Family Game Night
DSU's Virtual Playground is now Family Game Night!
DSU created 15 weeks of “Virtual Playground” programming during the spring of 2020. We’re thrilled to share links to our favorite sites and provide inspiration for enriching family time over the holidays.
Connect Together Apart! Set up a Zoom Account.
Missing family members who aren’t local? Set up a free Zoom.us account and take the time to catch up, have a ton of laughs and enjoy some friendly competition.
Let's make Virtual Family Game Night go viral! Share the love.
Did you play a game and have a lot of fun? Let us know! Do you have a game you’d like to share? Email us at [email protected] and tell us all about it!
Skribbl.io
A free multi-player game. One person sets up the game and then sends the link. A game consists of a few rounds in which every round someone has to draw their chosen word and others have to guess it to gain points! The person with the most points at the end of the game will then be crowned as the winner! This is so fun for gamers of all ages. Better on a laptop than a iPad if you are on Zoom and Skribbl.io.
GeoGuesser
Travel the world on GeoGuessr. It is a web-based geographic discovery platform that lets visitors search for all locations of the world in a gaming style. If you like to get the ultimate street-view exploring experience, then GeoGuessr is the best means for that purpose. GeoGuessr is $2.99 a month but can be cancelled anytime.
Pet Parade
Do a Pet Parade. Our four legged family members pets certainly want to be a part of virtual family reunions. Share a funny story, trick or skill about your pet and have them say hi to all your friends and relatives.
Kahoot
Like trivia? Sign up for a free Kahoot account and then invite friends with a code at Kahoot.it Create your own trivia show by searching absolutely any topic or create a funny Kahoot of family trivia. Fun for all ages.
Hogwarts Digital Escape Room
If you are a Harry Potter fan, you are going to love this Hogwarts Digital Escape Room. Perfect for kids as this escape room does not require extensive Harry Potter knowledge. Best for an inquisitive 3rd grader and older.
Uno Online
Who doesn’t love UNO? UNO online is really fun too. One person sets up the game and sends the link to players. Players must click "leave the game" if they need to leave to check on the apple pie, otherwise everyone has to wait for them to return. It’s a bit frustrating to begin with, particularly leaving the game but over time you understand the challenges.
Virtual Scavenger Hunt
Young children will love a virtual Scavenger Toy Hunt! Here's how: One person turns off their screen and then hides a toy in the room. Once the toy is hidden, the person turns the screen back on and the other players guess where the toy is. Perfect to play with preschool and elementary children.
Bake Together
Bring the joy of the holidays together by baking together. Share a recipe - learn to make Grandma’s ultimate Apple Pie or Uncle Jim’s turkey gravy and prepare it together simultaneously to enjoy for Thanksgiving. Set up your device on the kitchen counter and connect via Zoom.
Virtual Bingo
You can generate numbers from Google or here. This is super exciting, works exactly the same as IRL (in real life) bingo and all ages can participate.
Jack Box Games
Requires a one time purchase of $24.99. The threequel to the party game phenomenon features the deadly quiz show Trivia Murder Party, the say-anything sequel Quiplash 2, the surprising survey game Guesspionage, the t-shirt slugfest Tee K.O., and the sneaky trickster game Fakin’ It. Use your phones or tablets as controllers, and play with up to 8 players. Family settings are available, some games have mature content.
Dream Vacation
If you won $10,000 for a dream family vacation, where would you go? Hollywood, St. Lucia, Hawaii, Alert Canada? Take us on a virtual tour. Research the destination, flights, meals, accommodations, attractions & souvenirs and make a Google Slides slideshow to present to family members.
Escape Room
Are you an escape artist? Get ready to be seriously challenged with this Escape Room. Level of patience and difficulty is high but it is so fun to unlock clues. Hacks are available on YouTube if your patience wears thin.
Make magic
Share your favorite card, coin or mental math trick via Zoom.
Chindogu
The Japanese art form of Chindogu is about creating a solution to something that doesn’t need to be solved. Create a challenge for your relatives and present on Zoom or FaceTime. Provide drawings or 3D models of your chindogu. This activity is hysterically funny and requires creative problem solving, thinking outside the box, crafting and advertising. Click link to see some of the crazy inventions like the "The Anti-stubtoerator" (Courtesy of Cromwell College). Works for 3rd grade and above.
Family Talent Show
Share a music recital, a poem, an essay or a card trick over Zoom. Everyone has a special talent and with some advance notice, this is quite the performance and creates wonderful memories. All ages.
Movie Critic
Channel your inner Siskel & Ebert. Choose a movie you can all watch and then discuss together over Zoom. What were the themes? Symbolism?
Bird Watching
Discover which bird varieties are still hanging about in your neck of the woods? Check out https://ebird.org/home to learn about migration, flight patterns, breeding and more. Why do birds fly through the night anyway? Great for family members of all ages and everyone will learn something new
Design Your Dream Backyard
You’ve just won $20,000 to build a dream backyard. What would be in your backyard? Engage your creativity, teamwork, collaboration, compromise, budgeting, and drawing skills to create the ultimate outdoor living space. All ages.
Invent Your Own Ben & Jerry's flavor!
Invent your own Ben & Jerry’s flavor! Are you sweet? Complex? A little nutty? Invent your own flavor or go around the table to discuss the flavor that best represents you!
Smarter than a fifth grader?
Are you smarter than a 5th grader? We often think we are. Log onto Kahoot.com where there are tons of AYSTAFG challenges that are sure to have family members pay enormous respect to 5th graders.
