The Ultimate Joy of Discord Gaming: Why It Beats Traditional Multiplayer

Quick Links

• Yes, Discord Has Games
• Discord Games Let You Socialize
• What Games Does Discord Have?

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-popular voice 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 be run 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—like Rocket 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 was obviously hacking. 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.

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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:

• Watch Together: You can view YouTube videos together.
• Gartic Phone: Very similar to Telephone, like you played when you were a kid.
• Poker Night 2.0: Texas Hold’em.
• Putt Party Paradise: Digital mini-golf with your friends!
• Chess in the Park: A classic game of chess.
• Checkers in the Park: Checkers, which is a game similar to chess.
• Land-io: Conceptually similar to Othello, but with gameplay mechanics like Snake.
• Letter League: You’re given letters and have to make words with them, very much like Scrabble.
• SpellCast: A word finding game.
• Sketch Heads: You’re given a word and you draw it, much like Pictionary.
• Blazing 8s: Much like Crazy 8s or Uno.
• Bobble League: Bobble League is a soccer game.
• Know What I Meme: Pick the best meme for a phrase to win points.
• Jamspace Whiteboard: A blank whiteboard you can draw on.
• Color Together: Paint by numbers, but with friends.
• Bobble Bash: Bobble Bash is conceptually similar to pinball.
• Chef Showdown: A cooking game, like a simpler version of Overcooked.
• Colonist: A game much like Settlers of Catan
• Krunker Strike FRVR: A simple FPS that feels (and sounds) a lot like Counterstrike
• Death by AI: You’re given a scenario that you have to respond to, and your response is judged by an AI.

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 of Tabletop RPGs that have standalone digital equivalents.

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