Jackbox Alternatives That Are Actually Free
What to play when nobody wants to buy a party pack
Staff Writer · · 2 min read
Jackbox is genuinely good, and it has a pricing model that people underestimate, because only one person needs to own it. Everyone else joins from a phone browser with a room code, so if one member of your group owns a Party Pack, your game night is already solved.
The catch is that someone has to own it, someone has to stream it, and their upload has to be good enough that everyone can read the screen. If either of those is a problem for you, here's what else works.
Discord Activities
These have been free since 2023, they're built into Discord, and there's no setup involved. You start one from a voice channel or a group DM, and everyone joins from the invite.
They're best for groups that are already in a call together and want to start something in ten seconds. They're weakest for large groups, since player caps vary by title, and for anyone who wants a specific game rather than whatever happens to be on the shelf.
Browser party games
There's a healthy set of free browser games in the Jackbox mold: drawing and guessing games, prompt-and-vote games, word games. They generally run on a room code system exactly like Jackbox does.
The honest caveat is that this category turns over quickly. Sites appear, get popular, and then quietly stop being maintained, so any list of them ages badly. Check that the one you pick still works before you tell eight people to show up at eight o'clock.
Discord bots
Bots run games in your server rather than in a browser tab, which changes what's possible. Nobody has to stream anything, nobody needs a second device, and games can run in a text channel over hours instead of requiring everyone to be present at once.
That suits groups whose schedules don't line up neatly. A chess game can take three days, and a round of Anagrams takes two minutes while you're waiting for someone to join the call.
Gamebot covers Poker, Chess, Connect 4, Anagrams and Cards Against Humanity this way, and it's free to add.
Playing cards over voice
This is worth mentioning because it's free, it needs no software, and it's underrated. Most classic card and party games work fine over a call with one person acting as dealer and a shared image of the board, and games like Codenames, Werewolf, and 20 Questions need nothing but voice.
For a group that mostly wants an excuse to talk, this often beats the software.
What to actually pick
If someone owns Jackbox and has decent upload, use Jackbox. If you're already in a call and want something right now, use an Activity. And if your group is spread across time zones or drops in and out, a bot will suit you better than anything that requires everyone to be present at once.