Best Social Game - Round 1

[This Old Neon]

Round One of the “Best Social Game” side-event includes 6 polls of 9-10 games each.

• You can vote for up to FOUR (4) games in each poll, or skip a poll entirely.
• The top 4 games from each poll will move on to Round Two.
• You can’t change your votes once they’ve been submitted, so click carefully. Voting closes on Saturday at 11:59 P.M. ADT.

VOTE HERE

Poll 1 of 6
Contra / Probotector (1988, NES)
Golden Axe (1989, Arcade)
Mario Golf (1999, N64)
Pokémon Go (2016, Mobile)
Pokémon Stadium 2 (2000, N64)
Splatoon 2 (2017, NS)
Super Smash Bros. (1999, N64)
TetriNET (1997, PC)
You Don't Know Jack (1995, PC)

Poll 2 of 6
Captain America and the Avengers (1991, Arcade)
Fornite (2017, Multiplatform)
Halo: Combat Evolved (2001, PC/XB)
League of Legends (2009, PC)
NBA Jam (1993, Multiplatform)
Smash TV (1990, Arcade)
Teenage Mutant [Hero/Ninja] Turtles (1989, Arcade)
Tooth and Tail (2017, PC/PS4)
Wii Sports (2006, Wii)
Words with Friends (2009, Mobile)

Poll 3 of 6
Apex Legends (2019, Multiplatform)
Geomon (2010, Mobile)
Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes (2015, Multiplatform)
Monster Hunter: World (2018, PC/PS4)
Overcooked (2016, Multiplatform)
Street Fighter II: Champion Edition (1992, Arcade)
Street Fighter II: The World Warrior (1991, Multiplatform)
Township (2012, Mobile)
World of Warcraft (2004, PC)

Poll 4 of 6
Aerobiz (1992, Genesis/SNES)
Double Dragon (1987, Arcade)
Mario Kart 64 (1996, N64)
Overwatch (2016, Multiplatform)
Power Stone 2 (2000, DC)
Saturn Bomberman (1996, Saturn)
Super Mario Maker (2015, 3DS/WU)
Teenage Mutant [Hero/Ninja] Turtles: Turtles in Time (1991, Arcade)
X-Men (1992, Arcade)

Poll 5 of 6
Destiny (2014, Multiplatform)
Diablo II (2000, PC)
Drawful 2 (2016, Multiplatform)
Mario Party 3 (2000, N64)
Rocket League (2015, Multiplatform)
Romance of the Three Kingdoms II (1990, Multiplatform)
Team Fortress 2 (2007, Multiplatform)
The Jackbox Party Pack (2014, Multiplatform)
The Simpsons (1991, Arcade)

Poll 6 of 6
Dark Souls III (2016, Multiplatform)
Gauntlet (1985, Arcade)
Journey (2012, PC/PS3/PS4)
Mario Kart 8 [incl. Deluxe] (2014, NS/WU)
Minecraft (2011, Multiplatform)
Rock Band 3 (2010, Multiplatform)
RuneScape (2001, PC)
Super Smash Bros Ultimate (2018, NS)
Uno (2006, Multiplatform)

[Ouenben]

Pokémon go is the most social game to ever exist. It got people out of the house and going on walks with friends, family and partners. I'd run into my own neighbour all stout my city when going on Pokewalks. Me and a bunch of friends would go out several times a week to the park or beach to play Pokémon go.
I ended up meeting a few new friends due running into them repeatedly and bonding over Pokémon choice or team choice.

I'll never forget going to the beach at Practically midnight when it would normally be completely vacant and there were around a hundred people there catching Pokémon

[Kong Wen]

Pokémon go is the most social game to ever exist. It got people out of the house and going on walks with friends, family and partners. I'd run into my own neighbour all stout my city when going on Pokewalks. Me and a bunch of friends would go out several times a week to the park or beach to play Pokémon go.
I ended up meeting a few new friends due running into them repeatedly and bonding over Pokémon choice or team choice.

I'll never forget going to the beach at Practically midnight when it would normally be completely vacant and there were around a hundred people there catching Pokémon

I fully agree with this, and it'll be kind of mind-blowing if Pokemon Go doesn't take the whole category. That game took (takes) social to a whole new level. You literally see huge groups of people from all walks of life gathering up at the waterfront and in local parks catching Pokemon, doing raids, helping each other with team selection, trading monsters, and making new friends.

What's even more impressive is that it's still going strong. On Community Day, I'll often see a hundred or so people all milling about on their phones, and everyone has a winking insider knowledge of what's going on. Keeping a game like this alive for this long is a feat.

[Kong Wen]

Poll 1 of 6
Contra / Probotector (1988, NES)
Golden Axe (1989, Arcade)
Mario Golf (1999, N64)
Pokémon Go (2016, Mobile)
Pokémon Stadium 2 (2000, N64)
Splatoon 2 (2017, NS)
Super Smash Bros. (1999, N64)
TetriNET (1997, PC)
You Don't Know Jack (1995, PC)

I already raved about PoGo above, but I'm also voting for TetriNET, the original Tetris 99, a super-fun competitive Tetris game against multiple players.

Poll 2 of 6
Captain America and the Avengers (1991, Arcade)
Fortnite (2017, Multiplatform)
Halo: Combat Evolved (2001, PC/XB)
League of Legends (2009, PC)
NBA Jam (1993, Multiplatform)
Smash TV (1990, Arcade)
Teenage Mutant [Hero/Ninja] Turtles (1989, Arcade)
Tooth and Tail (2017, PC/PS4)
Wii Sports (2006, Wii)
Words with Friends (2009, Mobile)

The original TMNT arcade game was a good source of standing around the cab fun. Wii Sports was a great party game because you'd get people being ridiculous who never really played video games before.

Poll 3 of 6
Apex Legends (2019, Multiplatform)
Geomon (2010, Mobile)
Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes (2015, Multiplatform)
Monster Hunter: World (2018, PC/PS4)
Overcooked (2016, Multiplatform)
Street Fighter II: Champion Edition (1992, Arcade)
Street Fighter II: The World Warrior (1991, Multiplatform)
Township (2012, Mobile)
World of Warcraft (2004, PC)

Monster Hunter: World is the runner-up in the "get online and shoot the shit with a bunch of friends in a party while a video game happened in the background" category.

Poll 4 of 6
Aerobiz (1992, Genesis/SNES)
Double Dragon (1987, Arcade)
Mario Kart 64 (1996, N64)
Overwatch (2016, Multiplatform)
Power Stone 2 (2000, DC)
Saturn Bomberman (1996, Saturn)
Super Mario Maker (2015, 3DS/WU)
Teenage Mutant [Hero/Ninja] Turtles: Turtles in Time (1991, Arcade)
X-Men (1992, Arcade)

Whoever nominated Aerobiz is a genius. I swear it wasn't me, but I should have. I had at least a couple of parties back in the day that revolved around an all-night multiplayer game of Aerobiz with snacks. X-Men was also our jumbo-cab game of choice. Very fun. We didn't play as much Turtles in Time as we did the earlier game, so passing on that one.

Poll 5 of 6
Destiny (2014, Multiplatform)
Diablo II (2000, PC)
Drawful 2 (2016, Multiplatform)
Mario Party 3 (2000, N64)
Rocket League (2015, Multiplatform)
Romance of the Three Kingdoms II (1990, Multiplatform)
Team Fortress 2 (2007, Multiplatform)
The Jackbox Party Pack (2014, Multiplatform)
The Simpsons (1991, Arcade)

Destiny is the top game in the "get online and shoot the shit with a bunch of friends in a party while a video game happened in the background" category. I would get home from work, fire the game up, have a few friends hop into the party, and just unwind and catch up while some video game happened.

RTK kind of falls into the Aerobiz camp. Long nights of snacks, drinks, and strategizing.

Poll 6 of 6
Dark Souls III (2016, Multiplatform)
Gauntlet (1985, Arcade)
Journey (2012, PC/PS3/PS4)
Mario Kart 8 [incl. Deluxe] (2014, NS/WU)
Minecraft (2011, Multiplatform)
Rock Band 3 (2010, Multiplatform)
RuneScape (2001, PC)
Super Smash Bros Ultimate (2018, NS)
Uno (2006, Multiplatform)

Rock Band 3 is my only vote here. It has the same draw as Wii Sports, with the main exception being that we still play Rock Band 3 while the Wii is gathering dust in a closet somewhere. Great game for watching your friends make fools of themselves in a safe and supportive environment.

[Pluvius]

Whoever nominated Aerobiz is a genius.

https://getyarn.io/yarn-clip/efcd8451-7 ... c5853fddfa

Rob

[The Shoemaker]

Pokemon Go is really interesting where there weren't many multiplayer things to do in the game, but it is still a very social experience.

[MerlinDrazziw]

Poll 1 of 6: Pokémon Go
Poll 2 of 6: Wii Sports
Poll 3 of 6: Geomon and Township
Poll 4 of 6: Super Mario Maker
Poll 5 of 6: Team Fortress 2
Poll 6 of 6: Mario Kart 8

Geomon doesn't exist anymore but I've seen players keeping in contact with other players from the game for a long time. It's not the only mobile game with such a following, but the first I got involved in.

[Sharecrow]

Long story short, I picked mostly arcade games here. I think those represent some of the best social experiences often with total strangers. TMNT, X-Men, Smash TV, and many more that weren’t even nominated. I’ve had great times in arcades as a kid and look back at those games fondly.

[This Old Neon]

Poll 1 of 6
Contra / Probotector (1988, NES)
Pokémon Go (2016, Mobile)
Super Smash Bros. (1999, N64)
You Don't Know Jack (1995, PC)

Poll 2 of 6
NBA Jam (1993, Multiplatform)
Teenage Mutant [Hero/Ninja] Turtles (1989, Arcade)
Wii Sports (2006, Wii)
Words with Friends (2009, Mobile)

Poll 3 of 6
Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes (2015, Multiplatform)
Monster Hunter: World (2018, PC/PS4)
Overcooked (2016, Multiplatform)
Street Fighter II: Champion Edition (1992, Arcade)
Street Fighter II: The World Warrior (1991, Multiplatform)
World of Warcraft (2004, PC)

Poll 4 of 6
Mario Kart 64 (1996, N64)
Overwatch (2016, Multiplatform)
Super Mario Maker (2015, 3DS/WU)
Teenage Mutant [Hero/Ninja] Turtles: Turtles in Time (1991, Arcade)
X-Men (1992, Arcade)

Poll 5 of 6
Diablo II (2000, PC)
Rocket League (2015, Multiplatform)
Team Fortress 2 (2007, Multiplatform)
The Jackbox Party Pack (2014, Multiplatform)
The Simpsons (1991, Arcade)

Poll 6 of 6
Journey (2012, PC/PS3/PS4)
Mario Kart 8 [incl. Deluxe] (2014, NS/WU)
Minecraft (2011, Multiplatform)
Super Smash Bros Ultimate (2018, NS)

Moving on to Round Two!