Are you ready for some football... themed games? This year, you may be hosting a classic Super Bowl get-together decked to the nines in snacks and decor — and IRL friends. Or, you may have decided celebration á la Zoom is the move. If that’s the case, don’t sweat it, because there are still plenty of Super Bowl party games you can play on Zoom. Once you’ve prepped your snacks and sent out your invite link, it’s time to brainstorm what kind of competition to throw down off the field on Sunday. Think of it this way: Even if your team loses, you can still walk away with some bragging rights.
If you’re throwing a Zoom bash, you don’t have to make the day any less dedicated to all things sports. Pick out the perfect Super Bowl party Zoom background. Wear all your athleisure at the same time and say it's a costume! Prepare the most perfect spread of Super Bowl snacks, even if you’re the only one — or one of the few — who will get to enjoy them in person. But honestly? A snack spread for one sounds like a win. No one to hog the guacamole or call party fouls for double-dipping.
Whether you’re a football knowledge pro or are just there for the chips, you’ll find something for you on this list of 17 Zoom games to play while you watch the Big Game.
1. Rate The Commercials
For those who are Team Commercials, turn the ad breaks into a game themselves. You can rate the commercials on a self-designated rating system (e.g. “Bad Commercial But I'd Still Buy It,” “Good Commercial But I Wouldn't Want To Be Associated With It”), or sites like Studio DIY have downloadable signs you can print before the commercial event of the year.
2. Football Trivia
If you're looking for something to sprinkle throughout the game, trivia is your thing. The lifestyle blog Moms and Munchkins has a bunch of questions about Super Bowls past, as well as printable games like "Match the Mascot."
3. Super Bowl Fill-In-The-Blank
For those who want to watch the game (mostly) distraction-free, a pre-game fill-in-the-blank activity is for you. Our Handcrafted Life has a printable version that has guests guess things like how long it will take Mickey Guyton to sing the National Anthem, which team will win the coin toss, and whether the first points of the game will be a touchdown, field goal, or safety.
4. Super Bowl Scattergories
One of the easiest games to play on Zoom, you can play a regular game of Scattergories online with your virtual party or download football-specific cards from Etsy.
5. Football Taboo
You've got options if you want to play Taboo on Zoom. Want to play a standard game online? PlayTabooGame.com is for you. Want to make a Super Bowl-centric version? Check out this Google Slides Taboo template. Bonus points if your Taboo buzzer is a referee whistle.
6. Catchphrase
Want a more pared-down version of Taboo? Catchphrase is what you seek. You can use a sports-themed pack from Heads Up!, which is basically just Catchphrase as an app, or check out The Game Gal's general word generator if you want a break from the football.
7. Halftime Guessing Game
Make guesses about what the halftime show will entail. Will there be any special guests? How many? Who will they be? Which songs will Kendrick Lamar perform?
8. Super Bowl Bingo
A Super Bowl Party classic! This is as easy as printing off downloadable cards like these commercial-themed cards from Flamingo Toes. Or you can make your own set of BINGO cards with whatever criteria you see fit (e.g. one square says "touchdown!," another says "cried during a commercial").
9. Pictionary
Backyard.co should be your go-to for all your Zoom game needs. It's got its own in-site mic and camera, so you don't have to worry about the logistics of screen sharing. If you don't want to use their general version of Pictionary, check out their White Board feature that just gives you space to draw as you please.
10. Figure Drawing
In the mood for something artsy but have Pictionary exhaustion? Backyard.co also has a game called Figure Drawing. To play, you'll make up a couple of categories and have guests enter a word that fits each one. For example, if you have a football category, a guest could suggest the word "helmet." Then, you'll take a photo of yourself on the site and compete to see who can draw the best helmet. This is where all that time spent doodling on your Snapchats will pay off.
11. Super Bowl Squares
This is a version of football pool where you need to know absolutely nothing about football. Essentially, you'll fill in an 11x11 grid with the names of your guests, repeating as necessary. The top and side of the grid will be labels with each team and have the numbers 0 through 9 written down at random — this will make sense in a bit. At the end of each quarter, you'll find the square that corresponds with the current score based on the last digit. So, if the score is Los Angeles 14, Cincinnati 21, you'd find the square at the "coordinates" Los Angeles 4 and Cincinnati 1. That person then gets a prize, a round of applause, or just bragging rights. As the New York Times' more in-depth explainer notes, you want the 0 through 9 written at random so people can't cherry-pick numbers more likely to occur, like 4 or 7.
12. Super Bowl Drinking Game
The Super Bowl is often a drinking event in and of itself, so why not gamify it even more? Drink when they show a celeb watching the game. Drink if a Super Bowl commercial uses the phrase "new normal" or "unprecedented times." Delish and Fansided each have an extensive list of rules if you need some starting ideas.
13. Whose Instagram Is It?
This requires a bit of prep work, but that prep work is mostly just scrolling through Instagram. Go through your friends’ Instagrams and pick out a handful of photos from each. Crop each photo so any super-identifying imagery is gone. You could zoom way in on someone's nostril or focus on a strange object in the background. Then, present the images as a slide show, with the reveal photo coming after the cropped version, and have your friends try to figure out whose Instagram it is.
If you want to make it Super Bowl-specific, find a bunch of throwback pics or random and nondescript photos from players’ accounts. At the very least, it's an excuse to peruse Instagram if you get bored by the game.
14. Super Bowl Word Scramble
It might be a little helpful if you know your football lingo for this one. Otherwise, it’s a great learning game for the football-terminology-illiterate. You can purchase a pre-made sheet of scrambled football-related words from Etsy for $3, or if you’re feeling extra crafty, you can DIY it. (Although if you do that, you probably shouldn’t participate, as you’ll know what all the words are.)
15. Football Charades
Another one that — sorry — is easier for serious football fans. Those who don’t know their football rules will make this game much more hilarious, albeit harder. For this game, simply write down football and Super Bowl-related words on scraps of paper and pick one at random for each person’s turn. Have whoever is guessing leave the room or cover their eyes while you hold up the piece of paper for the actor to see. And remember, charades is no talking — unlike Taboo — so just act out whatever you think a foul would look like.
16. Forbidden Word
This idea makes it easy to turn the entire event into a drinking game. Pick a word that is typically used a lot on Super Bowl Sunday and decree it off-limits. Think “touchdown,” “yard,” or “ball.” If someone slips up and says the magic word, they could have to take a drink or do some other kind of dare or “penalty.”
17. Super Bowl Jeopardy
Of all the Super Bowl party games, for jeopardy, you’re going to want to team up with the diehard sports fans the most. Playing this game over Zoom is simple. Unleash your inner artist and come up with the questions and points yourself, or go to Jeopardy Labs’ website for a pre-made set. You can either proceed to play online or select “print” to get a hard copy of the grid.
As some of these Super Bowl party games can entice pretty heated competition, they might be best played over Zoom — if only to keep your game play a red-card-free zone. May the best team(s) win.
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