What is the number one way we develop and maintain relationships?  Through spending time and being with our friends, of course.  But the times we live in don’t necessarily allow for such things anymore, do they?  “Humans are social creatures!” I hear you cry from your bed. “We need human interaction to survive!” you say, cocooning yourself even more into your blankets.  Well it’s time to roll yourself out bed, put on your mask, and change out of your pajamas, because I’m about to give you five ways to spend time with friends that won’t get you scolded by the RA (ranked in no particular order).

The Honeymoon Game

Gather your friends on a zoom call, Skype, or face time, and test your knowledge of each other in a fun game show turned activity.  Play with two people or up to ten, as long as everyone can be grouped in pairs of two.  If you have an odd number, let the odd man out play the “host” asking questions and keeping score.  Person A will be asked a question about Person B.  Person B will write down their answer and Person A will say out loud what they think it is (the two players are not allowed to talk to each other about the answer, though 3-word hints can be given).  Person A will reveal what they wrote down and if the answer matches Person B’s then the team gets a point.  Take full creative liberty as to how many rounds you play and how many questions per round you ask.  Remember the point of the game is to have fun, not compete.

Cup stacking or card stacking.

Obtain a package of plastic cups or a package of playing cards and race a friend to build the tallest tower the fastest.  Amp up the stakes by having more friends throw ping pong balls from a distance and try to knock down your towers (the farther back they stand, the harder it is for them to hit your towers).  Remember to keep a distance from each other and play nice.

Tug of war

Get a long rope about ten feet of more and tie a knot in the middle.  Mark an eight foot area on the ground and make sure the knot sits in the middle.  Have one person on each end and simultaneously pull the rope trying to pull the knot to their side.  Whoever gets the knot across their line first, wins.   Only one person, per side though.  Also, maybe don’t challenge any of the football players on this one.

Cornhole or Horseshoe

These two are classic gamess.  The premise is simple.  Stand about ten feet apart from each other and throw sacks or into the opponent’s hole or horseshoes around their ring.  Whoever scores the most points wins.  Just remember to watch where you’re aiming.

Quiplash by Jackbox Games

A mobile game where you fill in the blank prompts with whatever hilarious, smart-alek quip pops into your head, vote for the funniest option, and win points.  It’s great for if you want to laugh a lot and have a couple of hours to kill with friends (and trust me, you will be playing this game for hours).  Unlike the other items on this list, Quiplash is the only one that costs money (about ten dollars on Steam) but you can play it on your mobile device and invite up to eight friends for a game.  You don’t even have to be in the same room to play!

In times like these, we don’t have to give up happiness or spending time with our friends and settle for boredom and monotony.  It’s simply a matter of coming up with more creative ways to do what we want.  I hope this list inspires you to do something fun or come up with your own ideas!