Bounden, Spaceteam ESL and Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime keep family and friends together

Some video games are as good as old-fashioned board games at bringing people together. And you only need a phone or tablet.

Screen grab from Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime.

“Lay off the computer games, and play a real game with somebody.”

At some point, that’s an admonition most of us have given (to a child or Candy Crush-addicted spouse) or received (as that lost soul). Indeed, since the days of Pong, it has been widely accepted that gathering around the table for a game of Monopoly or cards is an inherently more social experience than any pastime that involves an electronic screen.

Though there may be some truth to that, it’s hardly an absolute. Case in point: the games shown here that, through clever engineering, encourage actual fun with actual people in the room.

These five titles break the barrier between the digital and real worlds, turning the irresistible pull of the screen into an occasion for a more basic form of interactivity: face-to-face play.

Spaceteam ESL

Hardware:A smartphone or tablet for each player. Setup: You and your space team must follow commands quickly or be swallowed by the surging corona of an exploding star. Gameplay:Though it may be true that “in space, no one can hear you scream”, in Spaceteam everybody will. That’s because you and your fellow shipmates are each shown separate parts of your ship’s control panel. Different commands to escape the exploding star appear at the top of each player’s screen simultaneously — but the hitch is that most commands are for controls belonging to another player. Reading them aloud quickly escalates into shouting, since every order not executed in time lets doom inch closer. Togetherness factor:This game can bring the whole family together. This new version offers simplified vocabulary and is perfect for younger children. Available for Android and iOS. Free, spaceteamesl.ca

Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes

Hardware: A laptop or desktop computer and access to a printer; a version of the game is also available for Oculus Rift and Samsung Gear VR. Setup: The setting is a spartan cinder block cell. One player sees a ticking time bomb. The other player, who can’t see the bomb, has a printout of a manual for defusing it. Gameplay: Terse, clear dialogue is your team’s key to survival. “How many wires do you see?” “Five.” “OK, the manual says that if there is exactly one red wire and there is more than one yellow wire, cut the second wire.” “Which is the second wire?!” Togetherness factor:Although there’s no reason you and your partner couldn’t play this game over the phone or even a walkie-talkie, sitting across the table from each other makes the ever-mounting cycles of tension and relief far more palpable. Available for Mac and Windows ($15) and Samsung VR ($10), keeptalkinggame.com

Screen grab from Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime.

Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime

Hardware: An Xbox One, PS4 or computer that you and your partner share. Setup:As members of the League of Very Empathetic Rescue Spacenauts, you’ve been tasked with rescuing kidnapped space bunnies from baddies. Gameplay: The spaceship you and your friend commandeer has more stations than can be manned at once, so division of labour is the key to mastering the game. Togetherness factor: The designers deliberately chose not to make the game networked, so your partner needs to be in the same room as you. Available for Windows, Mac, Xbox One and PS4. $15, loversinadangerousspacetime.com

Bounden

Hardware:A single smartphone to share between two players. Setup:Anyone can be a graceful dancer. Gameplay:You and a friend hold on to opposite ends of the same smartphone, then try to move a dot on the screen through a path by tilting and twirling the device — and consequently, each other. The Dutch National Ballet designed some of the levels and demonstrates a few moves in the video tutorial. At best, players will find themselves channelling their inner Nureyev. At worst, they’re engaged in an elegant, fluid variation on Twister.Togetherness factor: As high as it gets. Available for Android and iOS. $3, bounden.gameovenstudios.com