13 games to help Cambridge students survive Easter term in lockdown

It can get pretty boring switching from staring at the ceiling to your laptop screen and then back to ceiling every 10 minutes. And supervision essays don’t really help with the whole losing-the-will-to-live vibe that Easter in lockdown brings. The good news is that there are still a few ways to make your days this term somewhat entertaining. So keep scrolling for 13 different ways to have fun whilst being an online student!

1. Having a meme-making competition during the lecture

For those of you with close friends in your subject, I would recommend writing down every single funny thing your lecturer says, making it into a meme, and sharing it with each other. It’s kind of like a better and subtler version of whispering in each other’s ears during a lecture. Especially for those of you that don’t have an indoor voice.

2. Seeing which supo partner can keep a straight face the longest

Try anything. Funny photos on Snapchat, jokes about what your supervisor just said, even pulling a face when the supervisor isn’t looking over Zoom. Anything to see who will start laughing first! Leave your supervisor both confused and disturbed at why mathematical theories have you in hysterics.

I win

3. Seeing how long you can go with the video and sound off in a Zoom call with your supervisor before they notice

It may be fun to assess how insignificant you are to your supervisor, and to see if, just like you probably are, they have spent the whole supervision staring at their own face rather than yours. Good for finding out your intellectual value. Maybe not so good for your academic ego.

4. Lecture Drinking games

Self-explanatory, and can be tailored to your course. Some things to start off with: take a shot every time they say nobody will be using this room after them, that they’re not on Sidge, and when they can’t screen share properly.

5. Convincing your mum you’re not procrastinating from actual work

Walking around my house in your onesie with a laptop you’re only using to write procrastination-fuelled Tab articles on is probably not what your mum had in mind when you received your offer for Cambridge. Spend your days obscuring the laptop screen, pretending you’re writing an essay, and say the onesie, as every Cambridge student knows, does wonders for concentration.

6. Faking good art for the clout

College asking you to send in photos and drawings you’ve done? A good game is to send as many pictures from google images as possible before you get caught because, hey, no one will have seen you draw it anyway!

7. Coming up with something relevant to say on your college-local Camfess

This is actually a LOT harder than you might expect. Especially since your college is probably only providing you with wholesome content for you to work with. Maybe you could extrapolate rumours from the endless pub quiz questions? Or say that so-and-so cheated on the Bake Off? Sure, it’s unkind and I wouldn’t recommend this, but if you’re really bored and need some chaos, it may be a shout. Do it for the drama.

8. Cheating with lockdown training regimes

Trying to convince your LBC you should still be on W1 next term when you haven’t really moved for weeks is a tricky case. You’re going to need to come up with a few solutions to make it look like you’ve been training. Maybe film yourself doing a sit-up and play it on a loop? Or have internet that cuts out at convenient points during the training session? Finding ingenious ways to fake exercise is probably as good for you as actually doing it is.

9. Designing stash for your course

Quite a fun one. Just sit in your bedroom and draw logos on printed-off outlines of t-shirts. Gently sobbing because your course is small, under-funded and this stash will never get made is entirely optional.

10. Following a Stephen Toope email drinking game

One of the many, many on Camfess.

11. Following Stephen Toope’s advice

Perhaps you should watch that video from the museum of Zoology or the Faculty of Classics and educate yourself. The main challenge here may be the stamina to get through all of these videos without getting just a little bit bored…

12. Seeing how many 9ams you can get away with missing

Since lectures are now recorded, see how many you can get away with not watching that you promise you’ll watch later. Actually, this seems more like a plan than a game.

13. Trying to recreate the smells of your college

I recently discovered that a certain brand of mango chutney tastes exactly like the smell of the gyp in a staircase I’ve visited a few times, and now get emotional every time I eat it. Lockdown sure is wonderful. A fun game would be to mix together random items in your cupboard to try to recreate the smells of college, so that you can pretend you’re back there again.

Hopefully, all of these games will keep you amused in lockdown term, and allow you to joyfully procrastinate from your degree!