Is there a free version of Jackbox?

Not of the packs themselves, as of November 2026. Players join free at jackbox.tv on their phones, but the host has to own the game, and it's paid. Free games with a similar spirit include Gartic Phone and skribbl.io for prompts and doodles, and Pecking Order if your group wants to move instead of type.

Can you play Pecking Order on phones like Jackbox?

Yes, but it works differently. In Jackbox your phone is a remote for one shared screen. In Pecking Order every phone shows the game itself, with touch controls: SPLIT by default, or BUTTONS, STICK and TILT. That's why it works just as well when everyone is in a different house.

Does Pecking Order work on a TV for a party in one room?

It isn't a couch game. Each player needs their own device, because rooms are online with one chicken per screen, and there's no split screen. A group in one living room can still play together, each on a phone or laptop, all joining the same room code. It gets loud.

What's the best Jackbox alternative for a big group?

For talking games, Codenames Online seats up to 64 for free. For action, Pecking Order holds 20 chickens in one room. Both run in the browser with nothing to download. Our guide to online party games for 20 players compares the big-room options side by side.

Free Action Jackbox Alternatives Where You Actually Play

Nobody's typing jokes into their phone tonight. Everyone's a chicken, and someone just stole the crown. One loud, free action Jackbox alternative, as of November 2026, is Pecking Order: a browser chicken party game for up to 20 where everyone plays at once, on phones, keyboards or controllers. Bonk.io and LOLBeans.io are good smaller picks.

Jackbox nailed one brilliant idea: nobody installs anything, you just join on your phone with a room code. Most "Jackbox alternatives" lists copy the content as well as the setup, so you get more trivia and more drawing. This list is for the other kind of evening, when your group wants to jump, shove and yell. (Full disclosure: we make Pecking Order. The complete Pecking Order guide has the whole game.)

What makes Jackbox great, and where does it stop?

Jackbox's setup is hard to beat. The host runs the game, everyone else opens jackbox.tv on a phone, types the room code and plays. Only the host needs to own it, and any phone with a browser works.

The limits are just as clear:

It's paid. The host buys the pack; the newest, Party Pack 11, came out in October 2025.
Most games seat about 8. Anyone extra joins an audience of up to 10,000 who vote but don't play every prompt.
One shared screen. Online, someone streams their screen and everyone watches it, with a little delay.
It's words. Nearly every game is a prompt: write a joke, draw a thing, vote. Brilliant for some groups, homework for others.

Free action alternatives, side by side

Game	What you do	Cost	Players	Setup
Pecking Order	race, stomp, hold a crown and steal eggs as chickens	Free	1 to 20	Browser on each device, 4-letter room code
Bonk.io	knock round characters off a physics map	Free	Up to 8	Browser, private rooms by code
LOLBeans.io	3D obstacle races with eliminations	Free	About 30, per its listings	Browser, CrazyGames' Party button for a friends' room
AirConsole	lots of small games, phones as controllers	Free with paid extras	Unlimited with Hero	A browser on the big screen, phones as pads

AirConsole is closest to Jackbox's setup, since phones really are the controllers for one big screen. Its free Starter Pack stops at two players with ad breaks, though, so for a party someone will want the Hero subscription. Bonk.io and LOLBeans.io are the quick free picks for a small group, and our list of games like Fall Guys in a browser covers both.

How is Pecking Order different from Jackbox?

It flips the whole model. There's no shared screen to stream: every player sees the game on their own phone, laptop or tablet, in their own browser, all in the same room. That's why it works just as well across three cities as on one sofa, and nobody squints at a laggy stream.

A King of the Coop round with the player list, chat panel and crown fight on screen — Every player sees the game on their own device, with the birds list and room chat beside the action.

Phones get four touch layouts. SPLIT is the default: hold the arrows to steer, tap to flap, and press POWER to honk or use an egg. BUTTONS, STICK and TILT suit other thumbs. On a laptop it's the keyboard. Grab a controller and the button names match your Xbox, PlayStation or Switch pad, with an on-screen keyboard for typing your name. The game even says it plays best on a controller.

It's free, the store sells looks only, and up to 20 can play. Start a room in your browser.

Which Pecking Order modes feel most like a party game?

Jackbox works because every game is short and ends in a punchline. These modes do the same:

King of the Coop: one crown, everyone grabbing for it. Hold it 45 seconds to win. The longer you hold it the heavier it gets, and after 20 seconds there's a bounty on your head.
Egg Heist: red against blue. Steal the other team's golden egg and fly it home; first to 3 captures, or the most after 4 minutes. A Frying Pan knocks the egg loose, Shell or not.
Fox in the Henhouse: hide and seek in the dark, where hiding chickens get so stressed when a fox comes close that they fart and give themselves away. Every rule is in our Fox in the Henhouse guide.
Any race with a BAD BURRITO: a rare egg that makes everyone else fart a tune, one note each, on the beat, while you conduct. It needs 3 or more birds, and it ends friendships, briefly.

The Egg Heist start screen telling the Red Hens to steal the other egg — Egg Heist splits the room into RED HENS and BLUE ROOSTERS: steal their egg, fly it home and do not drop it.

There's even a disco dance-off in the host's Coop, with notes on the beat that keep speeding up until one chicken is left; read about Your Coop's mini-games.

When is a prompt game still the better pick?

Sometimes the group just wants to talk. Be honest about who's coming:

Mixed ages and skills: prompt games let a grandparent beat a teenager. Gartic Phone and skribbl.io are free, run in a browser and are joined by link.
People who don't play games: words and doodles need no reflexes. Pecking Order needs a few, and everyone's first round is mostly crashing into things (which is also funny).
A big chatty crowd: Codenames Online seats up to 64 for free.
A group that already owns Jackbox: keep it. Its writing is the best in the genre.

Our list of online party games for 20 players compares the big-room options, prompt games included.

How do you host Pecking Order like a Jackbox night?

The flow is close to what your group already knows:

Host a game and keep it code-only. Set the room size to fit your crowd, anywhere from 2 up to 20.
Share the 4-letter code on your call or in the group chat. Friends open the game in any browser and type it in.
Pick a rule set. PARTY or CHAOS for a loud night, CHILL for first-timers.
Choose each match's mode yourself. Quick Play's public games switch mode on their own, but they're open to strangers.
Get on a call. Chat in the game is text only, so the yelling happens on Discord or wherever you hang out.

Pixaplay friends can also be invited from the Pixaplay panel, and phones and PCs share a room with no fuss; see the Pixaplay guide to games phone and PC can play together. If your group misses obstacle courses, try our list of games like Fall Guys that run in a browser.