Party games you play with your TV and phones

One kind of party game solved the controller problem years ago: the TV (or a laptop) is the board, and every player uses their own phone as the controller. No console required, no buying four extra gamepads, and usually nothing for guests to install: they scan a QR code or type a room code and they're in. Here's how the format works, three ways to get the game onto your TV, the main options available today (what they cost and who they suit), and the things that most often go wrong, mostly Wi-Fi and sound.

How "big screen + phones" works

The idea is simple:

1. The big screen shows the game: questions, drawings, scores, music. Everyone looks at it.
2. Each phone joins that game, usually by scanning a QR code or going to a website and typing a four- or five-letter room code.
3. The phone is a private controller: a buzzer, a keyboard for answers, a canvas to draw on, a voting button. What you type stays hidden until the game reveals it.

That mix of a shared screen and a private one is what makes it work so well for groups. Everyone plays at once, there's no waiting for your turn, and you can write an answer in secret and then vote on everyone else's. And since nearly everyone carries a phone, it works just as well for four people as for twelve.

What you need

• A big screen with a web browser or the game installed: a TV, a computer plugged into the TV, a games console, or just a laptop on the table if there are only a few of you.
• Decent sound. TV speakers are usually fine; for music games, a soundbar or a proper speaker is better.
• One phone per player (or per pair) with battery and internet. In most of these games the phones don't need to be on the same Wi-Fi as the TV, because everything goes through the internet, but make sure guests have data or the Wi-Fi password.

Three ways to get the game on the TV

Option 1: laptop and an HDMI cable (most reliable)

Plug the laptop into the TV with an HDMI cable, open the game in the browser and go full screen. This is what we recommend nearly every time: picture and sound go to the TV with no lag, the browser is up to date, and if something breaks you can fix it with a mouse and keyboard.

Check three things: that the laptop has an HDMI port (or a USB-C to HDMI adapter), that the sound is actually coming out of the TV (pick the output in your sound settings on Windows or Mac), and that the laptop won't go to sleep mid-game.

Option 2: casting or screen mirroring (Chromecast, Google TV, AirPlay)

From Chrome you can cast a tab to a Chromecast or a Google TV; from a Mac or iPhone you can mirror your screen with AirPlay to an Apple TV or a compatible TV. No cables, but two catches:

• Lag. There can be a small delay between your computer and the TV. It doesn't matter in a drawing game; it matters a lot in a buzz-first game.
• Dropouts. On patchy Wi-Fi the picture gets blocky or the audio stutters, right when six people are staring at it.

If you have to go this way, keep the computer close to the router.

Option 3: the TV's own browser

Many smart TVs have a built-in browser. It can work for simple games, but TV browsers are often slow, sometimes struggle with audio, and typing a web address with the remote is miserable. Try it before the day; if it works, great, and if not, fall back to option 1. Some platforms, such as Jackbox and AirConsole, also have their own apps for certain TVs and streaming sticks, which usually beat the browser.

The main options

Jackbox Party Packs (comedy, drawing, trivia)

The best-known name in the format. Each Party Pack is a bundle of around five games (writing funny answers, drawing, social deduction, trivia and so on) that you buy once and run on the big screen. They're available on PC and Mac (Steam and other stores), PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch, some streaming devices and TVs, and phones and tablets. Players join from their phone's browser at jackbox.tv with the room code shown on the TV, with nothing to install.

• Price: you pay per pack. On Steam the recent packs are around $25–30 in the US, often discounted in sales. Only the host buys it.
• Good for: teens and adults who want to laugh. The comedy-writing games reward people who are quick with words, so there's a lot of reading and typing.
• Less good for: young children. Check each game's content before playing with kids.

Kahoot (quizzes)

Kahoot is a classroom and office staple. The host creates or picks a quiz and puts it on screen; players join on the website or app with a PIN and answer by tapping the colour or shape of the right answer. Fast, correct answers score most.

• Price: there's a free plan, but with a low cap on players per game (around 10 on personal accounts at the time of writing); paid plans raise the cap and add question types.
• Good for: when you want to write your own questions: a quiz about the family, the birthday girl or last summer's holiday.
• Less good for: spontaneous parties. Building a good quiz takes time, and because the question is only on the big screen, anyone sitting at a bad angle is at a disadvantage.

AirConsole (a library of minigames)

AirConsole turns a computer browser, or its app on Android TV, Google TV and Amazon Fire TV, into a kind of console, with phones as gamepads. There's a catalogue of more than a hundred games: racing, sports, trivia, skill games. Some are free, and a subscription ("Hero") unlocks the rest.

• Good for: groups with kids and teens who want action rather than typing.
• Less good for: anything that needs real reflexes; steering a car on a touchscreen isn't the same as holding a controller.

Netflix games on the TV

Netflix now has party games you play on the TV with your phone as the controller: pick the game on the TV and scan a QR code. They include Boggle Party, Pictionary: Game Night and LEGO Party!. You need a Netflix subscription, and games need to be supported on your TV.

Track Attack (music)

This one's ours, so we'll describe it straight. Track Attack is a free music game that runs in the browser: the big screen plays song clips and each player buzzes from their phone after scanning a QR code, with no app and no account. The first to buzz types the song; there's also a "Song and year" mode where you build your own timeline of songs. The music comes from suggested playlists or any public Spotify or Deezer playlist, and nobody needs an account on either. It's in English and Spanish.

• Good for: parties, family gatherings, anyone who knows a bit of music.
• Less good for: groups who don't care about music, obviously.

To build a full evening of music rounds, see how to host a music quiz at home.

And without a screen: Hitster

Not a TV game, but worth knowing about. Hitster is a music board game where each card has a QR code; you scan it with the Hitster app, the song plays through Spotify, and you have to place it in chronological order. It's the physical version of the timeline idea; if that appeals, read our music timeline game strategy.

Quick comparison

Pros and cons of the format

Pros:

• Everyone already has a controller in their pocket.
• Lots of people play at once, with no waiting.
• Secret answers make games possible that you can't do with one controller (voting, bluffing, drawing).
• Scales from four friends to a dinner party of fifteen.

Cons:

• It depends on the internet: if the Wi-Fi drops, so does the party.
• Older guests who aren't confident with phones can get left out. Fix: pair them with someone younger.
• Phones are distracting: someone will check their messages between rounds.

Tips so it doesn't fall over

1. Test everything the afternoon before. Open the game, connect two phones and play one round. That's when you discover the missing adapter or that the TV isn't playing sound.
2. Wi-Fi. Write the password on a card (or print a Wi-Fi QR code) for guests. If the network is weak, have phones use mobile data and leave the Wi-Fi for the screen.
3. Sound. For music games, avoid Bluetooth speakers if you can: they add delay and disconnect. TV sound over HDMI or a wired speaker is better.
4. Lag. If the game is about buzzing first, use the HDMI cable rather than mirroring. A fraction of a second decides who wins.
5. Screens that lock. Ask everyone to extend their auto-lock or tap the screen between rounds: in some games a locked phone drops the player, who then has to rejoin.
6. Battery. Keep a charger or an extension lead near the sofa. An hour with the screen on adds up.
7. Visibility. The room code or QR code has to be readable from every seat. With a big group, use the biggest screen you have and kill any lamp that causes glare.

Planning this for the holidays? We've got specific ideas in music games for Christmas and New Year's Eve. And if you're choosing: music lovers should start with something free that needs no install; groups who love writing silly answers will get their money's worth from a Jackbox pack.