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Want a casual game that you can play while you chat with your friends? Love classical tabletop or board games and are tired of debating which games you and your friends are going to play? Discord has you covered.
Yes, Discord Has Games
Discord, the ever-popularvoice chat and messaging app favored by gamers, also has its own games. They’re integrated directly into the client itself—no extra software required. All you need to do is join a voice channel and click the rocket ship icon. It’ll say “Start an Activity” when you hover over it. Alternatively, you can click “Choose an Activity.”
From there, just pick a game. If you want to join an ongoing activity or game, click the voice channel name, then click “Join Activity.”
They’re free, can berun on a potato, and don’t need to be downloaded. That means almost any of your friends will be able to play—the games even work on your phone.
Discord Games Let You Socialize
I’ve always found most games are too involved to properly socialize with your friends while you’re playing them, but Discord’s games don’t have that particular problem.
Some games—likeRocket League or Call of Duty—require that you focus to be competitive and conversations will typically involve the gameplay, with little room for other topics. If you’re not talking about the game, then you’re probably just lamenting how the opposing team wasobviouslyhacking. Or smurfing. Or something. How else could they win like that?
RPGs are typically more relaxed, but they’re also designed to immerse you in the world. You’re stuck either breaking your immersion or ignoring the conversation you’re supposed to be participating in, and at that point, why bother? Why play Skyrim to steal a goat if you’re not going to fully enjoy the consequences of your character’s drunken choices?
Discord games solve those problems. Most of them are very similar to conventional board games, like Scrabble, Texas Hold Em’, or Chess. We’re able to sit down and have a real conversation. Discord’s games are just entertaining enough to “Give us something to do” without being so distracting that we can’t actually focus on the conversation.
It comes with all the joys of “old fashioned” tabletop games, like arguments about whether limeade is better than lemonade (limeade is better), or whether water is wet or not. There is just something nice about the kind of casual banter that happens when you aren’t too distracted by a game.
What Games Does Discord Have?
Discord has 20 games at the time of writing. They’re typically inspired by classic games you’re probably familiar with:
Discord occasionally adds another game to the lineup, so if your favorite tabletop game isn’t already there, don’t give up hope. There are plenty ofTabletop RPGsthat have standalone digital equivalents.
