You keep saying you’ll visit soon, but life has a talent for getting in the way. Or maybe you’re looking for some new faces, because everyone is so busy in the middle of the night when you can’t sleep: either way, find and keep new friends with the help of online gaming.

There’s so much to choose from, you just need to find your niche – and you’re more likely to click with someone if that’s also their niche.

Board games

Did you know a lot of your childhood’s favorite board games are online now? For example, the Monopoly Man has frog marched his way off of every board game theme under the sun and onto the internet. Get matched up on the mobile app with fellow capitalist entrepreneurs or play online with invited friends.

Is there a game near and dear to you and your friends, but it doesn’t have a good online equivalent, like Cards Against Humanity or Trivial Pursuit, then take a leaf from role playing games and select a dungeon master or a host. Create a group video call and select someone to move pieces and read out questions.

Trivia games

In the same vein as Trivial Pursuit, those of us who are missing our weekly pub quiz can scratch that itch with a host reading the questions. Streamline the Trivial Pursuit experience and just read off the cards and keep points. Find questions online, or if you use an app the host can even join in, reading the question, then writing an answer and revealing the answer in the app – if you trust them of course.

You can even turn the questions into an icebreaker or party game by turning the questions into probes about personal anecdotes, in the same vein as Never Have I Ever or Two Truths and a Lie.

Casino games

There are even places online where you can play card games. Sites like NetBet casino as a prime example of the genre, offer all the classic games like poker, hold ‘em and baccarat in their Live Casino option. Join a game and before you know it you might get a rapport going with someone.

Console games

There are thousands of online multiplayer games available if you prefer to do your gaming on a console, but the classic that has only improved over time is Rainbow Six Siege. Launched in 2015, the tactical shoot lets you create a team of operators to complete missions in a war-torn environment that you can use as another line of defense as you defuse bombs, rescue hostages, and obtain a prized object.

All the while you’ll get a good amount of chat from fellow players, since the game has an emphasis on strategic cooperation, but you’ve got to fill the silences between plans. There’s so much so that Twitch streamers have gone viral releasing out of context clips of their absurd conversations. There are no awkward silences with the sound of gunfire in the background.