We hosted a virtual game night: This is what we learned (+4 tips)

Last Thursday, we organized our first virtual game night! And it was really fun. It was an eclectic bunch of funny people gathering across 5+ different time zones to be silly, social, and competitive for an hour. This is how it went, PLUS some extra tips and ideas for you to organize your own.

Choose the most accommodating date & time

Be mindful of different time zones; consider a time of day that might suit everyone. It turned out that we called it a “virtual game night” yet, some of us were playing early in the morning, some at lunch breaks, and a few at night time 🗓️. Have this in mind and then: invite, invite, invite! Use whatever tools make sense to you: WhatsApp, Instagram, email - even through a handwritten letter if you like it the old-fashioned way.

Set a schedule for your games, but stay flexible

Given your time constraints, have an idea of the number of games and rounds that you’d like to play. 🎲  We were planning on playing Skribbl.io and Quiplash, but we actually never got around to playing Quiplash. And that’s no biggie - it just means that people were having fun with the first game! 😜

For all you Quiplash lovers, don’t worry. Since everyone showed so much excitement about playing Quiplash, too, it’s the perfect excuse to organize Virtual Game Night Round 2. Subscribe to our newsletter to stay tuned!

Send reminders & test your tech

You never lose anything by sending reminders and checking up with people to see if they will show up. We highly encourage you to do so! And testing your tech (internet, microphone, camera, game) is sooooo important - we cannot stress this enough. If you get someone to do it with you, even better! At Toucan we always gather before all of our events to make sure that everything is in place to run smoothly.

Have fun!

Organizing something might be overwhelming and stressful at first, even if you are doing it with friends and family. But the moment you start getting the hang of things and really in the zone, let go and have a good time.

Something that we’ve learned from all of our events is that, no matter what the group activity is, people like to take some time to meet and/or catch up with the other attendees. Toucan makes this so easy. Just set aside a few minutes at the beginning of the event as designated mingling time. Then jump into the game.

Some extra virtual game night ideas and tips:

1. Let everyone know in advance if they need to download, create an account, or prepare something before the event/activity. ✅

2. Encourage people to bring their own snacks and drinks! 🍿

3. Give prizes to the winners. 🏆

4. Try to do a little icebreaker game (even if you know everyone) - it helps set the mood and get everyone in the right headspace. 🧊

5. What about dressing for the occasion? Try making it a themed virtual game night! 🎭