Guess Who was a great therapy game in in-person sessions. It builds communication skills, problem solving, and focus. Fortunately, I recently discovered an online version that you can play with clients over Zoom.
When you get to the site, select “Multiplayer” and “Create room.” Then give yourself a nickname and your room a password, and give your client the link to the game. They select “Multiplayer” and “Join room.” They will select the room with your name and input the password. This ensures that no one else joins your game, and as long as you stay connected on Zoom, your session is still HIPAA-compliant.
This isn’t my usual pro and con list because some of the differences between online Guess Who and in person Guess Who can be pros or cons depending on your orientation. First, you get to choose which character instead of getting one randomly assigned – this can turn into a child taking half of their session to decide, or it can help with decision-making skills.
Second, there are questions provided to choose from, so you can’t come up with your own. This makes the game less creative but also prevents ambiguous questions (I once had a client ask if my character was squinting).
Third, the game crosses off wrong answers for you, so this might cause the client to be less engaged in the game, but it also prevents them from accidentally crossing off the wrong character, which is frustrating.
Finally, you can’t give the wrong answer to a question, which again prevents misunderstandings that can be frustrating, but again, it makes the game less directly engaging.
Guess Who is can be played online, but the feel of the game is very different from in-person sessions.