Steam – How to bring the jackbox games on a trip Without bringing the home PC

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In November, I'm taking a trip to my in-laws, and they recently got interested in Jackbox games. They are almost certainly going to be interested in playing more of it when we take a trip there. I would like to be able to play my 5 jackbox party packs with them.

The problem is, they aren't exactly 'trusting' of third party software like the Steam Client, and I don't have a very good laptop. Even if I did, what I really want to do is stream the game to my parent's TV.

Is there some sort of cable setup I can do, preferably with my phone but if I need to use my laptop then I can as well, in order to stream my Steam Jackbox games to my in-laws' television?

Best Answer

Maybe.

Here are your options as I see them:

Persuade your in-laws to let you install Steam on their computer.

Pros:

  • Probably the most straightforward solution.
  • Doesn't cost any money.

Cons:

  • You have to convince your in-laws to go along with it.
  • You have to log into Steam on someone else's computer, which is a minor security risk. Make sure you have enabled Steam Guard, don't reuse your Steam password on any other sites, and be sure to log out when you're done.
  • You might have trouble hooking the computer to the TV, unless they're right next to each other.

Try to run it on your laptop.

Pros:

  • Jackbox is not the most technically demanding series of games. Your laptop might handle it just fine, even if it's got a weak graphics chipset.
  • Doesn't cost any money (assuming you already own a laptop).
  • You can test it in advance to make sure it will play well, and pick a different solution if it doesn't.

Cons:

  • Doesn't generalize to more demanding games.
  • Requires you to bring your laptop, which might be inconvenient.
  • If you have a really weak laptop, Jackbox might not run on it.

Use a cloud gaming service such as GeForce Now

Pros:

  • Can be used to stream to any computer regardless of computing power.

Cons:

  • Usually requires installing client software, which your in-laws might disapprove of (so use the laptop instead).
  • Requires a strong internet connection with low latency. Usually performs better over a wired connection. For a game like Jackbox, this might not be such a big deal if you don't mind a little bit of lag.
  • Costs money.
  • You probably can't test your in-laws' internet in advance.

Purchase a gaming laptop or a Nintendo Switch

Pros:

  • This gives you greater flexibility the next time you need to travel.
  • The Switch has a lot of first-party exclusives, unlike other consoles. As a result, it is a good companion device for PC gamers (in my opinion).

Cons:

  • Costs money.
  • The Switch does in fact have at least some Jackbox games available on it, but you would need to buy them again.
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