7 Legitimately Fun Things to Do With Friends on Zoom

Let’s call it like it is: Zoom is not fun. Neither is Houseparty or Google Hangouts or Skype. Maybe it was fun for a brief moment at the start of quarantine, when the prospect of talking to all our friends at once virtually was still a mainly unexplored one (for people whose loved ones aren’t normally far away, that is).

Now, though, the novelty has officially worn off, and even the best planned of Zoom parties can quickly devolve into a Brady Bunch–style grid of people staring at each other blankly. After all, most of us aren’t dating new people or attending parties or...going outside in any social capacity, which means there’s just not that much to talk about. (Really, how many times can I summarize the plot to old Cougar Town episodes before people start declining my Zoom invites?)

Luckily, with a little creativity and planning, a generic Zoom catchup can quickly morph into a genuinely good time. Is anything on this list as fun as getting together with your friends at the mediocre bar of your choice for some gossip and a snack? Well, with these lively options, we can certainly try.

Host a table read

Hands down, the most fun I’ve ever had on Zoom was when I organized five of my friends—plus a muted audience—to do a table read of the season two Sex and the City episode “Take Me Out to the Ballgame.” As the self-named CEO of what I called Quarantine Productions, I picked a time, assigned everyone roles, sent around a script, consulted on costumes, and instructed all my actors to really sell it. (Also, as CEO, I availed myself of my unchecked power to cast myself as Samantha Jones.)

Everyone brought panache to their roles—particularly my friend Natalie, who, for her role as Carrie Bradshaw, employed an unlit cigarette as a prop—and the production was a hit. Our next table read will be the Girls pilot, and after that we’ll be attempting Northern Irish accents for an episode of Derry Girls, but this would work with literally any show. (Hot tip: if you’re running out of cast members to portray supporting players, make people challenge themselves with dual roles.)

Sing karaoke

This sounds self-explanatory, but I’m here to tell you there is a specific way to make a Zoom karaoke party go smoothly. Step one: A little Dutch courage, if that works for you. Step two: Make your audience mute themselves. (This is crucial!) Step three: Pick a crowd-pleasing karaoke jam to play softly and sing along with on YouTube. If you need suggestions, music writer Grace Spelman’s karaoke Spotify playlist is chock full of them, and you’ll notice that “Sweet Caroline” is not on it. Shots fired, Neil Diamond fans.

Play Kings

Is this drinking game a tad complicated? Yes, but that’s part of the fun. To play, you’ll need a group of friends, the beverage of your choice, and a deck of cards. In my experience of the game, the most fun aspect is the “Never Have I Ever” component, which comes into play when someone draws a jack. It gives you the chance to gather information on your friends that you’ll cherish (or use against them) forever.

Have a PowerPoint party

My friend Maya is responsible for bringing this idea into my life, and it’s quickly become a biweekly part of our friend group’s Zoom hangs. Essentially, it provides an opportunity for you to pick a topic near and dear to your heart—the more niche, the better—and prepare a five-minute PowerPoint presentation on it. At our last PowerPoint party, one friend presented an elaborate ranking of which member of the Bon Appétit test kitchen they’d most like to make a loaf of bread with; another tried to convince us all, with ample corroborating evidence, that Christmas music is not actually good. The world is your oyster!

Organize a reading series

It may sound snooty, but it doesn’t have to be. Gather a group of friends and ask them each to read something—a favorite poem, a paragraph from a beloved novel, an iconic tweet—and leave time to discuss. It’s like a book club, without all the frantic page-turning an hour beforehand.

Parallel cook

Putting together three meals a day for yourself can quickly get boring, so why not compete with friends to make the same thing on Zoom, like in a cooking show? Have someone blast music while you do different challenges (chopping onions, mincing garlic), chat while water boils and butter heats in the pan, and then reconvene to show off your plated dishes. Of course, nobody is there to taste test them all objectively, but that makes the game all the more egalitarian.

Play Rose, Bud, Thorn

Yes, this game where you go around in a circle and say your rose (best part), thorn (worst part), and bud (something you’re looking forward to) was everyone’s most dreaded camp activity, but it’s a surprisingly cozy way to catch up and reflect on the week as adults. It’s too cloying and nostalgic to organize a whole event around, but if your karaoke party or DIY cooking show is lagging for whatever reason, pitch this as a last-minute evening saver instead of asking “So, uh, what are you guys reading?” for the hundredth time.

Originally Appeared on Vogue