Suggest me a Multiplayer Online Game

What this tool does

You and your friends are online and want to play something together, and the group chat fills with suggestions, half-vetoes, and shrugs until the night drifts by. Or you are after a new online game to sink into solo. This tool cuts the deadlock. It pulls a multiplayer online game at random from a large list, so there is one name on the table for everyone to react to.

Press the button for a game. Press it again for another. Ask for a few at once if you would rather choose from a short set. On a group call, a random pick has a real edge, since it belongs to no one and so nobody feels the need to shoot it down.

How to use it

1. Number / Quantity. How many games to pull at once, from 1 to 100.
2. Generate. Pulls a fresh game, or a fresh set if you asked for several.
3. Starts with, Contains, Ends with. Optional filters that whittle the list before it picks. Leave them blank to draw from everything.
4. Copy. Sends the current games to your clipboard as a plain list, easy to paste into the group chat.

A game is on screen the moment the page loads, so there is always something to react to.

How it works

The list is set, and every press pulls a game from it at random, with no repeats inside one set.

The filters let you aim. Contains keeps any game with your text in it, so typing world of brings up World of Warcraft, World of Tanks, World of Warships, and World of Warplanes. Starts with looks at the first letter and ends with at the last.

What is on the list

It is a list of around a hundred and fifty online games, all built around playing with or against other people. The competitive end has the big arenas like League of Legends, Valorant, Counter-Strike, Overwatch, and Apex Legends, while the team and co-op side runs to Fortnite, Rocket League, and Destiny 2, and the sprawling worlds of online role-playing games like World of Warcraft and Final Fantasy XIV.

Because it spans tense ranked shooters and easygoing co-op alike, a pull can swing from try-hard to relaxed. Take it as a way to break a stalemate over what to play, and use the Contains box when you already know the kind of game you want.

Why the group chat never decides

Group indecision is choice overload with extra people attached. On your own, a long list of options already makes you stall, the effect Sheena Iyengar and Mark Lepper found in a 2000 study where shoppers offered two dozen jams bought far fewer than those offered six. Add a group, each with a favorite and a veto, and the deadlock only hardens, since now everyone is choosing at once and no option clears the bar.

Barry Schwartz called the wider pattern the paradox of choice, where more options leave us slower to commit and quicker to second-guess. A random pick is the tie-breaker. It drops one neutral suggestion in front of the group, and reacting to a single name is far faster than ten people ranking the whole catalogue, so you actually get into a game.

Picking one the whole group can play

If the first pull does not suit the squad, a few checks sort it. Start with how many of you there are, since some games want a full team while others are one against one or fine solo. Then settle the big split, competitive or casual, because a ranked shooter and a chill co-op session are very different nights, and it helps to agree which the group is in the mood for. Weigh the time too, since a quick match respects a short evening while an online role-playing world expects a real commitment. And check that everyone can actually get on it, which the next section covers.

Questions people ask

Is it free, and does it save anything?

The tool is free with no sign-up, and nothing is kept. The picks run in your browser, so copy a shortlist to paste into the group chat if you like.

Can I get a few options at once?

Yes. Set the quantity to the number you want, up to 100, and press Generate for that many different games in one pull.

Do I need a full team to play these?

It depends on the game. Some are team-based and best with friends, while plenty let you drop in and join strangers solo, so you are not stuck if your group is offline.

Are these free to play?

Many are free to play with optional purchases, and some are paid or need a subscription, so check the store and make sure everyone can get on the same one.

References

1. Sheena Iyengar and Mark Lepper, "When Choice Is Demotivating: Can One Desire Too Much of a Good Thing?", Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 2000, the study behind choice overload. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11138768/
2. Barry Schwartz, "The Paradox of Choice: Why More Is Less", his talk on how more options can lower satisfaction. https://www.ted.com/talks/barry_schwartz_the_paradox_of_choice