Podcasts are a popular digital medium consumed by many, and have countless benefits for both the listeners and the content creators themselves (also see, ‘Why Are Podcasts So Popular?’).
However, with this popularity the market has become saturated, which means budding podcasters need to dig deep and become creative if they want to claim a space in the industry.
As such, there are countless podcast games that can be played at your own pace – in the form of segments – to encourage viewership, interactivity, and popularity.
But what options do podcasters have open to them?
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Great Podcasting Games To Play
Podcasting can consist of certain segments, where the host will either address the co-host, guest, or connected audience member and engage them in trivia, games, video game, or conversational topics.
This can really improve the interactivity of the podcast, and can give the fans something to strive for through their interactions with the podcast.
These segments can feature anything, and will generally be characterized by the podcast in question – however, there are certain ideas that are popular if you are struggling for ideas.
Target Specific Audience Members
This is a great way to interact with audience members, and to give the fans a sense of an interactive community.
If the theme is a competition/prize type situation, then you could pick two audience members and have them compete with one another for a prize (like merchandise or tickets), or you could have audience members connect via Zoom or webcam, and tell funny stories to the podcast hosts.
This is a great way of building a sense of camaraderie between the audience and hosts, and can really encourage others to get involved down the line – particularly if the exposure and prizes are worth the effort.
Solve Mysteries
Each week on your podcast, you could set aside a section dedicated to mysteries.
These could be unexplained phenomena, true crime, cold cases, or urban legends, and could be a good way of getting guests to comment on amusing or interesting topics, or for fans to call in with their suggestions (also see, ‘Best Ghost Story Podcast‘).
Of course, this method only really works on comedy or entertainment podcasts, but the general idea can be applied to any medium.
Random Challenges
Random challenges can be a good way to keep your podcast interesting, your fans entertained, and even encourage interactivity by having listeners/viewers submit their own videos in exchange for prizes or air time.
Obviously, it is important not to do anything dangerous or harmful, nor to encourage others to do the same, but within reason this can be a fun and amusing experience for both the hosts and the viewers.
Pranks
This can be a great way to encourage interactivity between the hosts and their audience, and could consist of either the fans suggesting pranks for the hosts to pull on each other or members of the public, or on the flip side it could be the hosts daring their fans to do similar pranks.
Like with the previous section, a degree of responsibility should be observed with these types of things, but when done safely it can be a fun, humorous experience for everyone involved – and when combined with a prize system you could have fans lining up to take part.
Truth Or Dare
Somewhat similar to the pranking section, truth or dare can be a good way to encourage humor – both with the fans and the hosts.
Hosts could play one another, or they could compete head to head with fans via webcam apps.
Helpful/Unhelpful Advice
While not strictly a game, this can be enjoyable for guests, hosts, and audience members, and can either be as serious or humorous as your podcast demands.
One such example is the comedy podcast Tigerbelly, where hosts Bobby Lee and Khalyla Kuhn host a segment called ‘unhelpful advice’, where they try (and often fail) to provide life advice to their fans – who message with any number of different problems.
Two Truths & A Lie
This can be a good game for hosts and fans to play during the podcast, and could consist of the fan phoning into the show, offering up three facts about themselves, and having the hosts guess which are true and which is a lie.
This could lead to some humorous results, and makes for interesting viewing.
Ghost Stories
Popular podcasts such as H3H3 with Ethan and Hila Klein have long offered segments surrounding the paranormal, where they ask their guests about any potential supernatural experiences they might have had or heard about.
This can not only make for interesting viewing, but can also deliver some funny (or indeed scary) stories.
What Are The Benefits?
There are many benefits when it comes to having the best games on your podcast.
Entertainment
The main benefit is entertainment value. Podcasts need to be interesting and entertaining in order to get a viewership, and a great game can be a great way to make them exciting.
What’s more, podcasting can be a dull experience for the hosts if they aren’t having fun, and thus playing a podcast game can be a great way to make the process fun, and keep them wanting to record every week.
Interactivity
Another benefit is establishing interactions between hosts and audience members.
This is important, especially if the host is in a creative industry like comedy, where fans are a necessary part of the process.
Creating interactivity through your favorite podcast can make fans feel close to their heroes, and can encourage further success as your career continues to grow.
Final Thoughts
And there we have it, everything you need to know about podcasting games, and the benefits of featuring them on your podcast.
Games are great to make things more interesting for everyone involved, not to mention creating humorous moments that make the whole process more fun and unpredictable.
So, if you are a budding podcaster looking to spice up their show, then why not give some of these a try?
