Online games to play with family remotely, free and with no download
The easiest remote family games run in a browser and join by link: Codenames Online for word games, Gartic Phone or skribbl.io for drawing, Jackbox if one person owns a pack, and Hearthsea for a free Catan-style board game with bots to fill empty seats. Put everyone on one video call and pick one game per hour.
What makes a good remote family game
Thanksgiving falls on Thursday 26 November 2026, and plenty of families will spend it on a video call. A game gives the call something to do besides catching up. Most families find what works the hard way: one relative cannot install anything, another is on an old tablet, and a seven-year-old is bored in ten minutes.
A good remote game for a family has four things:
- It runs in a browser. No app store, no download, no password reset on Thanksgiving morning.
- It joins by link or code. You paste one thing in the family chat and people are in.
- It works on a phone. Someone will play from the kitchen.
- The rules fit in two minutes. Or someone at the table already knows them.
The best free picks by group and age
| Game | Good for | Players | How to join |
|---|---|---|---|
| Codenames Online | Teens and adults, word lovers | Best with 4 or more, in two teams | A room link |
| Gartic Phone | Everyone; drawing badly is the point | A big group | A room link |
| skribbl.io | Kids and grandparents together | A big group | A private room link |
| Jackbox Party Packs | Loud families who like to laugh | Depends on the game | One person owns the pack and shares the screen; everyone else plays free on a phone |
| Hearthsea | Families who play Catan at the table | 2 to 6, bots fill gaps | A room code, link or QR code |
| Board Game Arena | Board game families who want variety | Depends on the game | An invitation to a table; some games need Premium |
Hearthsea is our game. The others are not, and we have no deal with any of them.
Games that work on a phone or tablet
Drawing games are the best fit for a phone, because a finger draws better than a mouse. Jackbox was built for phones as controllers. Codenames works on a phone but is nicer on a bigger screen, since the board has 25 words.
Hearthsea plays on phones, tablets and laptops alike, with the board drawn for the screen it is on. A grandparent on an iPad and a teenager on a laptop see the same island.
Running it over Zoom, FaceTime or Discord
Keep the call and the game apart. The video call stays open for faces and voices, and each person opens the game in a browser tab or on a second device. Screen sharing is only needed for Jackbox, where the host shares the main screen.
- Send the link before the call. Ten minutes of “what’s the code again” loses the youngest players.
- Pick a host who knows the game. They explain it once, then answer questions as you play.
- Use one device per player where you can. Two people on one phone works for drawing games, less well for anything with secret cards.
- Mute the game’s sound if the call echoes.
A Thanksgiving game-night plan
Two hours is plenty. A plan that has worked for a lot of families:
- First 30 minutes: a drawing game. Everyone plays, nobody needs rules, and it warms the call up.
- Next 45 minutes: a word game in two teams, cousins against parents, or one house against another.
- Last 45 minutes: a board game for whoever wants a longer one. The kids can drop off while the board game people carry on.
Time zones matter more than the games. If half the family is three hours behind, start after their dinner, not yours.
A Catan-style game for families who own the board
If Catan comes out every holiday at your house, an online version keeps the tradition when the family is apart. Hearthsea is a Catan-style game in the browser: same idea, its own art, free to play. Open a room under Online, send the code or link to the family chat, and give empty seats to bots, so a table of three relatives can still play a four-player game.
It also helps with the usual holiday troubles. The game counts the points and the Longest Road for you, and there is no box to tidy up. Classic, Seafarers and Cities & Knights are all free, and up to six can play.
New to it? Our guide to playing Catan online for free covers the basics, and free board games with friends lists more games for a smaller group.
Keeping it free: what is actually paid
Everything above can be played for free except Jackbox, which needs one person to own a pack. A few things to know:
- Board Game Arena is free to join, but some of its games need a Premium member at the table.
- Hearthsea needs a free account for each player, made with an email address or Google in a few seconds. Its Highlands and Skyfarers expansions cost $4.99 once each, and you do not need them for a family game.
- Drawing and word games are usually free with ads.
Questions people ask
What games can families play online together for free?
Codenames Online, Gartic Phone and skribbl.io all run free in a browser and join by link. Hearthsea is a free Catan-style board game for 2 to 6 players with bots to fill empty seats.
How do you do a virtual family game night?
Keep one video call open for faces and voices, send the game link before the call, and have each person play in their own browser tab or device. Start with a drawing game, then a team game, then a longer board game.
What games can you play over Zoom with family?
Any browser game with a room link works next to Zoom: Codenames Online, Gartic Phone, skribbl.io and Hearthsea. Jackbox works by sharing the host’s screen while everyone plays on their phone.
What online games work for all ages?
Drawing games such as Gartic Phone and skribbl.io work for children and grandparents together. For a board game, Hearthsea’s bots let younger players learn without slowing the grown-ups down.
Can we play Catan online with family for free?
You can play Hearthsea, a free Catan-style game, in the browser with 2 to 6 people. Open a room, share the code or link, and add bots to empty seats.
Sources
Read on 25 October 2026:
Keep reading
Free board games to play online with friends, no download
How to play Catan online for free in 2026
Play a Catan-style game against AI bots
Open a room for the family
Hearthsea is free to play: Classic, Seafarers and Cities & Knights, against bots or online with friends, with no daily limit. Highlands and Skyfarers are optional extras at $4.99 once, with one free game of each a day. Open a room under Online and send the code to the family chat.
Hearthsea is free to play: Classic, Seafarers and Cities & Knights, against bots or online with friends, with no daily limit. Highlands and Skyfarers are optional extras at $4.99 once, with one free game of each a day. Make a free account, open a room under Online, and send the code to the family chat.
CATAN is a registered trademark of Catan GmbH. Hearthsea is an independent game and is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by Catan GmbH or its publishers. Other game names belong to their owners and are used here only to describe and compare.