Advice with Aydan: Remote Social Life
Spending time with friends and peers is, of course, one of the most enjoyable parts of the college experience. Even when class is remote, however, there are some great ways to spend time together. I collected some of the virtual hangout ideas my friends and I made use of this past semester -- I hope you have a good time with them!
Board game nights
What to do without Hex & Co., Morningside Heights’ popular board game cafe? Settlers of Catan was one of my favorite games to play at Hex, but it’s possible to play Catan online for free! It works on any computer, with a downloadable app or in-browser, and is great for 2-3 players (you can have more, but you may need to buy a paid version to exceed the 3 player limit).
Another virtual “board” game my friends and I have frequented during quarantine is Clue, via the game’s phone app which costs $4 for iOS or Android. This is an especially fun choice because it adds something to the traditional board game experience - every scenario you guess is animated, and gameplay is a little more visually immersive than the physical Clue trinkets are. There are also a wide variety of themes you can unlock (you can pay for them or wait for them to become free, which happens pretty often), including a masquerade theme, a Sherlock theme, and more.
If you want a wider variety of boardgames, Tabletopia is another great website that has over 1,000 for you to choose from that you can play with others online. In any case, Zooming or FaceTiming each other while you play whichever game you choose makes for the best experience.
Movie nights
While many people are familiar with Netflix Party, which lets you watch movies together in sync and have a running chat feature, it’s very worthwhile checking out the vast collection of films Barnard students have access to for free via the Barnard/Columbia library system. Barnard has over 23 different film streaming resources/databases that you can access, including Kanopy, the World Cinema Video Collection, LGBT Studies in Video, and more. There are also many resources that allow you to watch filmed live performing arts productions, like Digital Theatre Plus, Global Shakespeares Video & Performance Archive, and Naxos Video Library. Since all Barnard and Columbia students have access to these resources, you can synchronize watching and/or video chat with each other while you watch without even needing to pay for a Netflix subscription.
You can find Barnard Library’s list of their film streaming resources here, and Columbia Library’s list here.
Virtual escape rooms/murder mystery parties
I used to love getting a group of friends together to take on one of the many escape rooms in NYC. Luckily, a virtual version is available for quarantine times - several companies have now started to offer Escape Zooms for people to play from different locations. There are various puzzles hidden in different locations online, tasks to perform that often require teamwork and coordination, and other surprises depending on the company orchestrating the game. I personally did an Escape Zoom this past semester - it’s not quite the same experience of course, but it was certainly a lot of fun! Here are some of the Escape Zoom companies you might want to check out: Escape the Space, The Escape Game, and PuzzleBreak.
You can do something similar with the good old fashioned murder mystery party - there are now companies that offer these murder mystery party plans virtually. You can even all make dinner in your respective homes and eat together while you play! Check out Red Herring Games or Murder Mystery Co. for some of the options out there.
Take a virtual walking tour or cooking class
A change of scene is always nice, but especially so right now! Another fun activity you might want to try is attending a virtual tour somewhere in the world with your friends. Walks is one company that offers this experience; for $10 you can take 60-90 minute historical and cultural tours around Europe and the U.S. The tour guides for these walks are actually on-site, so it’s a live and not just a prerecorded experience. If you have the kitchen space, you can also try doing a cooking class for $9-15, learning to make paella in Spain, traditional Greek food in Athens, or pizza and pasta with Italian chefs.
Little Fox Kitchen is another option if you want to do a virtual cooking or baking class with a friend - buying a class is good for up to 2 people to stream, and the class will have a maximum of 12 people in it total so you get a smaller group experience. They can teach you to make focaccia, churros, bibimbap, gnocchi, and more.
Staying in touch with others can be challenging in a remote setting, but it’s so important to still find ways to spend time with friends. I hope some of these remote hangout ideas serve you well!