The closest free games to Jackbox run in a phone browser with nothing to install: Gartic Phone and skribbl.io for drawing, Codenames online for teams, Kahoot for a quick quiz, and Quizriella for a game show about the people playing.
Jackbox got the shape right years ago. One shared screen, everybody playing on the phone already in their pocket, and no extra controllers to find. The catch is underneath: somebody has to own a pack, on a console or computer that is plugged into the television.
Plenty of games now copy that shape without the setup. Some are free and live entirely in a browser tab, some are paid and better than anything free. Below is an honest list of both, including the places where Jackbox is simply still the best option.
Before you switch: if there is already a console under the television and a pack on it, keep playing Jackbox. Everything below is for the nights when there is not.
What makes a game feel like Jackbox
Three things, mostly. Every player uses their own phone, so answers stay private until the reveal. There is one screen the whole room watches, which is where the laughing happens. And the content is short, written prompts that invite people to be funny rather than correct.
A game that has all three feels like Jackbox. A game with only the phones, where everybody stares at their own screen, feels like a group of people on their phones. That is the test worth applying to anything on this list: does the room end up looking at the same screen?
The other question is where the game runs. Jackbox needs one copy on a host device. The free games below run in any browser, so the television can be a laptop plugged in with a cable, and the host can be whoever has the charger.
Free games like Jackbox that run in a browser
No console, no download, and players join from the phone browser they already have. Some want one shared screen, some work across a video call.
01
Quizriella
PlayersA room of friends or familyTime45 to 90 minutesNeedsPhones, and a TV or laptop if you have one
Before the night, everyone gets a code and secretly writes questions about the others on their phone. Quizriella turns the pot into a presenter-led game show with hot seats, buzzer races, dares, breaking news bulletins and a podium. The host runs it from their phone or shares a link to the television.
Tip: Closest to Jackbox in feel, but the material is about your own group, so it never repeats. A full show is free with simple avatars.
PlayersSmall groups up to a big partyTime15 to 30 minutes a roundNeedsA phone or laptop each
The telephone game with drawings. Everyone writes a sentence, passes it on, the next person draws it, the next describes the drawing, and so on. At the end the whole chain is replayed, and the gap between the first sentence and the last is the joke.
Tip: The nearest free thing to a Jackbox drawing game. Replay the chains on the big screen, not on individual phones.
PlayersA handful to a full roomTime15 to 20 minutesNeedsA phone or laptop each
One player draws a word, everyone else types guesses, and faster guesses score more. Make a private room and share the link. You can add your own custom words, which is where it gets good.
Tip: Load the custom word list with names and in jokes from your group. Drawing your uncle from memory is a different game.
PlayersTwo teamsTime15 minutes a gameNeedsA device each, or one per team
The board game, run in a browser. Two spymasters see which words on the grid belong to their team and give one word clues to get their side to guess them, while avoiding the assassin. Share the room link and pick teams.
Tip: Best for groups who like thinking more than drawing. It works well over a video call too.
PlayersGroups of most sizesTime10 to 20 minutesNeedsOne shared screen, phones to answer
The host puts questions on a shared screen and players answer on their phones against the clock, with a leaderboard between questions. Use a ready-made quiz or write your own. There is a free tier, though it has limits on what you can do.
Tip: Fine for a quick knowledge quiz. It is a quiz tool rather than a party game, so it is fast rather than funny.
PlayersAny number around one screenTimeAs long as you likeNeedsOne screen everyone can see
A huge library of trivia quizzes, free to play. It is not phone controlled: one person types while the room shouts answers at the screen. Name every country in Europe against the clock and watch friendships fray.
Tip: Honest note: not really Jackbox shaped, but it is free, needs no setup, and a room of shouters makes it a party game.
PlayersDepends on the gameTimeVariesNeedsA device and an account each
Hundreds of board games that run in a browser, with rules handled for you. Pick one that suits the group, create a table and invite friends. Many are free to play, with a paid membership for extras.
Tip: Better for game night online with friends in different houses than for a loud room. Everybody needs an account.
Paid and console games worth the money
Free games are good. These are the ones that are better, and the reason you might buy one anyway.
PlayersSmall groups, plus an audienceTimeAn eveningNeedsA copy on a console, computer or supported device
The original. Each pack bundles several different party games, with phones as controllers through a browser. Many games also let extra people join as an audience and vote, which is the best answer anywhere for a very large group. For friends in other houses, stream the host screen over a video call.
Tip: If someone in your group already owns a pack and has the console set up, play that. It is professionally written and voiced, and nothing free matches it for variety.
PlayersOne defuser, the rest as expertsTime5 minutes a bombNeedsOne copy, on a console, computer or phone
One player sees a bomb on screen and cannot see the manual. Everyone else has the manual, on their phones or printed out, and cannot see the bomb. Nobody can show anyone anything, so the whole game is frantic description.
Tip: A brilliant change of pace in the middle of a party night, and it rewards shouting clearly rather than being funny.
03
Heads Up!
PlayersTwo teams or a circleTime10 minutesNeedsOne phone
One player holds the phone to their forehead while the others describe, act out or sing the word on screen. Tilt it down for correct and up to pass. It is charades on a timer, and it works anywhere, including a pub.
Tip: Only one phone is needed, which makes it the easiest to start. It is not a shared screen game, but it is very good.
Quizriella
A Jackbox shaped night, made out of your own friends
Every Jackbox prompt was written once and played by millions, so a group that plays often starts recognising the material. Quizriella swaps the writers for your players. Everyone gets an invite code, writes questions about the others in secret, and the show that comes back has never existed before.
It keeps the part that works, one screen and a room shouting at it, and drops the setup. It opens in a browser, the host presents from a phone or puts it on the television with a link, and players who say they will not play usually end up in the hot seat anyway.
Free to play a full show, no trial clock
Nothing to buy or install before you start
Hot seats, buzzer races, a wheel of dares and a podium
Player counts change and free tiers move, so treat these as a guide to shape rather than a spec sheet.
Game
Free?
Needs a console?
Players
Best for
Quizriella
Yes, AI scenes are paid
No, browser
A room of people who know each other
Game show about your group
Gartic Phone
Yes
No, browser
Small to large groups
Drawing and daft chains
skribbl.io
Yes
No, browser
Small to large groups
Draw and guess
Codenames online
Yes
No, browser
Two teams
Thinkers and word lovers
Kahoot
Free tier with limits
No, browser
Most group sizes
A quick knowledge quiz
Sporcle
Yes
No, browser
A room round one screen
Shouting at trivia
Board Game Arena
Mostly, with paid extras
No, browser
Depends on the game
Game night across houses
Jackbox Party Packs
No, packs are bought
Yes, or a computer
Small groups plus audience
Variety and polish
Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes
No
One copy, most platforms
Small groups
Frantic teamwork
Heads Up!
App download
No, one phone
Any circle
Instant charades
Questions people ask
Gartic Phone and skribbl.io are the closest free drawing games, Codenames online is the best free team game, and Kahoot is the obvious choice for a quick quiz. Quizriella is the closest in feel for a group who know each other, because it builds a hosted game show out of questions the players wrote about each other.
Yes. Gartic Phone, skribbl.io and Codenames online are free and run in a browser with no account needed to join. Quizriella plays a full game show for free as well. None of them bundles as many different games as a Jackbox pack, but none of them needs a console either.
Yes. Gartic Phone, skribbl.io and Codenames online all work with every player on their own phone. A game show format like Quizriella can be presented fullscreen from the host phone. A shared screen still makes any of them better, and a laptop on the coffee table counts.
Jackbox itself handles a big crowd best, because many of its games let extra people join as an audience and vote. For free, Gartic Phone and skribbl.io cope well with a full room, and anything played in teams, such as Codenames, scales by adding people to each side.
Yes. Browser games like Gartic Phone, skribbl.io, Codenames online and Board Game Arena work across houses by sharing a room link. Keep a video call running alongside so you can hear the reactions. For Jackbox, the host shares their screen on the call and everyone joins on their phone.
Most party games are weaker with two. Codenames has a two player cooperative variant as a board game, Board Game Arena has plenty of two player games, and a drawing game like skribbl.io still works as a head to head. Party formats built on voting really need three or more.
Drawing games are the safest bet, because a six year old can draw a cat as badly as anybody else. skribbl.io with a custom word list and Gartic Phone both work well. Keep an eye on public rooms with strangers, and use private rooms with your own link.
Send the group a code, everyone writes questions about each other, and you host the show from your phone or put it on the TV. No console, and a full show is free.
