If you're like many gamers you've shifted your gaming online. We already covered virtual tabletops, but you can also use video to really enhance the experience--or even just use video alone and roll dice the old fashioned way.
When choosing a video platform, the only way to really determine what's best for you is to try a free trial with all of your participants. Generally speaking, the most important person to be seen is the game master, so as long as players have at least audio the game will run just fine. That said, if you're not using a virtual tabletop, it may be important to have all the players be visible, in which case you'll want a platform that provides that functionality. If you're planning on recording or streaming the session, that will be a factor to consider in choosing your platform.
Conversely, not every platform works well for every participant. A variety of factors are at play, including the Internet bandwidth of the participants, their operating systems, the processing power of their devices, and the web browsers they use to connect.
Most video chat platforms allow their service to be used for free by limiting one of two factors: number of users or duration. Given that most tabletop games probably require four to seven users (counting the game master) and for durations longer than 40 minutes, you'll probably end up paying for a plan. The good news is that just one account will usually suffice for a gaming group, so the cost can be shared among all the players and the game master.
It's also worth noting that each of these video sharing platforms have different levels of security--a factor worth considering if you're worried about someone listening in. This can range from the platform's ability to be hacked to just simply having random people joining your chat uninvited ("zoombombing"). Zoom has been in the news for precisely this reason, although the company has recently made efforts to address its security concerns.
Here's a list of the various free options and how they work, listed from least to most expensive for the upgraded option. Please note that these prices were current at the time the article was written and may be subject to change, and that although we've tried to be comprehensive it's entirely possible there are other platforms that are missing.
Discord (Free)
Discord allows group video chatting of up to 10 people.
Facebook Messenger (Free)
Facebook Messenger allows up to 50 people at once, but can only display six at a time on screen.
Houseparty (Free)
Owned by Epic Games, Houseparty is a multi-platform app that allows easy drop-in video chats and includes games that can be played with friends. It allows up to 8 people at once.
Kast (Free)
Kast, like Houseparty, allows up to 20 members to stream simultaneously.
Jitsi (Free)
Jitsi is an open source video chat platform that allows for up to 75 participants, but performance suffers after 35. Jitsi's time limit is 3 hours.
Google Hangouts (Free or $6/month)
Google Hangouts is perhaps the best known video chat platform. It is also one of the oldest and hasn't aged well as more browsers and devices have become commonplace. Google Hangouts has several variants (including the paid Google Meet, which is $6/month that bumps up the max users to 25), that allows 10 participants with no time limit. Unfortunately, Google Hangouts has a lot of compatibility and resource issues that makes it unusable for some platforms, and you need a Gmail account to use it.
Slack (Free or $6.67/month)
Slack only allows 1-to-1 video chatting for free but can accommodate group video calls of up to 15 people with no time limit.
Skype (Free or $8.99/month)
Group video calls are subject to a limit of 100 hours per month with no more than 10 hours per day and a limit of 4 hours per individual video call. Skype can accommodate up to 50 users at once.
Gotomeeting (Free or $12/month)
Gotomeeting allows 3 participants and 40 minutes free. The Starter plan increases the number to 150 participants.
Webex Meetings (Free or $13.50/month)
Webex meetings allows up to 100 participants for free and has a 40 minute time limit. You can bump the duration to unlimited by paying for the Starter plan.
RingCentral (Free or $14.99/month)
RingCentral offers up to 100 participants and 40 minutes for free. It offers unlimited group meetings when purchasing the Essentials plan.
Zoom (Free or $14.99/month)
For free, Zoom allows hosting up to 100 participants with unlimited 1-to-1 meetings and a 40 minute maximum for group meetings (although an unlimited number of meetings). Paying $14.99/month increases the duration to 24 hours.
We currently use Zoom in conjunction with Roll20 and that's worked better than Google Hangouts for our weekly game . If you've had a good or bad experience with a platform or know of another video solution to recommend to gamers, let us know in the comments!
When choosing a video platform, the only way to really determine what's best for you is to try a free trial with all of your participants. Generally speaking, the most important person to be seen is the game master, so as long as players have at least audio the game will run just fine. That said, if you're not using a virtual tabletop, it may be important to have all the players be visible, in which case you'll want a platform that provides that functionality. If you're planning on recording or streaming the session, that will be a factor to consider in choosing your platform.
Conversely, not every platform works well for every participant. A variety of factors are at play, including the Internet bandwidth of the participants, their operating systems, the processing power of their devices, and the web browsers they use to connect.
Most video chat platforms allow their service to be used for free by limiting one of two factors: number of users or duration. Given that most tabletop games probably require four to seven users (counting the game master) and for durations longer than 40 minutes, you'll probably end up paying for a plan. The good news is that just one account will usually suffice for a gaming group, so the cost can be shared among all the players and the game master.
It's also worth noting that each of these video sharing platforms have different levels of security--a factor worth considering if you're worried about someone listening in. This can range from the platform's ability to be hacked to just simply having random people joining your chat uninvited ("zoombombing"). Zoom has been in the news for precisely this reason, although the company has recently made efforts to address its security concerns.
Here's a list of the various free options and how they work, listed from least to most expensive for the upgraded option. Please note that these prices were current at the time the article was written and may be subject to change, and that although we've tried to be comprehensive it's entirely possible there are other platforms that are missing.
Discord (Free)
Discord allows group video chatting of up to 10 people.
Facebook Messenger (Free)
Facebook Messenger allows up to 50 people at once, but can only display six at a time on screen.
Houseparty (Free)
Owned by Epic Games, Houseparty is a multi-platform app that allows easy drop-in video chats and includes games that can be played with friends. It allows up to 8 people at once.
Kast (Free)
Kast, like Houseparty, allows up to 20 members to stream simultaneously.
Jitsi (Free)
Jitsi is an open source video chat platform that allows for up to 75 participants, but performance suffers after 35. Jitsi's time limit is 3 hours.
Google Hangouts (Free or $6/month)
Google Hangouts is perhaps the best known video chat platform. It is also one of the oldest and hasn't aged well as more browsers and devices have become commonplace. Google Hangouts has several variants (including the paid Google Meet, which is $6/month that bumps up the max users to 25), that allows 10 participants with no time limit. Unfortunately, Google Hangouts has a lot of compatibility and resource issues that makes it unusable for some platforms, and you need a Gmail account to use it.
Slack (Free or $6.67/month)
Slack only allows 1-to-1 video chatting for free but can accommodate group video calls of up to 15 people with no time limit.
Skype (Free or $8.99/month)
Group video calls are subject to a limit of 100 hours per month with no more than 10 hours per day and a limit of 4 hours per individual video call. Skype can accommodate up to 50 users at once.
Gotomeeting (Free or $12/month)
Gotomeeting allows 3 participants and 40 minutes free. The Starter plan increases the number to 150 participants.
Webex Meetings (Free or $13.50/month)
Webex meetings allows up to 100 participants for free and has a 40 minute time limit. You can bump the duration to unlimited by paying for the Starter plan.
RingCentral (Free or $14.99/month)
RingCentral offers up to 100 participants and 40 minutes for free. It offers unlimited group meetings when purchasing the Essentials plan.
Zoom (Free or $14.99/month)
For free, Zoom allows hosting up to 100 participants with unlimited 1-to-1 meetings and a 40 minute maximum for group meetings (although an unlimited number of meetings). Paying $14.99/month increases the duration to 24 hours.
We currently use Zoom in conjunction with Roll20 and that's worked better than Google Hangouts for our weekly game . If you've had a good or bad experience with a platform or know of another video solution to recommend to gamers, let us know in the comments!
