Are you searching for competitive online plays with challenges to launch at your party? Or maybe you are looking for cooperative videogames to test your parkour, intellectual, or survival skills? Delve into this comprehensive article that discusses the best online games that you can play with your friends.
Understanding Different Genres of Online Games
First of all, let’s explore the common genres of games that suit online play. They all indicate various purposes, from cooperative problem solving with strategic thinking of each part-taker to competitive intellectual quizzes where you find out who is smarter. Moreover, whoever enjoys risks can even buy some bingo cards on this site, wager and learn who is the luckiest among friends. But what are the other common genres to play with friends? Well, here are a few of them:
- Cooperative;
- Competitive;
- Party;
- Strategy;
- Puzzle.
Cooperative (Co-op) Games
Co-op games have entered our lives quite long ago. However, their popularity has come to its maximum level because of a rapid spread of high internet access in the late 2010s’.
The cooperative genre allows you to complete missions with a group of friends where each player has their job or plays together in the open world, having to act in a role-play mode.
Highest Picks for Cooperative Online Games
- Overcooked! 2. A chaotic cooking action release by Team 17. It’s a cooperative cooking simulator that turns you and your friends into chefs in the kitchen. The game is available on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation, and Windows.
- It Takes Two. A famous action-adventure cooperative game that perfectly suits the evenings with your lovely partner. The game demonstrates a complicated relationship between the main characters, where your task is to “collaborate” to conquer the levels and solve relationship problems, getting the couple back together. Available on PlayStation, Windows, and Xbox.
- Minecraft. This is an open-world sandbox masterpiece of its time. Although Minecraft was launched in 2011, the game still attracts millions for its multiple online play features. Minecraft is so diverse, offering unlimited opportunities to enjoy the custom world with your friends.
Competitive Games
If you want to try out your skills and compete with friends, these games will definitely show who is better. Competitive online plays involve a ranking system that demonstrates your playing skills, therefore picking up opponents depending on your rank.
Best Competitive Online Games to Challenge Friends
- Fortnite. Develop, stay competitive, and meet with friends at Fortnite. This is a free-to-play creation of Apex Games that took a large share of players who prefer PVP third-person shooters with survival elements. Its large benefit is the ability to play cross-play, as the game is available on PCs, consoles, and mobile devices.
- Rocket League. Play soccer with a vehicle. Rocket League celebrates its 10th anniversary in 2025. Players love it for intense battles and amazing car customization features. The gameplay is unique, giving easy access to newbies, but it requires lots of skills to master. Available on PS, Xbox, and Windows.
- Apex Legends. This is an Electronic Arts version of the battle royal shooter. Players compete in the first-person shooter in the science fiction universe of the other shooter from EA, called Titanfalls. It’s available for free on all devices, including PS 4, PS 5, Xbox, Windows, iOS, and Android.
Party Games
Add a little spark to your party with special in-house games. This game genre turns your classic party into an excellent evening that everyone will remember. It could be a quiz that you play in groups or individually or on consoles with a big screen.
Engaging Online Party Games for Groups
- Among Us. Find an imposter on the starship! This is a fun multiplayer/cooperative game where you act like detectives, trying to identify a traitor among all players. A 2018 game gathered millions of parties together.
- Jackbox Party Pack. If you have a big TV, screen, or projector at home, Jackbox is a way to turn your party into both a fun and intellectual experience. All participants should connect to the server from their mobile devices to take actions, such as choosing the correct answer, drawing a picture, or voting for different game aspects.
- Pico Park 2. Connect to the Pico Park world with your friends. It combines collaborative puzzle and arcade mechanics. Only by getting together, you will have a chance to escape and pass levels.
Strategy Games
Build an empire or a city with your teammates at the strategics. Strategy is required to make your brain work, as you need to develop your story and manage numerous tasks. Some games from this genre are complicated, while others may be simpler.
Strategic Online Games for Thoughtful Play
- Civilization VI. Create your own civilization from the early settlements and control the powers. Develop your world on any possible device, including iOS, Android, PS 4, Xbox, and Windows.
- Stellaris. This is a real-time strategy game with 4X and grand wargame strategy elements. The game is about exploring, colonizing, and taking control of the interstellar civilization. It was released in 2016 on Windows, MacOS, Linux, and later on PlayStation and Xbox.
- League of Legends. LoL or League is known among thousands of multiplayer strategy-based game lovers. League is a Riot Games release that is available for Windows PCs and Mac computers only. It’s a MOBA. This genre and its free-to-play concept makes it extremely popular.
Puzzle Games
Puzzles bring elements similar to cooperative ones but involve easy or hardcore tasks to solve. Here, you need to crack a puzzle and act in cooperation. The main concept is that you share the risks and successes.
Challenging Online Puzzle Games to Play With Friends
- Portal 2. Think together and find a way to create portals with a special gun. It’s an old classic PC puzzle title where you and your partner can shoot with a gun at the walls and make two portals. One portal leads to another, allowing you to teleport.
- ● Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes. This is a recently presented cooperative hardcore puzzle to play with friends. The concept is the following: one of you has a bomb to demine, while the other describes how to demine by reading the instructions. Of course, with each new bomb, the demining process gets harder, and the timer is ticking faster. Patience and organized actions are key.
- ● Unblock Me. It’s a simple mobile puzzle game where your task is to move bricks to unblock an object. Here, you need to apply your logic skills and forecasting skills to pass rounds. Unblock Me is one of the pioneers in this genre.
Tips for Choosing the Right Online Game
Communicating while playing is great, but how do you select games for your group? Here, we’ve presented categories of questions that you need to answer.
Group Size
Some of the online plays that we have shown support only two players. While others are suitable for 4 or more. Depending on the number of friends ready to play, you can pick online cooperative titles, puzzles, or party live pastimes.
Platform Capability
For most of the mentioned simulators, survivals, or competitive games, you either need a PC or console. However, some require only a mobile phone.
Always read the description and learn in advance if the game suits your device.
Player Preferences
If you wish to test your analytical, strategical, reflex, intellectual, or all combined skills, pick titles you enjoy or are better at. If long strategy-based pastimes, like Civilization, are not for you, try out Fortnite, Among Us, or launch Jackbox at your party and test your friends.
Time Commitment
All online plays are intense time-eaters. However, some may require hours to play a game. For example, the strategy multipliers require hours, while the Rocket League’s round takes around 5 minutes. It would be easier to organize your time.
Conclusion
Enjoy wonderful games with friends from the categories above. We’ve collected the best examples of online game genres in one article, including competitive charm, cooperative duels, party boosters, thoughtful challenges, and puzzles to get your brain cells working. All of these selections are great, so take your pick.