Who doesn’t love a game night with their closest friends and family? When we all live such busy lives, it can be hard to get a date on the calendar that works for everyone – but when you are able to do this, it could be the beginning of a memorable and fun night with the people who mean the most to you. If it’s impossible to get everyone together in the same space, hosting a virtual game night over Skype or Zoom could be the next best thing.
Just because you’re hosting a games night over Zoom doesn’t mean that you can’t put some effort into making it enjoyable for those who will be playing with you. One thing you can do is create a fun cocktail menu based on the games you’ll be playing – just remember to send your friends a list of ingredients before the game night so they have time to go out and buy the ingredients!
What games will you play?
Choosing a suitable online game to play is probably the most important part of any game night. You want to choose something that is easy for everyone to get the hang of and is fun enough to engage a large group of people. A popular game for games night is online casino games, which are usually games that everyone is already familiar with. Just because you’re playing virtually also doesn’t mean that you can’t put some real money on the table, as you can place bets and collect your winnings just like you would in a normal casino.
In between casino games, you can break it up with some rounds of Words With Friends, Skribble, 8 Ball Pool, or any other multiplayer with quick rounds. These are fun ways to keep your guests entertained and can provide some relief from the focus required to win big in games like roulette or poker.
What cocktails to drink during your virtual game night
Having themed cocktails for your games night is a great way to get everyone involved, and will let you do a virtual ‘cheers’ over your webcams to begin your entertaining night. Here are some cocktail ideas that we think you and your friends should try.
Play all night long with an espresso martini
If you don’t want your friends to get tired after the first round of poker, keep them up all night with an espresso martini. It’s also a very easy drink to make – your friends already have the ingredients laying around their homes.
All you need is espresso coffee, vodka, and some coffee liqueur like Kahlua, or you can make your coffee liqueur at home. All you need to do is mix one part espresso with two parts of vodka, then mix in half the amount of coffee liqueur and simple syrup if you need to sweeten the drink up a little bit.
The best thing about a martini is that it’s easy to tailor it to your tastes by including different ingredients and liqueurs for a spin on the classic recipe. Some of the different types of martini drinks include lemon, apple, or even a peppermint martini.
Keep it classic with a margarita
Another crowd favorite drink that’s super easy to recreate at home is a margarita, a fresh and delicious drink that will make your friends feel like they’re sipping it poolside rather than at home.
This tequila-based drink may be a little more complicated than the humble martini, but the extra effort that goes into assembling it makes it worth your while. All you – and your friends – need for the best margarita recipe is some tequila, orange liqueur, lime juice, ice, lime, sweetener if needed, and some coarse salt for rimming the glass. You could also turn this basic recipe into a spicy margarita by adding jalapeno and chili to the mixture or the salt rim.
Get in the summer spirit with a gin-based cocktail
When it comes to summer cocktails, gin is a great spirit to include. The flavor is light and can be mixed with lots of different ingredients to create a refreshing drink.
For a particularly good cocktail, try a strawberry and basil gin cocktail. All you need for this summery drink is some fresh strawberries, fresh basil leaves, lemon juice, gin, elderflower liqueur, and tonic water. You just mix all of the ingredients and use some of the strawberries to garnish the glass and you have an extremely delicious cocktail on your hands.The best thing about gin is that it comes in a range of different flavors, which you can use to your advantage to take your cocktail from basic to out-of-this-world. Some of the best-flavored gins that we like to use are cloudy lemon, watermelon, passionfruit, and blackberry gin.
