Top 7 best online games to play with friends over the internet

Like many other activities, hosting an in-person game night with your friends is likely not going to happen in the foreseeable future. Here are some of the 7 best online games to play with friends right now.

Minecraft

If you want online games to play with friends on different computers, Minecraft is the best choice for you. Erb deems this “the ultimate collaboration” and notes that it saw a resurgence last year and continues to grow with every new generation of gamer. Up to eight friends can join an online game and build whatever they can imagine in creative mode, or maybe they join up to see how long they can last in survival mode. “And if parents have a youngster in the house that’s never tried it, a few weeks off from school might be the perfect time to introduce them,” Erb adds. Minecraft’s building mechanics tend to turn children into budding construction engineers. All ages can play Minecraft on Xbox One, PC, Switch, PS4, and mobile for $20, and it’s available for free on Xbox Game Pass.

Pokemon Go

What games can you play online with friends for free? Pokemon Go is the best option for you. Walk around your house, yard and neighborhood with the mission of collecting hidden Pokemon that could be lurking everywhere from your kitchen to back patio. The game enlists the use of your mobile GPS and clock, allows you to interact with your friends, and even lets you track their activity in the game. You can create a friends list and engage in some in-game trading and gift-giving. And since news of the COVID-19 outbreak, the game’s manufacturers have made some adjustments that allow you to find more monsters closer to home and features that make the game more consumable in “individual settings.”

Animal Crossing: New Horizons

This is one of the best online games with friends came out on Nintendo Switch in March, right at the start of many coronavirus shelter-in-place orders. It’s taken the world by storm, and its social aspect has made social distancing a bit easier. While you can perform simple tasks like growing fruit, planting trees and designing rooms alone, you can also invite friends to visit your island and go fishing and exploring together. If you don’t have a Switch to play on, you can also check out the mobile version, Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp.

Scattergories

If you’ve ever played the game Categories, this online version works the same way. All you have to do is pick a category (like books, types of sodas, fruits—You get the picture.) and have everyone name something in that category. The first person who can’t think of anything is out. If you’d rather not come up with your categories, though, you can rely on this Scattergories generator to help out. (It also makes for a really fun drinking game!)

Online Bingo

This is one of the best online games you can play with friends over the internet. You might think Bingo is just for retirement homes, but it’s low-key very fun. And now, thanks to this online bingo card generator, you can play with your friends while you talk on Zoom. It’s completely free, and you can have up to 30 players. If you have a bigger group, though, there’s the option to pay for an extra 70 cards. Huge friend groups, rejoice!

Psych!

If you’ve ever played Balderdash, you’ll get the gist. Join the game remotely with your friends, choose from a number of categories, and start making up fake answers. You’re legit encouraged to lie. Fun! Basically, you’ll fabricate fake answers to real trivia questions and your pals will have to guess what’s real. The objective is to trick them into choosing yours. You’ll score points for guessing the right answer and for psyching your friends into guessing yours. Requires a minimum of two players.

Mario Kart Tour

Die-hard Mario Kart fans may scoff at playing this classic Nintendo game on a phone, but the mobile app version is still plenty of fun and can be played remotely with a group of friends (just be sure to call dibs on Yoshi before anyone else does). To organize a match, you’ll need to jump through a few hoops first. After downloading the app, you’ll need to create a Nintendo account and play a few games on your own. Once you clear the first level, the “Friends” icon will appear when you tap the menu button at the bottom of the home screen. After selecting the “add friend” option you’ll be able to enter your friend’s Player ID or Nintendo Account into the empty field and challenge them to a match. Just add this game to your best online games to play with friends list, it will make you have happy time with your friends.

If we missed any of the best online games to play with friends, tell us about them in the comments. Thank you for your reading!