Bonus 12: Social-Distance Socializing

Hello, friends! Well, I don’t know about you, but now that we’ve been social distancing for nearly two months here at Highly Recommended HQ, I’m looking for some ways to shake up my virtual social events. So I thought I’d share a roundup of some intriguing options beyond the online happy hour! I haven’t tried all of these, but they’re all on my list!

Netflix Party

If you’re looking for a way to watch movies with friends but still keep you distance, this Chrome plug-in may be the answer. Install it on your laptop or desktop and you can watch Netflix movies remotely with friends. It adds a chat box to the right of your screen so you can discuss in real time. And when someone pauses, it pauses for everyone. It’s a fun way to enjoy movie night!

Game Night

In my family, we take our game nights seriously. So I’ve been missing being able to get together with them. However, I have found a couple of virtual options.

The other night we played Scattergories with Reco Squad member and friend Amy Ambrose (guest on episodes 39 and 29) and her husband. But you can also play Scattergories with others online.

Lately I’ve been jonesing to play some bingo. I even had big birthday plans to go play earlier this year before a case of bronchitis ruined my fun. So I’m very intrigued by this virtual bingo service that will generate cards to send out and help you call the game.

And here are a couple of options I haven’t tried but look fun:

Jackboxgames

Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes

PowerPoint, or Drink/Talk/Learn, Parties

I have to credit Reco Squad member Rachel Vipond, (who is also my co-worker and episode 5 guest) for sharing this with me. A couple of years ago people were having parties that involved slide deck presentations, where the presenter would have to make a case for something in three minutes or less (lest they have to chug their drink). It sounded fun then, but now with virtual meetups over Zoom, which makes it easy to share desktops, I think this would be hilarious!

So who’s in?