Piper Lehr
Staff writer
With Willamette dorm complexes now restricting access to residents only, many students are wondering how they can still have fun with their friend groups while at home. Here are a couple of entertainment options to consider.
1. At-home coffee shop.
One fun way to hang out with friends is to create a makeshift coffee shop at your house. This can be accomplished by those living off-campus, those living within the same dorm complexes, or it can be moved outside. First, make coffee or tea, and some desserts or snacks. Second, find a phone or a speaker and situate it in your desired relaxing location. Then, play some music. Finally, invite your friend over and socially distance and relax together. This can also double as a work/study session if desired.
2. Take a walk, or jog, for some light physical activity (remember to wear a mask while doing so!)
Taking a long walk with a friend can be an enjoyable experience. Recommended settings include the night time when it’s not so hot (and a sunset may be out) or by a scenic location like a beach. Walks can be especially fun if dogs are involved. An alternative, but similar suggestion is to go for a jog together. Having a jogging buddy will not only motivate you to stay in shape, but also help you to escape the gym during pandemic season. The bonus of walking or jogging as opposed to other methods of at-home workouts is that it’s very easy to socially distance while doing so.
3. Multiplayer video games.
A great way to interact with friends while socially distancing is by playing multiplayer video games. Minecraft is a go-to recommendation. It’s easy for anyone to master, regardless of age or video game prowess. Also, the lack of rules makes it easy to goof off with.
4. Cards Against Humanity.
Cards Against Humanity is a favorite card game amongst many, but not many know about the online and app version. If one finds that their group is starting to get bored while on call, it can be fun to pull up the website and laugh together at some crude humor.
5. Heads Up app.
Another great app to make use of while on video chat is Heads Up. This app is basically charades, except there’s a stream-lined selection of choices available. You can choose from many different and entertaining categories, including celebrities, Harry Potter, name that tune, tv shows, accents and many more. This app is best with a medium-sized or large group.
6. Photo Roulette app.
The basic idea of Photo Roulette is that it randomly selects a photo from players’ camera rolls, and you then try to guess whose camera roll the photo comes from. This game is a fun way to find out how well people know their friends, such as who is the most likely to have memes, who typically poses in silly ways, etc.
7. Smule karaoke app.
The Smule karaoke app is good in pairs, with the caveat that premium is required to access its best features. The price can be split over Venmo if desired. In any case, once one of the two has premium, they can sing a song as a duet, and then invite the other to join them. With most apps, you have to do a second take if you don’t like a recording. But with Smule you can just tap the screen, find the particular spot you didn’t like, and only retake that bit, without having to delete the entire rest of the take.