About Punchline

Hi, I’m SidewaysDuck, the maker of Punchline: a free, ad-free meme caption party game you play in the browser with friends. I built it because our online game nights kept falling flat. The free meme games we tried were full of adverts, paid party games meant someone buying a copy and screen-sharing it, and half the group always got stuck on a sign-up page or an app download before the first round.

So Punchline is one link, with no accounts and nothing to install. It works on any phone, tablet or laptop for 2 to 16 players, whether you’re on the same sofa or on a video call.

Punchline has also been good for me. I live with generalised anxiety disorder (GAD), which has kept me closer to home than I’d like for a while. I’ve recently started a new treatment plan with specialist support, and it’s still early days. Building this has given me something positive to pour my energy into, and knowing people are laughing together because of it makes the harder days a bit lighter.

Every crown, critter and candle-shaped timer was made at home, one small fix at a time. The pixel critters are placeholders I made with AI help, so if you’re a pixel artist and would love to see your work in the game, suggest it on the community board. You’ll get full credit here.

Thanks for playing, sharing or supporting in any way. It means a lot.