What Is Steam and How Can I Use It to Play Jackbox Games?
This blog goes out to all fans who have a Mac or a PC but have never played a computer game on it. This blog goes out to all fans who look at the list of platforms we’re available on and see a list of names they don’t recognize.
We see you. We’re here to help.
Many people are looking for a nice, portable way to bring our games to a friend’s house. Or, they haven’t played one of our games before and don’t own a gaming console like an Xbox, PlayStation, or Nintendo Switch.
Good news. You don’t NEED one of these platforms. If you have a Mac or PC, you’re good to go once you’ve downloaded a platform called Steam.
What is Steam?
Long story short: Steam is a free software that you download onto your computer to essentially turn it into a gaming console like an Xbox or PlayStation. It takes your drab PC and adds a dash of game spice. (Hmmmm… “Game Spice™”.... We like that.)
Once you have Steam on your PC, Mac, or Linux computer, think of it like a digital storefront that also runs your games after they're purchased, like how iTunes is both where you purchase your music as well as buying your music. I assume if you're reading this blog to learn about Steam, you're old enough to remember a time when people used to buy digital music. I miss my iPod every single day. . . Anywho! Steam isn’t the only gaming platform of this nature, but it’s one of the main ways people play Jackbox Games.
Your website sells PC/Mac/Linux codes on multiple platforms. What is the difference between them?
You can buy and play our games on PC and Mac on either Steam or in the Epic Store (our games are also available on Linux through Steam).
You can buy Steam codes in multiple places:
- The official Jackbox Games shop
- The Steam store itself
- The Fanatical store
- The Humble store
- The Green Man Gaming store
So you see, a lot of places sell Steam codes (and offer different sales of our games at different times)! Once they’re purchased however, you redeem them once you’re logged into your Steam account.
How do I create an account?
Click here to get started with creating a Steam account using your email address. Once it is created and verified, you’ll be prompted to choose a username and password. After that, you should be logged in!
Once on the home page, look in the upper righthand corner to Install Steam onto your computer. Once you’ve done so, you’ll be able to purchase, download, and play games.
NOTE: To access your game library on a different computer, simply Install Steam on that computer and log into your account. You will need to re-download the game on that specific computer before playing but you won’t need to repurchase the game to play.
I downloaded Steam. Now what?
Once it’s downloaded and you have Steam open on your computer, click on the “Store” tab in the upper left hand corner to find a game that you want to buy and play. If you purchased a code from a different store selling Steam codes (like our shop or Humble), then click on the “Games” tab in your toolbar and click “Activate a Product on Steam.” Follow the prompts on the screen to enter your code and begin the download process.
Still need a Jackbox Games title?
You’re almost ready to party now. All that’s missing is the game itself. Here's a helpful tutorial for how to purchase and redeem Steam codes:
You can view a complete list of our games available on Steam here. Enjoy!
