Gaming for N00bs: Staying in touch for the holidays with Rounds (and other useful apps)

“Let’s take, for example a 35-year-old dad trying to talk to his 4- or 5-year-old son,” said Dany Fishel, one of the application’s founders, who showed me around Rounds.  “What we’ve seen...with different age groups talking to one another is that they can communicate through Skype, but really young kids have zero tolerance for long periods on Skype or phone. They get bored quickly -- but if you can play a game or pull up a cool YouTube video for them, you can keep them from getting bored and make the conversations longer.”

Of course, kids and parents aren’t the only audience that Rounds will enthrall. Any 20-something worth his or her salt will also jump at the chance to play racing games and look at cute kittens on YouTube with their friends and relatives -- and Rounds offers quite the variety of games, from competitive to cooperative. You can play a Tetris-like game against friends, perform tricks as a skateboarding dog, or save the universe together with lasers in Space Purge. A round of Truth or Dare will surely turn out to be equal parts fun and embarrassing for one and all (like the holidays themselves, really). You can also send amusing animated gifts, use silly effects a la Apple's Photo Booth, change your background to suit a variety of moods and seasons, and take snapshots with your besties to, conveniently, post on Facebook.

One of the features that I also found particularly neat was the addition of a chat mode, during which you receive conversation-starters based on the information you’ve provided on Facebook. This function can help you find shared interests without stumbling through small talk -- and since Rounds can be used to chat with strangers, it comes in handy for breaking the ice. This feature can help you reacquaint yourself with a friend you haven’t talked to since middle school or hit it off with the cute dude you just met in Economics, no awkward silences necessary.

While many Facebook apps will quickly coax you into paying for content, Rounds seems to employ a better, cheaper system for earning access to new games and accessories: You earn coins for specific actions, like referring friends, and can use them to unlock features. The more friends registered means more reasons to enjoy Rounds. And in this season of shrinking bank account balances, isn’t free fun one of the greatest gifts of all?

Of course, Rounds isn’t the only app that makes connecting over long distances easy and fun. The following are a few other games that might help you feel a little bit closer to the ones you love this holiday season.

Words with Friends. Even if you haven’t picked this game up yet, you’ve probably heard good things about it. Words with Friends is basically Scrabble, so it's fun with the added benefit of making you feel like you’re doing something educational. You can challenge your pals to a game on iPhone, Android, or on Facebook, and a chat feature helps it feel all the more personal. The developer, Zynga, also offers other social games like Hanging with Friends (hangman) and Chess with Friends.

Farmville, etc. I never got into Farmville and similar Facebook games, but I know (and I’m sure you do, too) plenty of people who really enjoy them. When I asked my Facebook friends to tell me what games they use to stay in touch over long distances, I was a bit surprised by how many cited Farmville or Sims Social as their go-to. Both are easy to use for all ages and require a certain amount of interaction to be interesting; the more friends you have to play with, the better your experience will be.

Family Game Night. When you were a wee one, your family may have gotten together every so often over popcorn and a board game. You might not be living with the ‘rents anymore, but there’s no reason you can’t still enjoy some quality time -- if you both have an Xbox, that is. Family Game Night lets you relive your childhood and feel close to home with favorites like Sorry!, Boggle, and Jenga. Pro tip: This feature is a free download on Xbox Live, but the zero-dollar pricetag will only get you the lobby and some very short free trials; you’ll have to purchase the games separately.

Animal Crossing. Fun to play alone, but better with friends, Animal Crossing is a social simulation game that lets you make a home in a charming village filled with charming anthropomorphic animal buddies. This game’s appeal is its open-endedness: In lieu of an overarching plotline, you’re encouraged to focus on exploring, collecting, and connecting, the latter of which you can do with the in-game characters and your friends from the real world. Connect to Nintendo Wi-Fi and you’re ready to go. You can also use it to play Santa and show your favorite people that you care by sending packages and personal messages just in time for the holidays.

What's your favorite online social game?

'Gaming for N00bs' is TNGG Boston's bi-weekly Sunday gaming column, written by Vanessa Formato.

Photos courtesy of Rounds

About Vanessa -- Vanessa Formato is a 22-year-old Clark University graduate, freelance journalist, vegan cupcake enthusiast and video game aficionado. She blogs about body image and tweets about puppies. So awesome, even John Stamos is impressed.

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