Nine Realms chill room with things to do when high on a wooden coffee table, board games, video games, and snacks

Best Games to Play While High: Every Type of Gamer Covered

Author: Jans Beloglazovs

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Time: 9 min

Do you ever find yourself elevated from cannabis flowers, sitting on the sofa, and completely unsure what games to play while high? You will find all the answers you need right here. The best games to play while high are not the hardest or the most impressive. What matters most is how well they match your mood, your energy, and who is nearby.


Whether you are alone under soft light or sharing a screen with friends, the right game can turn a quiet evening into something worth remembering. This guide covers every category: video games for PC and PS5, mobile games, board games, card games, and nostalgic classics that hit differently in an elevated state.

TL;DR — Quick Cheat Sheet:

  • Solo session: Go open-world and slow. Red Dead Redemption 2, Stardew Valley, and No Man's Sky are the top picks.
  • With friends: Choose chaotic co-op or party games. Overcooked, Jackbox, and Gang Beasts are hard to beat.
  • On the sofa with your phone: Alto's Odyssey, Monument Valley, and Unpacking are all excellent.
  • No screens tonight: Dixit and Codenames are the standout board and card game choices.
  • Feeling nostalgic: Revisit childhood classics. Minecraft, early Pokémon, or old arcade games hit differently when elevated.
  • The golden rule: Avoid anything fast, competitive, or difficult to learn. Low pressure always wins.

Why the Game You Pick Actually Matters

When your senses sharpen and your patience for difficulty fades, certain games lose their appeal. Fast combat games, complex strategy systems, or anything with a steep learning curve — these often bring stress instead of relief. And that’s not what you want, because that’s a waste of weed. What works better tends to reward discovery and careful attention over quick reflexes. Knowing what games to play while high before you sit down makes a real difference. Think of it as fine-tuning the evening. The best games for a stoner gaming session tend to share a few things:


  • Beautiful or interesting visuals, where detail reveals itself when you look closely
  • A satisfying loop that feels natural to repeat without needing to think too hard
  • A good soundtrack that fills the room without demanding your attention
  • Low stakes, where wandering off or missing a beat does not cost you anything

Get those things right, and the rest of the evening takes care of itself.

Best Video Games to Play While High (PC and PS5)

Video games are the natural home of a elevated gaming session. And the options on PC and PS5 right now are genuinely excellent. Whether you prefer sitting at a desk or sinking into a sofa with a controller, there is something here for every kind of player. The picks below are chosen for one reason above all: they feel better, not harder, when your senses are a little more open than usual.

Solo Open World: Just You and the Horizon

For the ultimate chill couch gaming experience, open-world games are hard to beat. Long walks through digital landscapes leave the impression of real journeys. Time slips quietly, and immersion grows without pressure.


Red Dead Redemption 2: feels less like playing a game, more like stepping into a moving painting. Vast land stretches beyond the horizon, each scene composed with quiet care. You can fish by still water, ride through mountain passes, and watch sunsets with no objectives required. It moves slowly on purpose. That is the entire point.


No Man's Sky: is something different. Each planet is built by the game itself, so every one looks unlike any other. A calm rhythm builds during exploration, edged with dreamlike moments. Peace arrives after the first few tasks are done. The sense of scale when you are elevated is something you have to experience yourself.

Nine Realms customer playing Red Dead Redemption in the living room with cannabis on the table

Stardew Valley: is the quieter choice. Growing crops fills the time, talking to villagers adds rhythm, and working on the farm moves at whatever pace suits you. There is no timer. No one is chasing you. It is one of the most relaxing games to play stoned, full stop.

Best PS5 Games to Play While High

A different kind of experience arrives with certain games found only on PS5. Astro's Playroom comes pre-loaded on the system and works as both a tribute to console history and a sensory experience — felt through the controller, seen in sharp detail, and oddly emotional.

Journey offers silence instead of dialogue and simplicity instead of complexity. You can finish it in a few quiet hours. Without any instruction, it simply leads you somewhere beautiful.

Best PC Games to Play While High

As funny as it might sounds for some, but Minecraft still reigns on PC. It is open-ended and creative, with no pressure and no clear finish line. You can just roll up a joint and let your imagination out of the box. Build something, dig underground, or wander toward a distant horizon. No matter what you decide to do, it can feel like living a different life.

Firewatch is another strong pick — it unfolds like a quiet story set among the trees of a remote wilderness. The conversations feel real and the surroundings breathe slowly, pulling your attention through calm and steady pacing.

Games to Play While High with Friends

Some evenings are better shared, and games to play while high with friends hit completely differently than going solo. The energy in the room changes, the stakes feel lower, and even the most ordinary game becomes funnier with the right people around. What you pick matters less than making sure it is easy to jump into and impossible to take too seriously.

Co-Op and Party Games: The More Chaotic, the Better

When others join in, everything changes. Shared laughter matters more than winning during a gaming while baked session. Stay away from games that require perfect timing because those tend to sour quickly when someone slips up. And you don’t want to give someone a “bad trip.” Especially if you guys are are taking edibles.


Overcooked — or its sequel — is a shared cooking challenge set in increasingly strange kitchens, including ones on moving vehicles and icy platforms. When you are all relaxed together, laughter follows naturally. Tasks shift quickly between players, chaos builds, and coordination arrives only sometimes. What starts as simple meal preparation turns unpredictable in the best way.


Jackbox Party Pack keeps coming back as a favourite for one simple reason. You play through your own phones, so no special equipment is needed. Trivia, drawing challenges, and word puzzles fill the rounds. Each mode opens the door for laughter with whoever is in the room.

a Group of Friends playing video games in the living room, with Nine Realms pre-rolls on the table

Gang Beasts is pure chaos. Wobbly characters tumble across rooftops and escalators without any grace. It looks silly. That is the entire point. It is one of the funniest cooperative multiplayer stoned experiences you can find.

Board Games and Card Games to Play While High

Not every session needs a screen. Sometimes the best games to play while high are spread across a table, with snacks, or commonly known as "munchies," nearby and music in the background. Here is a look at popular board and card game options for this kind of evening:


Game

Players

Complexity

Vibe

Codenames

4–8

Low

Creative, hilarious

Uno

2–10

Very Low

Chaotic, social

Exploding Kittens

2–5

Low

Silly, fast

Catan

3–4

Medium

Strategic, engaging

Dixit

3–6

Low

Visual, imaginative

 Dixit is worth a special mention. One player gives a clue while the others choose illustrated cards that they feel match it. The artwork is dreamlike and strange, and interpretations shift depending on who is at the table. Rarely does another card game suit a relaxed evening so well.


Codenames is also excellent. From a single word, one player tries to link several terms on the board while teammates figure out the connection. Simple to explain, thoughtfully designed. Much of the enjoyment comes from the conversation that follows each round.

Best Mobile Games to Play While High

Sometimes sitting at a desk feels like too much, and handling a controller feels like too much effort. You might just want to recline with your phone, tapping the screen lightly every now and then. That is exactly what casual mobile gaming is built for.


Visual design matters most when choosing what to play. A steady rhythm keeps things interesting without stress. Missing a prompt should never lead to a harsh penalty. These three get it right:


  • Alto's Odyssey — a snowboarding game with elegant visuals and a calming soundtrack. Motion feels natural, almost effortless. You just flow.
  • Monument Valley — shapes bend where they should not, and silence fills each scene. Beauty arrives through stillness, with just enough of a challenge at the edge.
  • Unpacking — boxes appear in rooms connected to a person's life. It sounds dull at first. It is quietly moving.

Casual mobile gaming at its best feels like background music with a touch screen. These three get that exactly right.

Nostalgic Games: The Ones That Hit Differently

This section stands apart, because going back to familiar games in an elevated state creates something unusual.


If your childhood memories include the 1980s or early 1990s, titles like Super Mario, Tetris, or Pong may return with quiet intensity. Simplicity plays a big role. Graphics that once looked impressive now carry a gentle, charming appeal. Music you have not thought about in years comes back with unexpected depth. These are nostalgic games for adults that remind you exactly why you fell in love with gaming in the first place — familiar, uncomplicated, and surprisingly emotional.


Later generations find that same feeling in older releases of Grand Theft Auto and the early Pokémon titles. Old school gaming vibes grow stronger when your senses are a little more open than usual. A different era arrives through pixelated worlds and simple mechanics, and it feels better than expected.


Cannabis and video games have a long, quiet history together. Going back to the games that shaped you is one of the most personal ways to spend that kind of evening.

Conclusion

The best games to play while high are the ones that match your mood, your company, and how much mental effort you feel like spending that evening. When alone, vast open environments tend to hold attention longer. With others nearby, shared screens spark more laughter. If movement feels unlikely, a phone and something simple does the job well. And at some point, going back to an old favourite brings a quiet surprise — something familiar feeling completely new.


For many people, cannabis and gaming pair naturally. When time slows down, focusing on small details becomes easier. The right game helps that happen without any effort. Evenings tend to go better when a little preparation comes first — the right product, a comfortable setting, and a game already loaded and ready. At Nine Realms, we think those small details matter. What you set up beforehand shapes how the whole evening feels.

"Pick something. Press start. The rest tends to sort itself out."

FAQ

What types of games work best for a solo cannabis session?

Open-world games where moving slowly feels natural tend to stand out. Red Dead Redemption 2 spreads vast scenery across quiet moments. Stardew Valley gives space to pause between actions. No Man's Sky is built on discovery rather than speed. All three reward patience and attention over quick reactions.

Are board games a good idea when you are high with friends?

Yes, especially when the rules are simple and the game encourages imagination or conversation. Titles like Dixit, Codenames, and Exploding Kittens need very little preparation and tend to spark laughter naturally. A shared, relaxed mindset makes moments feel easier and funnier for everyone.

Why do old games feel so good to play after smoking cannabis?

Memory connects deeply with sensation, so past moments can return more vividly. Simple graphics become easier to take in. Sounds heard long ago come back with unexpected clarity. Attention does not need to focus sharply, which leaves room for full immersion. Childhood titles played again under these conditions often stir a quiet warmth that is hard to find anywhere else.

Nine realms CEO and Blog Author Jans Beloglazovs

Author: Jans Beloglazovs

Emerging from Europe's strict cannabis landscape, Jan has become a known figure in the European cannabis industry through vast experience in cannabusiness and a keen understanding of the shifting trends in Europe. Co-founding the Nine Realms cannabis brand, he leverages his expertise to advocate for progressive cannabis policies and educate a broad audience.

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