cartographers
Box art for Cartographers

Discover a new land! You play as a cartographer trying to meet your queen’s wishes by placing terrain on the map of this new land.

This game works very similarly to Railroad Ink. But instead of dice, there’s cards. This gives a much wider variety to games, where there are more kinds of terrain, more shapes, and more things going on.

Copenhagen

Box art for Copenhagen
Box art for Copenhagen

In Copenhagen, you compete to design the best dutch house facade, fitting colored tiles into your house face and scoring points.

Similar to Railroad Ink and Cartographers, this is another game of fitting things on a grid and scoring points. And it’s similar in weight/complexity to Cartographers.

So, theme is the main differentiator here. Do you like discovering new lands? Or do you like designing a cute dutch house?

MetroX

Box art for MetroX
Box art for MetroX

As a subway designer, you have to try your best to fit as many tracks onto the board to score points. But entries to stations are limited, so you have to make tough choices to fit everything in.

This game uses set boards for the map. So, it’s less free form than Railroad Ink. And it’s generally more tense, as you try to cram things into a limited space.

The base game has 2 maps. But, there are a lot of user created maps on BGG to try out!

Rolling Realms

Box art for Rolling Realms
Box art for Rolling Realms

This game came out of the COVID19 pandemic forcing everyone inside. It’s a single page interactive PDF with a set of 9 challenges all involving rolling dice.

This one is dead simple, quick, and easy to organize, since it was designed for playing on video calls. Perfect for a happy hour!

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