Virtual Youth Group Games for COVID-19
Looking for game ideas to use for your virtual youth group gatherings? We’ve got you covered.
Churches and youth ministries are facing numerous challenges related to COVID-19. Youth groups are unable to meet in person. Students are wrestling with isolation. And many parents are carrying the burden of homeschooling their children for the first time.
Most of us have had to take a hiatus not only from our traditional youth group gatherings, but from our favorite youth group games.
Dear Dodgeball, we miss you.
And while most of us just love a good youth group game period, I think all of us could agree that it’s not the game that’s important; it’s the connection time. Because of COVID-19, we’re struggling to break the ice with our students and create a space for our students and leaders to connect.
So we’ve tried to gather virtual game ideas from all over. Youth workers have shared their suggestions. We’ve scouted ideas from the online youth ministry communities. And we’ve thrown in a few game ideas of our own.
We want to see your students have fun, and we don’t want you or your leaders to miss out on an opportunity to create a meaningful connection with your students.
Virtual Game Ideas
Family Trivia
We LOVE this idea! Use Kahoot! to host an online trivia night for parents, students, and younger siblings.
Consider creating your own “Battle of the Generations” by coming up with questions specific to each age group.
One youth worker wrote:
“It was probably the coolest thing that I’ve done in the quarantine, but also maybe during my time as a youth minister. We had around 25 families join in on our call and it was SO cool to see them sitting together on couches and around the dinner table.“
zoom-in: fridge edition
This game is easy to prep. Just take 10 zoomed-in pictures of weird things in your fridge. It could be rotten fruit, your famous chili, or that left-over Thai food from last week.
Post each photo on your church’s social media account or share your screen during your weekly Zoom Call and have students guess what it is.
Whoever gets the most items right, wins!
weird leaders
This is a classic game that we’ve used several times during training events at our office. Ask your adult leaders for 1-2 weird (or lesser known) facts about themselves—make sure they know you’ll be sharing these! The more random the better!
Our team has submitted facts like these:
- “I’ve never seen the movie Bambi”
- “I can peel shrimp hands-free with just my mouth”
- “I grew up with a pet skunk named Sweet Pea”
(If you know our team well, you might even be able to guess who belongs with each fact.)
For your game, give your students the list of names and have them try to match the fact with the person. It’s a blast watching students try to figure out these clues, and it’s a great way to help your students connect with their leaders, even during quarantine.
scavenger hunt
This game works great for middle school students. Create a list of common household objects: tv remote, cooking spatula, hair brush, tooth brush, any kind of tape, any kind of tool, etc.
Over a Zoom Call or Google Hangouts, announce the object to the group. The first person to come back to the computer screen and show their object to the group gets a point.
Be sure to give a prize to the student with the most points at the end of the game.
photo contest
We like the variety of options with this game. Challenge students to take a picture depicting a favorite youth group moment, put themselves into a certain Disney scene, or mimic their favorite meme.
Have them submit their photo in advance (or at the beginning of your virtual meeting), and then announce the winners at some point during your group call.
It’s a great idea to have winners in various categories, like “Most Creative,” “Funniest Photo” or “Best Attempt.”
Small group leaders can also use this activity in a group message with the students in their small groups.
About the Author
Dan Colwin
Dan Colwin is director of trips at LeaderTreks. He and his wife, Clare, live in West Chicago with their sons, Everett and Oliver, and little puggle, Roxy. They love their church family at Life Church in Wheaton, where they volunteer together in the youth group. He enjoys spending time outdoors, taking walks, having fires, reading, building Legos, working in the garden, and… Read More
