Games like Jackbox: free and cheap picks for game night
Jackbox made the “TV is the board, phones are the controllers” thing famous, and the Party Packs deserve their reputation. The friction is the setup: each pack is its own purchase, it has to be installed on a console, PC or streaming stick, and someone has to remember which pack had the good game in it.
So here's our list for groups that would rather open a browser tab. We make Hangtime, so yes, we put ourselves first. We've tried to be straight about when something else is the better pick.
1. Hangtime (free to start, $5 once for more)
Open hangtime.games/host on any TV or laptop, and everyone joins at hangtime.games/play on their phone with a four-letter code. Nothing to install.
- Free: Trivia Board (Jeopardy-style, 1–8 players), Doodler (draw and guess, 2–10) and Wordy Birdy (a Wordle-style word race, 1–10).
- Launch Pack, $5 once: Who's Lying? (a bluffing whodunnit), Best Answer Wins (fill-in-the-blank cards), Bowl Game (Fishbowl in teams, up to 16) and Rummy (Indian 13-card or American). Only the host pays; players never do.
- Best for: families and mixed groups, and friends who live far apart, since most games also have a remote mode that runs entirely on phones.
2. Gartic Phone
A free browser game that mixes Telephone and Pictionary: you write a sentence, the next person draws it, the next describes the drawing, and so on. Everyone plays on their own device, so it's great over a video call.
3. skribbl.io
Free online Pictionary. One person draws, everyone else types guesses. Simple, quick to start, and good for groups who just want to doodle. You can make a private room for your friends.
4. Codenames online
The board game's official free browser version. Two teams, a grid of words, and a spymaster giving one-word clues. It's a team word game rather than a party game, but it works brilliantly on a shared screen.
5. Kahoot!
Mostly known from classrooms, Kahoot! lets you build a quiz that everyone answers on their phone. There's a free tier. Good if you want to write your own quiz about the birthday person.
6. Board Game Arena
Hundreds of board games in the browser, many free to play. It's less of a party game and more of a “board game night online” site, but if your group likes strategy, it's worth a look.
How to choose
| If your group wants… | Try |
|---|---|
| The Jackbox feel: TV board, phone controllers | Hangtime |
| Drawing chaos over a video call | Gartic Phone |
| Classic draw-and-guess | skribbl.io, or Doodler on Hangtime |
| A team word game | Codenames online |
| A quiz you write yourself | Kahoot!, or a custom category on Hangtime's Trivia Board |
| Big group, 10 to 16 people | Bowl Game on Hangtime |
Want a longer side-by-side? Here's how Hangtime compares to Jackbox.
Put a game on the TV, everyone joins from their phone. Three games are free, no app or account.
Start a free gameNo group handy? Try Wordy Birdy solo, free, in 10 seconds →Questions
Is there a free version of Jackbox?
Jackbox Games sells its Party Packs; we're not aware of an official free version. If you want the same style of game for free, Hangtime's Trivia Board, Doodler and Wordy Birdy run in a browser with no account, and everyone plays from their phone.
Can I play Jackbox-style games without a console?
Yes. Browser-based party games like Hangtime only need a screen with a web browser (a smart TV, a laptop plugged into the TV, or a cast Chrome tab) and everyone's phones.
What's the cheapest Jackbox alternative?
The free games on Hangtime cost nothing. If you want more, the Launch Pack is $5 once for the host, and players never pay.
Do players need to download an app?
Not for Hangtime, Gartic Phone, skribbl.io or Codenames online. They all run in a phone or laptop browser.