The coronavirus pandemic brought about significant changes to the social lives of teenagers; ever since the first lockdown, it has been quite challenging to find an activity to do with friends, especially due to the current transitioning stage from lockdown to normality. For that reason, The Talon has constructed a list evaluating several possible activities one should consider to bolster their friendships and form new social ties.

• Go-Karting

Arguably nothing is more COVID friendly than Go-Karting; after all, the objective is to be the furthest away from everybody else (except in the backward direction). Not only is it COVID safe, but it’s also extremely fun, and fairly easy to book a time. Depending on the place, karting races last around 20 minutes, with the possibility to race for various amounts of time.

• Escape rooms

Escape rooms such as Escape 60 and Escape Hotel are fun, COVID-safe challenges to try out with friends. They revolve around people being “locked” in a large room/series of rooms for a limited period of time (usually around 60 minutes), with the objective of searching for clues in order to get out. If they manage to escape the room before the timer runs out, they win. The escape rooms tend to be timed in a very tense manner, with most people leaving the rooms with only a couple of minutes to spare. Most rooms in São Paulo also follow strict COVID protocols in order to minimize the spread of illnesses, that way people are able to have fun without having to worry. 

Online Activities – Browser Games

For those who are a little more skeptical about physical activities and would rather socialize through the internet with friends, there are still multiple fun options to choose from. Unfortunately, some games are Windows exclusive, meaning that you won’t be able to easily play them on a MacBook. For that reason, browser games are perfect since you can play them on any device with a search engine! Some fun and interesting online games are:

• Gartic phone

Gartic phone, also known as The Telephone Game or in Portuguese: “Telefone sem fio”, is an online game centered around communication (or lack thereof). The game starts off with someone drawing a picture, then the next person must describe what the person before has drawn, and the next person must draw a representation of the description, and so on. Depending on how bad the interpretations are, the end product could look completely different than the original picture. 

• Connect four

Unfortunately, Gartic Phone does require many people to play for it to work, and sometimes there just aren’t that many people available. In those circumstances, there’s always the game of Connect Four! Everybody knows the classic game of Connect Four, and (unsurprisingly enough) it also comes as a browser-based game found on https://connect-4.org/en.

• Chess.com

Some might find Connect Four as boring, repetitive, or maybe too easy after playing for a while; in that case, Chess also happens to come as a browser-based game. There are many different game modes to try out, such as free-for-all and even four-way chess, so it’s hard for it to become repetitive, even after playing for a while.

• Skribbl.io

Chess tends to be quite a long game, and by then maybe some friends are now available to play again. In that case, Skribbl.io becomes a very obvious pick. Skribbl is a game about (you guessed it) scribbling and making (un)educated guesses. In a round, someone is given 3 options to draw; if more people correctly guess what they’re trying to draw, they get more points. Those guessing also are awarded points depending on how quickly they managed to do so. The game is also very customizable, as the host may change how many rounds in total, how much time people have to draw, and even which words are given as options. 

• Buzzfeed quizzes

An online option for extremely bored people is doing quizzes on the Buzzfeed website, especially while comparing results with friends. Some notable ones are: “We’ll Reveal Which “Twilight” Character You Are Based On The Desserts You Choose”, “Order Some Ice Cream And We’ll Tell You Which Marvel Character You Truly Embody”, “It’s Kinda Hard To Explain, But The Wild Wedding You Plan Will Reveal Which Marvel Guy You Should Marry”, and “It’s Kinda Odd, But Your Sushi Order Will Reveal Your Soulmate’s Initials”. 

The Talon hopes that the 7 activities listed above are, to some degree, helpful in rediscovering one’s pre-lockdown social life, while also staying protected from Covid. Make sure you stay active but stay safe.