

(This can yield more amusing results than if the processing were better!) Note: If Zoom suggests that your processor isn’t fast enough for virtual background, you can still check the box for “I have a green screen” in Zoom settings, and you’ll be able to use the feature anyway. It’s a bit like taking Instagram selfies with friends in front of weird backgrounds, only in video/virtual form.

DOC HOLLIDAY EMOTE HATTIP MP4
You can do this by recording the Zoom to MP4 video or using screen-capture software such as Giphy Capture to get results in GIF form. We’ve definitely gotten goofy on happy hours and used this to record our own animated GIFs and videos. Record GIFs and Videos TogetherĪs many folks newer to Zoom are now discovering, the software also includes a green-screen feature called virtual background. The game alone is a lot of fun, or you can join Zoom together while playing for running commentary. It sounds simple, but the game can allow colleagues to flex their creativity and sense of humor. The game has automatic scoring and a chat window alongside for jokes. This is another Pictionary-like game, in which one player at a time draws, while others guess what’s being drawn. Or you can use Zoom’s annotation tools with a shared whiteboard as a canvas.įor a more fast-paced group drawing and guessing game, reminiscent of the sadly defunct Yahoo! Graffiti, you can start a private game room for your team to play Skribbl.io. Alternately, depending on how good team members’ cameras and connections are, people can just hold physical drawings up to the camera. The same methods can work for playing drawing games!Īny drawing game like Pictionary can be played using a shared Google Slides deck in this way to more easily see and save the images-or perhaps better yet, by drawing directly in a Google Drawings doc. These images are then uploaded to a shared Google Slides deck, one per page, for dot-voting and discussion. At Alley, we frequently host sketch sessions as part of our design discovery process, during which folks draw (“work alone together”) for a set period of time, then take photos of the work using their phones. Games such as Pictionary or Charades are other great candidates for remote parties.
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Also, you can add to the fun by streaming your session on Twitch-though be aware that if you do so, you might get some gate-crashers joining in, since the code to join the game is on the screen. Note: Depending on how many people are on your Zoom call and their tolerance for the in-game sounds, you might want to experiment with not sharing sound from the game, if you’re screen-sharing the admin view. Just follow the instructions on the Jackbox site to get started. Two of our favorite games on Jackbox are Drawful 2, a drawing game with some similarities to Pictionary, and Quiplash, a somewhat Mad Libs–inspired guessing game. Meanwhile, one person can share the admin view of the game with a Zoom screen share, so everyone can see the board. With Jackbox, everyone’s phone or web browser, connected to, becomes a controller or input device for the game. Some of our favorite finds have been online multiplayer party games the whole team can enjoy at once, such as Jackbox Games. Some teams at Alley even use a quick round of a game to break the ice before longer scrum practices. But no one has to drink to enjoy playing games together. Join Multiplayer Online Party Gamesįor some, the phrase “party games” might immediately evoke drinking games, especially when we’re talking about happy hour. Here are a few ways we’ve made these gatherings fun for everyone. These have included a weekly happy hour every Friday on Zoom, random donut buddies calls arranged by a Slack bot, Alley Film Club, Alley Book Club, remote Halloween parties, holiday gift exchanges on Zoom, and more. One of the ways we’ve created such a strong remote team at Alley is by creating opportunities for camaraderie and connection among team members with remote get-togethers. As a certified scrum master and the director of Alley’s editorial training program, I have found that you can build unexpectedly deep connections with the use of games and regular remote Zoom happy hours.

The fun doesn’t have to stop, nor do you have to miss out on that face time, just because you’re remote. But if you’re “unexpectedly locked out of the office,” you might already be missing the sense of joy and connection that company and team happy hours can establish. OK, so working from home isn’t just one big party.
