Houseparty and skribbl.io: More options to connect with homebound friends during circuit breaker period

Some youths have seemingly become increasingly restless and it is understandable considering that most, if not all, are staying at home. With lots of time and little to do, some might be desperate for something new.

How about trying out two platforms, Houseparty and skribbl.io, that have caught our attention of late? You may even get yourself hooked during this circuit breaker period and there won’t be a need to spend your time searching for things to do!

Amongst the various video messaging apps and online games, Houseparty and skribbl.io are becoming popular. Houseparty even had a global surge of 50 million sign-ups in the past month, no doubt due to the recent stay-home measures worldwide.

Launched by Life On Air, Inc in 2016, Houseparty is a video messaging app that is gaining popularity for its simple and user-friendly interface. It is widely available on iOS (IPhone), iPadOS (iPad), macOS (Macbook) and Android.

Aside from its basic functions that allow video chatting and messaging, Houseparty offers several games that you can play with your friends!

It also syncs your contacts so you can invite your friends over and party in the same virtual house together! You can easily hop in and out of “houseparties” as long as the host has not locked their room.

There are also four games – Heads Up!, Trivia, Chips and Guac, Quick Draw! – each with their own set of rules for you to play with your friends!

The simple interface, coupled with the sheer joy of spending time with your friends, just makes it all the more addictive.

So much so that my short trial game of “Heads Up!” with a friend turned into a two-hour long session full of competitive shouts and too many self-compliments. So give your friends a call, invite them over and have a blast!

Besides Houseparty, Skribbl.io is another game that is enjoyable and straightforward.

Similar to Houseparty, you can create a private room solely for your friend group by clicking “Create Private Room”. The host just needs to share the link to start playing with others!

Once the game starts, an individual will attempt to draw something that represents the word picked for everyone else to guess. The champion will be the one who guesses the most number of words correctly.

Prepare yourself for some chaos and competition especially when a prize hangs in the balance – like free bubble tea for first place between my friends and me.

If you feel like going solo to compete with random players, you can do so by clicking “Play!” and you will be assigned a random room. The same game rules apply here too.

All it takes is a few clicks and you are set for hours of fun with your friends! Or you could lie on the couch and watch the same show time and again..

The best part? It requires minimal effort to treat yourselves to maximum fun!

And since we are all staying home as part of the circuit breaker measures, why not give it a shot? At the very least, you can look forward to hanging out with your friends (virtually, of course!)