Partylines existed in the UK during the 90s and 00s. They were a way for you to find out where the freeparty scene was happening. You would call up a number with a answerphone message and it would change as the night got later getting you closer and close to where the party actually was.
I had many a fond night, calling up waiting for the message to change.
AFAIK, party lines were when N people were physically hooked up to the same phone line. All N people could talk to each other at the same time without dialing out/having to pay.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Party_line_(telephony)