Board games can be a tough hobby to get into sometimes, especially with the cost of modern games. On top of that, you don’t want to judge a book by its cover.
How will you know if you’ll like the game? Or if your friend group will enjoy it?
Luckily, there are plenty of ways to work around this, and the easiest by far is with free-to-play options online! Here are a few of my personal favorites.
- Snake Oil
During the pandemic, Snake Oil introduced an online version of the game, to encourage online connection.
In Snake Oil, players take turns being the customer or the salesperson. The salespeople draw cards from their hand and use them to create a product, then pitch it to the customer. The customer picks the best product, and that salesperson earns a point.
The game plays similar to Cards Against Humanity, or Apples to Apples, but instead of relying only on the cards alone, you get to improvise a pitch for your product.
If you love making up crazy stories and making your friends laugh, I highly recommend it!
Unfortunately, Snake Oil Online is just a demo, so replayability is a bit limited. But in my experience, it’s always a fun time.
- Wavelength
The official Wavelength app by CMYK Games is another great free option for online party games.
The physical game has gotten a lot of attention for its creative gameplay, and if you can’t afford the tabletop version, the app is free!
Wavelength offers co-op or competitive team-based gameplay.
The game revolves around one player giving a clue based on where it might fall on a scale. For example, if the clue is “ice cream,” is it closer to a “bad food” or “good food”? The group then debates and tries to correctly position it on the scale.
If you like team-based or co-op games, Wavelength offers a great mix of funny situations, cooperation, and interesting debates. The app also has beautiful graphics, smooth gameplay, and there’s less setup time.
All players must download the app to play, but there are no ads, and if you want to purchase expansion packs, only one person needs to for everyone to play.
- Codenames
Last but certainly not least, my personal favorite online party game: Codenames!
Codenames is a word game where players split into two teams, each trying to guess their team’s secret words based on clues from their Spymaster.
The Spymaster can only give one word as their clue, attempting to link multiple word cards for their team to guess. But they must avoid word cards that belong to the other team or the assassin word, which ends the game if selected.
The game encourages teamwork and fun deduction, always providing an interesting puzzle between friends, with plenty of debate along the way.
On top of being an excellent game, the online version is completely free and packed with content.
All expansion packs are free to use, and there’s even an option to input your own custom words. You can also play Codenames Duet for a two-player co-op mode.
The site design is clean and easy to navigate, especially for the Spymaster. Personally, I prefer playing Codenames online because the Spymaster interface is so clear.
The game also works well on both mobile and desktop, and I’m always impressed by the level of design and replayability.
Overall, I highly encourage you to give these games a shot! I’ve had a great time with each one, and they’re all simple enough that players of all ages and groups can enjoy them.
If you like the online version, it’s also worth checking out the physical copy. Online gaming is great over Discord, but investing in physical games is always worth it to take a break from screens and enjoy with friends in person.
Whatever you decide, I hope you enjoy!