I think everyone has come across a situation when a group of people gathers in the evening, everyone has already shared the news and discussed pressing issues, and then the conversation does not develop. Most often this happens with an unfamiliar company. For such cases, the people already have an established solution – alcohol. A more difficult, but no less interesting way to establish contact in a company is team games. A little competition will stir anyone up if they are even a little more communicative.
You don't have to look for expensive and interesting board games or poker sets, and not everyone wants to learn the rules in a noisy company. For smartphones, there is a huge selection of simple games to help you have fun.
Say it differently (Alias)
For whom: from 4 people.
Needed: smartphone.
For the game, the company needs to be divided into teams of two. It will be easier if the couples sit opposite each other. The first player gets a smartphone in his hands in a running game and sees a word on the screen. He must explain it to his partner without the same root words, translations into other languages and demonstrations by hand. You can use synonyms, describe the word in every possible way, name leading words, and so on.
For each guessed word, the team gets one point. If the teammate cannot guess the word, then the first player swipes the card and moves on to the next, but this loses one point. The goal of the team is to guess as many words as possible in a limited time (by default 60 seconds). Then the phone is passed in a circle to other teams, so that each in a pair guesses and explains the words at least once.
The game has five sets of words for different levels of preparedness of people. I recommend starting with the first if you have not had experience in such games before.
Download Alias on Google Play
Crocodiller
For whom: 4-20 people.
Needed: Smartphone.
Popular game 'Crocodile' for parties with slightly changed rules. It can be played in a 'every man for himself' format or shared across teams. The principle is similar to the first game – a player with a smartphone needs to clearly explain the hidden word, and to the others to guess it. Only in this game can you use gestures and body movements, but without words.
In 'Crocodiller', in contrast to the rules of the usual game, there are additional conditions for the explanation of the word. For example, in parallel with the movements and gestures, the presenter should sing a song or laugh.
If the built-in set of words turns out to be easy, then you can add your own words or phrases and add variety.
Download 'Crocodiller' on Google Play
Hands up!
For whom: from 2 to 8 people.
Needed: a smartphone for each player (or play one at a time).
Another word game. In the traditional version of the game, a sticker is used on which one of the players writes a word and attaches it to the forehead of another player. The rest of the players try to explain the hidden word with synonyms or leading words. The main rule is not to use words of the same root.
Using the application, you can replace a sticker or piece of paper with a smartphone and apply it to your forehead. When the player guesses the word, you need to tilt the smartphone forward, if a lot of time passes and the word is not solved, turn it in the opposite direction.
In the game 'Hands up!' you can choose the difficulty of words from 4 modes: easy, medium and difficult, as well as a separate 'mix' mode, in which words of varying degrees of difficulty appear in random order.
Download 'Hands up!' on google play
Just dance now
For whom: up to 4 people.
Needed: a smartphone for each player and a computer, TV or tablet.
This is suitable for a more noisy and relaxed company who wants to dance. So crazy dancing can be turned into a competition.
All players must download the Just Dance Now app to their smartphone, run the justdancenow.com web page on their computer, tablet or TV and connect to the same room. Players stand in front of the monitor, choose a song, and the dances begin. Hold the phone in your right hand and repeat the movements behind the character in the video clip.
The best dancer gets the maximum points and money. New clips are bought for coins. But here the main disadvantage is hiding – it's hard to make money on a new song. To do this, you need to collect 100 coins, and you need to dance well 4-5 times. And for coins, a track is not bought forever, but only for one dance. And there is only one free clip.
Despite the difficulties in acquiring new clips, Just Dance Now will still help brighten up the evening with fun dancing. The main thing is that the company is ready for this. And if you want to dance, you can buy a VIP pass for the day and choose any songs.
Download Just Dance Now on Google Play
AirConsole
For whom: from 2 people.
You need: a smartphone (gamepad) for everyone and a computer, TV or tablet (screen).
If you want computer games to recall the experience of old game consoles, then they have come up with an affordable alternative for a long time. The AirConsole app contains a library of games that use smartphones instead of the usual gamepad controllers. The games themselves are launched on a computer screen or TV with Android TV.
AirConsole has a lot of games, but it takes a little time to find something really interesting. In general, the games are simple enough that anyone can join the process without problems. Just right for a fun evening in the company.
I advise you to try The Neighborhood – a simple analogue of the Worms game, as well as a Tower of Babel tower construction simulator.
But there is a big disadvantage to the service – ads will periodically appear on the screen, and once every half hour you will have to take a break for 5 minutes. To play without interruptions, you will have to subscribe to a paid subscription for $ 3 per month. Although the first month will be free.
Download AirConsole on Google Play
In the comments, I propose to discuss what kind of games of this kind you like in the company, in addition to the usual poker and other table games.