These are all games that I've personally played with remote teams and found to be fun and engaging for a remote team of coworkers. All games listed here also be free and relatively easy to setup. They only require a voice or video chat tool.
Fast-paced Pictionary-style game. Easy to understand and get started; quick, but lots of replay value.
- Optimum players: 3-8
- Play time: 10+ min
Secret information word-association game. Somewhat hard to explain the rules but easy to get the hang of it. Can sometimes get 'stalled' thinking of clues, or deliberating guesses.
- Optimum players: 4+
- Play time: ~30 min
Alternative Mode - CODENAMES GREEN
A variant of CODENAMES where both teams work together to guess the same group of words. May be a bit more confusing to play than the standard mode.
Players gets dropped on a random location on Google StreetView and have guess where they are on a globe. Difficulty varies wildly depending on the chosen location. Replay is limited a player may only 'drive' during one game per day (unless a you have a paid account).
- Optimum players: 2+
- Play time: ~20min
Players choose words in a certain set of categories, with points awarded for unique words and alliteration. It can be a little diffuclt to explain the rules to anyone who hasn't played before, but most players catch on pretty quickly.
- Optimum players: 2+
- Play Time: ~20min
Asymmetric game where players must either complete a series of tasks in the form of minigames (crewmates) or attempt to sneakily kill thier opponents without being detected (imposters). It's free for mobile devices (though it's not as easily to play on mobile) or can be purchased for desktop. Once you get everyone set up, it's easy to play, but takes a while to get the hang of all the more subtle aspects of the game.
- Optimum players: 4-10
- Play Time: 10~15min