Scundered Studio

Games like Jackbox, minus the TV

For a decade now, Jackbox has been the default answer to "what'll we play?" But it only works in one kind of room: a TV everyone can see, internet that holds up, and usually no more than eight of you. This page is for every other room. If you came looking for a free Jackbox alternative that runs on the phones you've already got, that's what's below.

Six friends piled onto a living-room sofa, arms in the air, mid-laugh
No TV in the corner. Nobody hunting the HDMI cable.

Two Jackbox alternatives, no TV needed.

  • Mortified

    Mortified

    The dignity-shredding party game.

    Out now Free to try

    A scenario about someone in the room lands on every phone. Everyone answers anonymously. Then the reveal names names.

    • 2–15 players
    • Same room
    • No TV needed
    • Plays offline
    • No accounts
    Get Mortified on Google Play
  • Camo

    Camo

    The Chameleon & Salamander game.

    In testing Family friendly

    A Chameleon bluffing a word they don't know, a Salamander sure of the wrong one. Catch them both.

    • 3–12 players
    • Same room
    • No TV needed
    • Plays offline
    • No accounts
★★★★★

Really fun little game in the style of the Jackbox Party stuff, simple layout putting … 'The Host' firmly in control of whichever scenario they choose! So far I'm positively Mortified

Nicholas, review on Google Play

Why they work where Jackbox doesn't.

No TV neededNothing to plug in, nothing to cast, nobody hunting the HDMI cable.
No internet neededThe host's wi-fi or a plain phone hotspot carries the lot. Villas and campsites included.
Everyone's own phoneNo passing one handset round the room. Only the host needs Android. The rest join by QR code from any phone, iPhone included.
One game, one roomSame round, same scenario, everybody in it at once. Nobody sits out watching.
£3.99, not £25Mortified is free to try. One £3.99 unlocks the full game, every pack, for the whole room, forever.
It runs on the roomThe phones hand out prompts and get out of the way. The night is people slagging each other.

The comparison, honestly.

Tap what matters most to you and watch the table take sides.

GameNeeds a TVNeeds internetPlayersPrice
Jackbox Party Pack Yes, a shared screen Yes, phones join online Up to 8 £25 a pack
Mortified No, every phone is the screen No, wi-fi or a hotspot 2 to 15 Free to try, £3.99 once
Camo No, every phone is the screen No, wi-fi or a hotspot 3 to 12 In testing now
Free browser party games Usually, one shared screen Yes, they live online Varies wildly Free; the models vary
Forehead guessing apps No, one phone held up Mostly not Small circles Free with extras to buy

Prices and caps are the typical shapes, not quotes; packs and apps change. The point stands: which room are you in?

Full disclosure on that fourth row: we keep a shelf of genuinely free browser party games ourselves. No accounts, no TV needed, and they keep working once the page is open.

Out now on Google Play

Mortified

Jackbox energy, no TV in sight.

A scenario about someone in the room lands on every phone. Everyone writes the worst answer they can get away with, nobody owns up, and the reveal does the rest.

2–15 players · No TV needed · Plays offline · No accounts

See how it plays

Free to try. One £3.99 unlocks the full game, every pack.

Get Mortified on Google Play

When Jackbox is still the right call.

Big TV, working wi-fi, up to eight players who all fit on one sofa arrangement, and somebody who loves the drawing games: buy the Party Pack, you'll have a great night. Keep this page for the villa with no wi-fi, the group that's eleven people, or the house where the TV is already taken.

Asked every week.

Is there a Jackbox alternative that needs no TV?

Yes. Games where every player's own phone is the screen skip the TV entirely. Mortified works that way: one person has the app, everyone else joins from their phone browser by QR code, and the whole game plays out on the phones themselves.

Can you play Jackbox-style games without internet?

Jackbox itself needs the internet for phones to join. Games built for local play don't: Mortified runs over the host's wi-fi or a phone hotspot with no internet at all, which is why it survives holiday villas and campsites.

What do games like Jackbox cost?

Jackbox sells packs of five games for roughly £25 each. Browser alternatives are often free with varying business models. Mortified is free to try with two full packs, and one £3.99 purchase unlocks everything, for the whole room, forever.

How many players do Jackbox alternatives support?

Jackbox games mostly play up to 8. Mortified takes 2 to 15 on one copy; Camo takes 3 to 12. For bigger crowds still, the no-kit classics on our games night guide scale to twenty.

Sorting a different kind of night? The full games night guide has a picker that narrows it down, and there's a whole page on phone party games.

Other games nights.

All party games