It is that time which we had always asked for, but never really could get hold of. The coronavirus pandemic apart from being cruel and putting the economies of the world on hold, has brought friends and family together with all the time it has given us as a blessing. We all are locked at home, away from the chaos of life. Lockdown has also stopped kids from going outside to play and enjoy which can surely make them restless.
Meanwhile, there are a lot of things like fun activities, games, apps, channels, binge-watching, and a lot more that is cutting down the boredom one might feel at home.
Also Read: Top 5 Multiplayer Games
One such application is PLATO, the all-in-one chat app which lets you play a number of games within the same app along with chatting with people and making friends. Plato launched back in 2014 but has got all the love it deserved during the lockdown period. Plato is no doubt the best place to chat & play multiplayer games with anyone from around the world. Plato is rated for teens, so all the kids can also use this one, but parental supervision is advised.
Read: Best Educational Games for Kids
This app is available in 24 languages and offers no annoying ads, just pure gameplay. The best part is that you don’t need any email or mobile number or facebook account to get access into the app, hence there is no privacy concern. Although the app is available for free, there are in-app purchases to access advanced levels in the games.
Plato has over 40+ group games on the same app so it cuts down the hassle to keep installing new games for fun. The list of multiplayer games include: Table Soccer, Pool, Ocho, Mini Golf, Bankroll, 4 in a Row, Hold’em Poker, Minesweepers, Go Fish, Zombie!, Draw Together, Dots & Boxes, Ludo, Literati, Chess, Big Two, Gin Rummy, Dice Party, Dominoes, Rock Card, Checkers, Spades, Backgammon, Go, Hearts, and many more.
All the new and trendy games keep getting added to this list with time. All these games are multiplayer games and you can easily create groups of upto 100 people, be it your friends, family, or strangers and play with them with real-time chatting.
Let’s get into this super fun social app Plato and see what all it has for us.
Search the Plato-Games & Group Chats App on Google Play Store and Apple App Store to download. The moment your app gets downloaded and you open it, you get to see the Home Page with PlatoBot and PlatoNews as the default chat rooms open. A Plato ID gets created for you which you can easily edit by clicking on the Profile icon on the top left corner. The profile page also shows your bio which can edit, your coin earning from all the games you have won, and a progress bar for each and every game you have played or are going to play.
There’s another tab called ‘People’ which allows you to add friends by inviting them via any other social network like Whatsapp, Facebook, Instagram, or you can add them with their Plato ID as well. You can also create Groups from here once you have added friends to chat and make the multiplayer gameplay easy.
Also Read: Favourite games to play during the lockdown
Here’s a list of the most popular and entertaining games you can play with your friends on Plato:
Ludo:
Ludo is a strategy game where 2 to 4 players race their pieces from the start to finish. The game is derived from the Indian game of Pachisi. It is also closely related to other games such as Sorry! and Aggravation. The board used in Plato is slightly smaller than regular Ludo boards to encourage quicker gameplay. The goal of the game is to use the die roll to navigate all four of your pieces out of your Home and to your Finish area of the board.
Reversi:
Reverze is a 2 player game, played on a board of 64 squares arranged in 8×8 rows and columns. The game begins with four discs already placed on the board. A set of 64 identical pieces is shared by both players. Each piece is a disc that is black on one side and white on the other. The object of Reverze is to flip the most discs to your colour by the end of the game.
The game continues until neither side can move; usually, this does not happen until the board is entirely filled. The player whose colour is up on more of the discs at the end is the winner. If both players have the same number of discs of their colour up, the game is a draw.
Backgammon:
Backgammon is a 2 player game. The four quadrants of the Backgammon board are shown below.
The triangular-shaped spaces that the checkers occupy are known as “points”. Each player begins with 15 checkers, which are set up on a board. The numbers along the top and bottom of the board indicate the names of the different points. The object of Backgammon is to be the 1st player to move all of his/her checkers off the board. Before starting, players decide on the number of score points (1,3,5,9). The first player to reach that agreed score points wins the game.
Minesweepers:
Minesweepers is Plato’s multiplayer version of the classic Minesweeper game, which is normally a single player game. Minesweepers is played with 2 to 4 players. The object of the game is to clear as many tiles as possible while trying to avoid the mines. The game ends when all the mines have been discovered. The player with the most points at the end wins the game.
The game is played in 30 seconds turns, with each turn being shared by all players. When a player has tapped on a tile, they must wait for all other players to finish their selections. After all players have selected their tiles (or if the 30 seconds timer is up), the turn ends and the selected tiles are revealed.
BankRoll:
Bankroll is a modern real-estate trading board game for 2 to 4 players, designed to be quick and hassle-free. This is the exact replica of the famous board-game, Business and Monopoly which all of us love to play.
The goal of the game is to be the first to reach a net worth of either $3,000, $5,000 or $7,000. The net worth goal can be set before the start of the game. Players have the option to set a maximum number of rounds to either 30, 50 or unlimited rounds. The game will also end if all but one player have gone bankrupt. A player that’s been inactive for too long will be forfeited and their purchased properties will be returned to the bank.
Update:
UNO!
This is a free gaming app that takes a slightly different approach from the mainstream UNO game. Having said that, you can play this game in classic mode with your friends. The game accompanies features that allow you to text and talk so that you can address your friends through the app while you are playing it. This app allows you to play classic UNO card game or select from a variety of house rules to play in real-time matches, compete in tournaments and win rewards to top the leaderboards, partner up with friends and play in 2v2 mode and become joint winners and also connect with friends from around the world in UNO Clubs!
Key Features:
- Play the Classic Game.
- Room Mode lets you invite friends and set up your own house rules.
- Find a friend and partner up to battle in 2v2 mode.
- Connect with friends in UNO clubs and send each other gifts.
- Compete in tournaments and special events to win rewards.
- Wild game mode where you win big or go home empty-handed.
