The New Normal, part 2

Below are some of my observations heading into our 7th week of shelter-in-place:

1. Although I no longer spend time commuting to work (which didn’t take that long to begin with), I spend a lot more time figuring out what to eat, buying groceries, and washing dishes. I also spend a lot less time moving around and being active at home, and more time working.
2. It’s enlightening to realize which things I thought were important before, but now don’t seem as important in light of the global pandemic (e.g., my use of hair gel has gone way down).
3. It’s been so interesting to see who reaches out to me, and also who I maintain contact with during this time.
4. Somehow weekends feel even shorter than before.

I forgot to mention in my last post that I found out one of my friends is expecting a kid in one of my random phone calls. In August, so not a coronavirus baby, but still. He had wanted to tell people in person, but obviously that’s not possible given the circumstances. In that moment I was so glad to have called him, since the conversation enabled me to have a deeper sense of connection to him. He also invited me to a Zoom Jackbox game night as a result of the conversation, and it was cool to meet some of his friends even though it was virtual.

Speaking of Zoom, it’s been a godsend in these crazy end times. I have been pleasantly surprised by how effective Zoom calls and game nights have been in helping me stay connected to family and friends. Not only that, Zoom facilitates meetups with friends who otherwise wouldn’t have been able to join, either due to physical distance or family (kid) obligations.

On top of the list of things that I thought were important before, but now don’t seem as important, is being able to play volleyball with friends. Before the pandemic, I was playing volleyball several times a week, and couldn’t imagine life without it. Thanks to coronavirus, I no longer have to imagine what that’s like. What I realized, though, is that I valued the social interactions and friendships more than the actual volleyball itself. That’s also why I’ve been organizing semi-regular Zoom game nights as a means to catch up and see what everybody is up to…which is essentially what I was doing before with in-person game nights, albeit now on a more frequent basis.

If there’s one thing I’m grateful for in the time of COVID, it’s how much life has slowed down amidst shifting priorities. Yes, I spend a lot more time grocery shopping and cleaning, but I also have a lot more time to myself on the weekends. A couple weekends ago, I took the opportunity to drop off homemade mochi and catch up with a few friends — safely, while socially distancing outside, of course. It felt so good to just hang out without needing to rush off to another engagement. In addition, I also got some snacks and brisket in return, which was awesome since brisket for mochi = best trade ever. Overall life just feels a lot more communal, probably because there’s this “we’re all in this together” mentality that wasn’t as felt before.

Combine that with the fact that it seems harder to have separation from work on the weekdays, and maybe that’s why I actually value my weekends more than before, and why they feel shorter than ever. There’s probably something to be learned here on how I should be be living my weekends when life returns to normal, but in the meantime I’m content with a slower pace of life while Zooming and safely hanging out with friends. I do want to return to normalcy as soon as possible, but understand that there are risks to relaxing restrictions too quickly. Regardless, my hope is that we would all learn from this time and be different people when shelter-in-place is lifted.

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Best games to play via Zoom:

1. Codenames (non-affiliate link) via horsepaste.com (free). If you haven’t heard of or played this game, it means you haven’t played games for the past 10 years…it’s time to get with the program. Trust is paramount here, as anybody can access the spymaster version of the web page. Best practice is to share screen via Zoom and have the spymasters look at the decoded versions on their own devices. Update: was just told that codewordsgame.com is a better option than horsepaste (h/t Nate).
2.  Jackbox Games ($, varies depending on game). This is perfect if you’re looking for casual party games. It is mostly family friendly, but note that some questions can be, uh, adult (you should be able to adjust this in settings). Somebody will need to buy this on their computer so they can share screen, and everybody else will play on their smartphone or computer (it’s best if you’re Zooming on one device and playing on your smartphone). I’d recommend the native Mac version instead of the Steam version, but up to you.
   • Party packs 3 and 4 are what I recommend (you can read this link for info on the games in the packs).
   • Drawful 2 (this was free when COVID started, but not sure if it’s still free now). One of my favorites, it’s up to 8 people.
   • Fibbage 3. There’s an additional “Fibbage About You” game within Fibbage 3, which I highly recommend playing with friends who know each other. Fibbage is also highly recommended.
   • Guesspionage. A more recent discovery, this is a percentage based trivia game which is fast, easy, and interesting.
   • Quiplash. Requires some wit, can be hit or miss depending on the crowd.
   • Trivia Murder Mystery. I’ve only recently started playing this, and it’s enjoyable although not my go-to.
3. Board Game Arena (free, with a paid premium option). This site can be intimidating for non-gamers, but it’s the place to go if you’re into board games. The interface is not the best but the content is amazing. I have recently become addicted to this, and have played it with friends on Zoom as well as just random people on the site.
   • I should note also that this site is great for exploring new games…there are links to videos on how to play most (if not all) games on the site.
   • Games I have played and recommend on the site (some of which are better played online than in person): 7 Wonders, Coup, Hanabi, Red7, Kingdomino, Sushi Go, For Sale, Colt Express, Stone Age, Oh Hell!, Not Alone.
4. Spades+ (free, on Android and iOS). I never tire of this 4 player trick-taking card game.
5. Avalon (non-affiliate link) via Avalon.fun (free). It’s the social deduction/lying game to play next to multi-round Werewolf, which is available on BGA (no narrator needed).
6. Houseparty (free, I think and up to 8 users on a call). You would use this in place of Zoom…I haven’t used this myself, but I hear there are games directly in the app. Apparently people have raved about it.
7. Here are some additional suggestions from the New York Times. I would love to try Drink Talk Learn with some friends, but not sure who would be up for this…it would require coming up with an elevator pitch for whatever people are passionate about.