How to Keep the Squad Together During Quarantine

Can you hear the wails of extroverts everywhere? 

At week four of social distancing, quarantine, isolation – whatever you want to call it – there are plenty of people missing social interaction with their favourite people. 

Luckily, we live in an age that capitalizes on our digital connection. What we once blamed for distractions, we are now honouring for keeping lines of communication. There are tons of ways to mix up social interactions beyond hopping on Netflix Party, FaceTime, or Google Hangouts. 

Try these games and challenges with your friends to bring an extra smile through their webcams.

Online Scavenger Hunt

Every household is different, but there are sure to be some overlapping decor, kitchen utensils and yard equipment you and your friends can hunt down. Set up a video call with the app of your choice and host a scavenger hunt to find the most common and most ridiculous items in your houses. You can divide the game into separate rounds for every item, or set a timer for a free-for-all hunt until someone returns the quickest or with all of the items on the list. 

Need some ideas? Start as simple as a spoon, work your way up to an old yearbook, and try your luck with an antique item.

Five-Second Rule

Ellen is really onto something with this simple game – and choosing Ricky Gervais as an opponent. One player has five seconds to list three things that fall under the topic of the hosts’ choosing. The person who completes the most rounds in under five seconds is the champion, but the real winners are everyone who gets to hear ridiculous stutters and answers. 

When I played this with friends, what was supposed to be a five-minute shenanigan turned into a 30-minute tournament. 

Need some category inspiration? Here are some that prompted some interesting answers when we played.

Things you shouldn’t do in a car

People you would date (in the friend group)

Biggest turn-ons

Kahoot

Is your friend group in the same faculty? Do you all have Brooklyn Nine-Nine memorized? Are you a bunch of know-it-alls? Based on some shared topic, try playing Kahoot together! The host makes the Kahoot and shares their screen to your friends’ devices. Everyone logs onto kahoot.com, enters the pin, and chooses their username to start the game. Let the trivia begin – your friends can play, guess, and react together! Maybe even throw in a prize to raise the stakes of the competition. 

There are plenty of ways to stay connected in this time of social distancing, so get creative, rally your friends, and make memories in these unprecedented times!

• facetime
• friends
• fun activities
• games
• quarantine
• squad