📚 Part of our guide: Free online games for homeschoolers

Fun Online Group Games to Play (free) 

Whether you’re on a long trip, stuck indoors on a rainy day, or trying to connect with faraway family, group games to play online can be a great way to build memories and share laughter. In this episode, Meryl shares the games her Science Olympiad team enjoyed during a long bus ride to Nationals—and offers suggestions for how you can use them in your own homeschool (even for educational purposes!).

 The best free online group games 

1. Heads Up

   • App-based word guessing game

   • Best played in person

   • Use free decks or purchase themed packs

2. Jackbox Games

   • Paid game packs with multiplayer party-style games

   • Family-friendly mode available

   • Some favorites: Quiplash, TKO, Murder Trivia Party

   • One purchase is enough for everyone to join via their own devices

3. Gartic Phone

   • Free, browser-based game combining drawing and guessing

   • Great for laughs as phrases mutate like a game of “telephone”

4. Drawasaurus

   • Free online drawing and guessing game

   • Quick rounds, supports large groups

Bonus Tip

Many of these games allow custom prompts—perfect for reinforcing topics like history, science, or vocabulary in a fun and interactive way!

Here’s the thing, friend — these games do more than fill a rainy afternoon. Use them as a brain break between subjects, a reward for finishing the week’s work, or the main event at your next co-op meeting. Because most of them let you add your own prompts, they double as painless review: drop this week’s vocabulary into a Drawasaurus or Gartic Phone round, turn your history unit into a Kahoot, or fill a Bingo card with the states you’re memorizing. They’re also a sweet way to pull faraway grandparents or cousins into your school day — everyone joins from their own screen, and a plain spelling review turns into a memory. Take what’s useful, skip what doesn’t fit your crew, and don’t be surprised when “one more round” is the reason the multiplication facts finally stick.

Three more games to add (numbered 5–7)

5. Kahoot!

• Free to create and host game-show-style quizzes
• Best for: co-ops and mixed ages
• Players join with a PIN from their own phone, tablet, or computer
• Make your own quiz on any subject — history dates, science vocabulary, Bible verses, math facts
• Educational tip: turn your next unit review into a Kahoot and watch reluctant learners ask for one more round

6. Codenames (online)

• Free in your browser at codenames.game — no download or account needed
• Best for: tweens, teens, and family game night
• Two teams race to find their words from one-word clues — quietly great for vocabulary and creative thinking
• Works with as few as four players or a whole co-op split into teams
• Educational tip: it’s sneaky word practice, stretching kids to connect words they don’t use every day

7. Custom Bingo

• Free card makers like Bingo Baker or My Free Bingo Cards let you play online or print
• Best for: younger kids and all-ages family play (picture cards work for pre-readers)
• Fill the squares with whatever you’re studying — sight words, states, multiplication facts, Bible characters
• One person calls; everyone else plays along from wherever they are
• Educational tip: swap the classic numbers for this week’s spelling words and call it review

More Games for Homeschoolers

Online Grammar Games

Creating Online Review Games For Your Children

Take a look at show sponsor, FundaFunda Academy to see what they offer for online classes and web-based unit studies.

Join our Facebook Group especially for the listeners of this podcast! You can ask questions and get advice as you try integrating technology in your homeschool.

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