Looking for a Picolo alternative
If you have worn out Picolo and want something different for the same situation, here is an honest look at what Antics does differently, and where Picolo is still the better pick.
Straight up: we make Antics. So read this knowing that, and check both for yourself. We have tried to keep every factual claim below accurate and checkable, and to be plain about where Picolo wins.
The honest summary
Picolo is a genuinely good app and it is far more established than we are. It has been around for years and has tens of thousands of ratings. If you want the safest, most proven option, that is Picolo, and we would rather tell you that than pretend otherwise.
People usually go looking for an alternative for one of three reasons: they have seen all the cards, they do not want another subscription, or the group has people who are not drinking. Those are the three things Antics is built around.
How they differ
| Picolo | Antics | |
|---|---|---|
| Format | One continuous party game feed | Both: a continuous feed (Antics mode) and a stack of separate games, including Never Have I Ever, Truth or Dare, Most Likely To, Would You Rather, What Are The Odds and Imposter |
| Paying | Subscription: weekly with a trial, monthly, or yearly | Weekly with a free first week on iPhone, monthly, or a one-time Forever purchase |
| Drinking | Written around drinking | Built on forfeits, so non-drinkers play the same game |
| Last updated | Version 2.3.1, March 2023 | Updated through 2026, new cards still being added |
| How you play | Pass one phone around | Pass one phone around |
| Cost to start | Free download | Free download |
| Track record | Years old, tens of thousands of ratings | Launched 2026, small but growing |
The three real differences
1. You get the feed and the games
If what you like about Picolo is the one continuous feed of dares and rules, Antics has that: it is called Antics mode and it is the flagship. The difference is that it is one game on the shelf rather than the whole app, so when the room goes flat you switch instead of pushing through.
Picolo's own App Store description pitches itself as a change from "the same old games (Truth or Dare, Never Have I Ever)". We took the opposite view: those games are classics because they work, they just need better material than the recycled lists everyone has already read.
2. One of them is still being written
Picolo's current App Store version is 2.3.1, released in March 2023. That is roughly three and a half years without an update at the time of writing. For most apps that would not matter much, but a party game lives on its cards, and the single most common reason people go looking for an alternative is that they have seen everything in the deck. Antics is still shipping new content, including a spicy pack that keeps growing.
3. You can buy it once
Picolo is subscription based. Its App Store listing lists a one week option with a three day trial, plus monthly and yearly. Antics has weekly and monthly subscriptions too, and on iPhone the first week is free, but it also has a one-time Forever purchase. If the thing that sent you looking for an alternative was not wanting another recurring charge for something you use a few times a year, that is the difference that matters.
Worth knowing generally, and this is how every App Store free trial works, ours included: a trial converts into a paid subscription automatically unless you cancel before it ends, and cancelling does not refund a charge that has already gone through. It catches a lot of people out. The Forever purchase avoids that entirely, because it is a one-off purchase with nothing to renew and nothing to remember to cancel. You can check anything you are subscribed to under Settings, then your name, then Subscriptions.
4. Nobody has to drink
Antics is party-only and built on forfeits: wherever another game says drink, someone does a short, silly penalty instead. That means the designated driver, the person on antibiotics and the one who just does not fancy it are all still playing the same game with the same stakes, rather than sitting it out. For a mixed group that is the whole ballgame.
Which should you actually pick
Stay with Picolo if: you like its one-feed rhythm, you are happy with a subscription, and everyone in your group drinks. It is proven and it does that job well.
Try Antics if: you want several different games rather than one, you would rather pay once than subscribe, or your group includes people who are not drinking.
Try it before you download anything
You do not have to take our word for any of this. The app has nine games, and six of them run free in your browser, no sign-up: Never Have I Ever, Would You Rather, Most Likely To, Truth or Dare, What Are The Odds and Imposter. If the cards do not make your group laugh, you have lost nothing.
Full write-ups of every game are on the party games page.
A stack of games. One phone. Zero prep.
Antics is free to download on iPhone and Android. No ads, no accounts.
App Store Google PlayComparison last checked 28 August 2026 (Antics pricing updated 29 September 2026), using both apps' public App Store listings. Picolo version 2.3.1 and its March 2023 release date are taken from its live App Store record on that date. Picolo is made by Marmelapp and we are not affiliated with them. If anything here is out of date, email support@anticsapp.com and we will correct it.