11 Online Games for Kids to Play With Friends

Alexandra F.:  Among Us was one of my kids' favorite games to play online with friends at the height of the pandemic. You have to figure out which of your fellow players is the "imposter," and kick them out of the game before they kill everyone. Though it sounds terribly violent, the game is actually quite tame and cartoonish - even my sensitive preschooler enjoys it. We prefer for our kids to play in private rooms so they aren't interacting with strangers, though we're okay with them using public rooms once in a while once the chat function was limited to game-related phrases.

There are a variety of ways to play Fortnite, but the most popular is Battle Royale, where players drop into a virtual world and eliminate each other to try to be the last one standing - sort of like The Hunger Games. It's one of the most visually impressive and immersive free online games for kids to play with friends, and the violence is all cartoonish (no blood). Paid upgrades are available, and this aspect is popular with many kids. The game can be played on most platforms, so it's easy for kids to connect with friends regardless of what device they use at home. Parental controls provide settings for mature language, friend requests, voice chat and more.

Shila:  Bingo Baker allows you to customize bingo cards for an online game with friends. All your friends need to do is click the url that you send to start playing.

Alexandra F.:  My son loved playing Minecraft all through elementary school, and since it’s a multiplayer online game that transitions easily from playing alone to playing with friends, it was always a popular option for play dates. The game is all about creating your own world from resources you gather as you play, sometimes battling monsters in order to survive. I really appreciate how the open-ended game play promotes creativity and collaboration, and that it is enjoyable for a wide range of ages - my preschooler loves to play it as much as my now-middle schooler. The many Minecraft toys and gifts for young fans also made gift-giving quite easy for a few years!

Shila:  Roblox is global online gaming platform with hundreds - actually, millions! - of games to choose from as players can create and publish their own games. Roblox games can fluctuate in popularity, but right now my children and their school-aged friends love Roblox's Adopt Me the most. It takes places in a bubbly 3D virtual world and is all about collecting and raising ultra rare pets. Games range from elementary to teen in appropriateness, so you may want to monitor and learn about the new hit game of the moment. Be mindful of the community chat feature and friend requests, too.

Shila:  Drawasaurus is a multi-player online drawing and guessing game. The premise is very similar to Pictionary, one of our favorite games to play as a family. You can enter an online public game room filled with random players or create your own private room and send that unique link to your friends. The words are auto-generated and fairly simple to sketch (i.e., teddy bear, breakfast, Olympics) and there’s really no other communication besides guessing words. My elementary-aged kids can be entertained by Drawasaurus for hours! I love the simplicity of the game, too.

Alexandra F.:  This massive multiplayer online game inspired all the other ".io" games, and as our entire family can attest, it is simple and addicting. You play as a dot in a large arena where the goal is to gain more mass by "eating" as many other dots as possible. Teaming with others is the best way to grow your dot, so it is a great online game to play with friends and family, using the "party mode" to get into the same arena. The game itself is pretty kid-friendly, though it’s worth noting that players can choose the “skins” that decorate their dots, and these (and sometimes user names) can sometimes be a little weird or potentially inappropriate. Though we’ve never really felt the need, you are able to change game settings to not show "skins" or "nicknames" if you prefer.

Alexandra F.:  This is a great online game for kids of all ages as it is simple enough for young kids to figure out, while still being fun and challenging for older players. My 12 and 4-year-olds love playing it together! Basically, you are a tank in a two-dimensional arena and shoot other tanks to earn points and upgrades. It’s a great multiplayer online game to play with friends, too, because you can play on a web browser and don’t need any particular game console or device. You can create a private arena for just your group, or generate a code to play in the same arena along with other players.

Kelly R:  Brawl Stars is the big thing with my 9 and 12-year-old right now. It's a free online game to play with friends, with a variety of different battle challenges. The big draw for my kids is unlocking new characters ("Brawlers").

Alexandra F.:  Jackbox (and it’s predecessor, You Don’t Know Jack!) has been one of our family’s favorite online games to play together for years! They are especially fun as party games, and adapt perfectly to virtual play as players can use various platforms to play Jackbox together remotely. Party Packs include five different games, including drawing games, writing games, trivia games and more. Though all are rated "teen," you can turn on the "family friendly" setting to make sure content is appropriate for younger players. We especially like Quiplash in our family! Although games are paid, only one person in the group needs to own the game in order for everyone to play.

Alexandra F.:  My teen liked playing this free online version of the category-naming game with friends during quarantine, and all of us still play it today on video calls with family members who live far away. We usually create our own game, choosing from a number of pre-selected categories and then sharing the automatically generated link, though you also have the option to join existing public games. Since we all really like online word games, this is a perfect activity to add a little gameplay over our family Zooms.