What are Xbox parties?  

This is an Xbox feature which allows you to chat to your friends while playing games. You need to buy Xbox Gold to use it, but if you have that they, are extremely fun. You need a headset to talk to each other, but if you don’t have one you can type messages in the messaging area to chat. To start a party tap the Xbox button and press 'start party'. Note that you must have your friends added to your Xbox friends list to invite them to the party.

What have we been playing?

My friends and I have mostly been playing Minecraft and Roblox, because they are both multiplayer games. Obviously everyone must have the game and the same version of the game as well. The updates are downloaded automatically, so it’s easy to all have the same version. For example, I have Forza Motorsport 7 but none of my friends have it, therefore we can't play it together. 

Why has Xbox parties been good during lockdown?

Xbox parties have been very good during lockdown, because it is a good way to socialise with other people without having to go anywhere near them (and also because I can’t really handle my family for much longer!) You can have as many people as you want in a party, but after about 5 people  the sound echos quite a lot. Xbox parties have also been a good to switch off from school work during the day.

How could it be improved?

It could be improved if somehow they could manage the echoing.  It could also be improved if it had video in it as well, but you could always turn the video off if it got in the way.