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Free entertainment to help you survive coronavirus social distancing

HBO, Battlestar Galactica, MasterClass, Marvel comics, Cards Against Humanity and lots more, including movies, books, concerts, guitar lessons and exercise classes.

Rick Broida Senior Editor
Rick Broida is the author of numerous books and thousands of reviews, features and blog posts. He writes CNET's popular Cheapskate blog and co-hosts Protocol 1: A Travelers Podcast (about the TV show Travelers). He lives in Michigan, where he previously owned two escape rooms (chronicled in the ebook "I Was a Middle-Aged Zombie").
Rick Broida
11 min read
crackle-movies-march-2020

Crackle is home to hundreds of movies you can stream for free -- and some of them are actually worth seeing!

Crackle

Hang in there, everyone. Even though the coronavirus situation is showing signs of progress, we need to stay safe and stay home a little while longer. Fortunately, there's plenty of free entertainment to make that proposition easier. Nearly every day I learn of some new offering to help keep you occupied while you wait it out. Games, movies, comics, virtual tours, live theater, guitar lessons -- all that and more, and all you need for most of it is a computer, phone, tablet or TV. 

I'm updating this post regularly, so bookmark it and check back often for new additions. In the meantime: Stay safe, stay healthy and stay home.

Free MasterClass instruction

masterclass-online-cooking-class-gordon-ramsay
MasterClass

MasterClass offers online classes in a wide range of subjects, taught by leaders in their fields. We're talking Gordon Ramsey on cooking, Martin Scorsese on filmmaking, Penn & Teller on magic and so on. For another few weeks, MasterClass Live will offer one free streaming class per week. Bestselling author Dan Brown (The DaVinci Code) recently talked about writing thrillers and how to build suspenseful stories.

Tune in Wednesdays at 5 p.m. PT, 8 p.m. ET., to see what's next.

Read more: 5 Masterclass classes to become a filmmaker: Learn from Martin Scorsese, Jodie Foster and more

Free PC games

twitch-games-with-prime-april-2020

Five games, all free this month for Amazon Prime subscribers (and Twitch users).

Twitch

Tired of bite-size phone games? This is the perfect time to reconnect with (or discover) computer games, which can deliver richer, deeper experiences. If nothing else, you'll love playing on a bigger screen. Here's what you can get absolutely free right now:

Read more: Best free games right now for Xbox, Stadia, PlayStation, PCs and Nintendo Switch  

Free print-and-play board games

asmodee-print-and-play-games

All six of these print-and-play games are free right now.

Asmodee

Got ink in the printer? And some paper? Then you've got everything you need to enjoy some pretty darn cool games.

  • Cards Against Humanity: Family Edition is a more PG-rated version of the hugely popular card game, and it's currently free to download. You'll need a decent amount of paper and ink -- the two versions span 21 and 47 pages, depending on the card size you choose. Consider raising your game, so to speak, by printing on card stock. (Take note that to get the game, you'll have to click through a couple pages of "agreements," including one that some may find politically offensive.) 
  • Game seller Asmodee is now offering print-and-play versions of six popular games, including the escape-room adventure Unlock! and visual-storytelling game Dixit. Just download the rules and gameplay PDFs and then get printing. 

Read more: Best board games in 2020: Lord of the Rings, Mansions of Madness and more  

Free streaming TV and movies

battlestar-galactica-promo-image

Watch all of Battlestar Galactica free on SyFy.

NBCUniversal

Just want to veg out in front of the TV? Don't blame you one bit. While I think Hulu for $6 a month is arguably the single best streaming deal you can get, here are some other options that won't cost you a dime:

Read moreWestworld season 3 review  

Free exercise classes

peloton-ipad-app-screenshot

The Peloton app gives you full access to all Peloton fitness content, but for a much lower price ($13 a month) than bike owners pay. And right now it's free for 90 days.

Rick Broida/CNET

OK, maybe it's not entertainment, but it's definitely good for you. With many gyms now closed indefinitely, many services have stepped up with free home-workout options.

  • Echelon is offering a free 90-day trial of the FitPass app, which, like Peloton's (below), offers a wide variety of live and on-demand classes. You'll find cardio and core workouts, pilates, Zumba and so on. The app is available for Android and iOS. If you choose to continue after the trial, FitPass costs $20 per month.
  • Peloton is offering a free 90-day trial of the Peloton app. Available for Android, iOS and Amazon Fire TV, it provides unlimited access to a wealth of live and on-demand classes: treadmill and outdoor running, strength training, high-intensity interval training, yoga, meditation and so on. If you choose to continue after the trial, the subscription costs $13 a month.
  • This might be the perfect time to take up yoga, one of the greatest stress-relievers ever. You can find countless free beginner classes -- and plenty for more experienced yogis as well -- on YouTube. I recommend starting with Yoga With Adriene, which has literally hundreds of videos for all skill levels (and all categories, like Yoga for Bedtime and Yoga for Wrist Pain). While you're at it, you can search YouTube for meditation classes -- also not exactly entertaining, but a useful way to pass the time and keep stress at bay.

Read moreGym closed? Here are some of the best home workout options

Free magazines

rbdigital-cooking-mags

RBDigital is home to lots of magazines you can download and read for free on your PC, tablet or phone.

RBDigital

Call me old-fashioned, but I still enjoy reading magazines: Cook's Illustrated, Family Handyman, Men's Health, Reader's Digest, Wired and so on. I'm not a paid subscriber to any of them; instead, I use RBDigital, a service offered by my public library, to read all those titles on my phone and tablet. The selection varies, so you may not have access to all the same titles I do, but you should definitely investigate using RBDigital to get free magazines from your library.

Meanwhile, DiscountMags just started offering free digital single issues of dozens of magazines. These aren't subscriptions; you can pick and choose as many individual titles as you want. Once you redeem them, you'll use the Zinio app to read.

Free ebooks and audiobooks

overdrive-destination-mudbound

Here's an example of one of the great ebooks you may be able to check out from your library. (Seriously, read this one, it's awesome.)

Screenshot by Rick Broida/CNET

Speaking of libraries, yours can probably hook you up with a selection of free ebooks and audiobooks as well. Right now, for example, I'm using an app called Libby (formerly OverDrive) to read a novel by Richard Russo, and before that I used it to listen to Martin Short's thoroughly entertaining autobiography I Must Say (read by the author). You may have to wait a bit before the title you want becomes available, so add a bunch to your queue so you always have something ready to go.

Meanwhile, good news for parents: Amazon is now offering a bunch of Sesame Street ebooks for free. As you might expect, they're all Kindle editions, so you'll need a Fire tablet or any any device capable of running the Kindle app.

Read more: Best e-reader for 2020

Free comic books

Dark Horse is offering a ton of free first-issue comics, with titles including Hellboy and Stranger Things, as well as a selection for kids: Frozen, The Incredibles, Disney Treasure Island and more.

Next, head to Comixology to find a dozen free Marvel comics -- Avengers vs. X-Men Collection and Civil War among them.  

Free virtual museum tours

google-arts-and-culture-museum-of-magic

Anyone for a virtual tour of the American Museum of Magic?

Google

How about a little culture in the mix? Google's Arts & Culture collection can take you on virtual tours of hundreds of museums around the world, from Japan's Nagoya City Art Museum to Ford's Theatre in Washington, DC. Within each you may find one or more "stories" you can browse. You can sort the collection alphabetically or view them on a map. One particularly great example: Posters from History's Greatest Illusionists at the American Museum of Magic. 

Free theater, opera and concerts

phantom-rah0514-c-ampr
The Shows Must Go On

Like so many industries, live theater is taking a beating right now. However, as the old saying (and a new YouTube channel, see below) goes, the show must go on. Hence, these streaming options:

  • The UK's National Theatre streams a different play every Thursday. You can find the streams on the National Theatre at Home YouTube channel. The latest is Antony & Cleopatra starring Ralph Fiennes and Sophie Okonedo.
  • YouTube channel The Shows Must Go On is streaming a different Andrew Lloyd Webber musical each week. Each show is available starting on Friday and will run for just 48 hours. There's no sign-up required. Now showing: By Jeeves.
  • The New York Metropolitan Opera is streaming a different encore Live in HD performance every day. Each performance will begin at 7:30 p.m. ET (4:30 p.m. PT) and remain available for streaming for 20 hours. You can watch the streams in a browser, or use one of the Met Opera on Demand streaming apps available for Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV and Roku devices.  

Free music

amazon-music-hd

Amazon Music HD aims to challenge the high-fidelity likes of Tidal and Qobuz. Here's your chance to try it free for 90 days.

Amazon

Tired of the same old Pandora playlists and the ads that frequently interrupt them? Several services are offering free premium subscriptions.

  • 90-day Amazon Music HD subscription: Wait, Amazon Music has an HD option? I honestly had no idea. And what does "HD" mean? In this case higher bit rates, otherwise known as better sound quality. Spotify maxes out at a bit rate of 320 kilobits per second, while Amazon HD delivers up to 850Kbps for its 50-million song library -- and up to a whopping 3,730Kbps for millions of songs in "Ultra HD" format. This extended trial is available only for new Amazon Music subscribers. After that, you'll get billed at the regular rate of $14.99 a month (or $12.99 if you're an Amazon Prime subscriber) unless you cancel.
  • 3-month Deezer HiFi subscription: Speaking of hi-fi music, Deezer promises CD-quality lossless streaming -- and right now you can get a hi-fi subscription free for three months. That's a $60 value. As with Amazon Music, you'll continue getting billed after that unless you cancel.
  • Sirius XM free streaming: Between now and May 15, SiriusXM is offering unlimited free streaming through its web portal and mobile apps. Normally $13 monthly, the plan includes not only all the regular channels, but also Howard Stern. 

Read more: Best music streaming: Spotify, Apple Music and more, compared    

Free audiobooks for kids and teens

audible-free-streams-for-kids

Audible is offering free streaming audiobooks for kids of all ages.

Audible

To help keep out-of-school kids occupied, Audible is offering a big selection of streaming audiobooks at no charge. You'll find the likes of Winnie-the-Pooh, Anne of Green Gables, White Fang, various Audible Originals and even some modern titles like Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. The service just made the first Harry Potter book available as well.

There are books available in different languages as well, including French, German and Spanish. For the moment it looks like a browser is required for this; the streams don't seem to be available within Audible's apps. There's also no login or even registration required, and I was able to listen on my phone via my mobile browser.

Free audiobooks for adults

audible-original-the-half-life-of-marie-curie

Score some great Audible Originals for free.

Audible

Audible is now offering a bunch of Audible Originals for free as well, most of them rated four stars or higher. Here's the list:

Needless to say, you'll need an Audible account to access these. 

Free Crayola coloring pages

Need some new pictures for the kids to color? Crayola is offering a wealth of free-to-download (and print) coloring pages, all of them organized by season.

Free 3 months of guitar lessons from Fender

This has "Rick Broida" written all over it: I own a guitar and had every intention of learning to play, but for various reasons just never got going. Now, with ample extra time on my hands and Fender's three-month subscription freebie, I can take lessons online. The site offers classes for acoustic and electric guitars and ukulele. Note that although a credit card is not required, this promotion is limited to the first 1 million sign-ups.

Other ideas

What else can we do with all this stay-at-home down-time? Some suggestions: bake bread, learn how to draw, organize the junk drawer, start a new hobby, revisit an old hobby, break out the board games. In other words, use this time to unwind, disconnect and hopefully find some calm.

Read more: 15 best movies to watch on Amazon Prime Video  

Now tell me your ideas for staying busy and entertained -- ideally without spending any (or much) money.

This article is frequently updated to reflect the latest free entertainment deals we can find. 

Watch this: Easy ways to stream movies for free

Read more: All the latest Audible coupons.

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