The Jackbox Party Pack

If you've been to a party in the past five years, you've likely played a Jackbox game at least once. With eight Party Packs available on every major platform, they offer a ton of accessible fun. However, if you have somehow managed to avoid this whole series thus far, you have a little catching up to do. Luckily, while some of the later games have a steeper learning curve, but the first Party Pack is very approachable, and still a lot of fun!

Jackbox Party Pack 1 is home to five games that I categorize into three groups. You Don't Know Jack 2015 and Lie Swatter are pure (albeit comedic) trivia, Drawful and Fibbage XL are creativity-focused competitions, and Word Spud is a fairly straightforward word game. Lie Swatter and Word Spud were never very interesting for me, but the other three can be absolute blasts when playing them with a good group of friends or family. The Party Pack works by selecting one of the five included games and launching a lobby via the device that has the pack. Then each of the players connects to the lobby via a browser (usually on their phone), where they will get the game prompts and be able to compete. That way, you and your two-to-ninety-nine other friends can play while keeping your answers secret, and no controller-passing is necessary. It even works over a screen-sharing video call!

The Jackbox games all do a great job of succinctly explaining how to play, so you rarely ever need to coach new players, and you can easily dive into any of the games without any previous experience. A round in any given game only lasts around ten minutes, so there's plenty of room to bounce between the different options, or, if you're like me, exclusively play Drawful for a solid hour. The games have enough variety that you can probably find something for any group, but that also means it takes a special set of personalities to enjoy everything this first Party Pack has to offer.

While this first entry often gets criticized for its relative simplicity and lower level of wackiness compared to its peers, that's what makes it a great starting point for new players. There's a ton of fun to be had here, whether you're creative, clever, knowledgeable, or none of the above. The later packs offer a daunting amount of content, but starting small can open up that whole world of fun! Even if you don't choose to invest in the rest of the franchise, you're sure to have plenty of laughs with the first Jackbox Party Pack.  

The game is available for Steam here (as of 12/22/21): https://store.steampowered.com/app/331670/The_Jackbox_Party_Pack/
The game is available for Switch here (as of 12/22/21): https://www.nintendo.com/games/detail/the-jackbox-party-pack-switch/
The game is available for Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S here (as of 12/22/21): https://www.xbox.com/en-us/games/store/the-jackbox-party-pack/c088z2hzn3zj
The game is available for PS4 and PS5 here (as of 12/22/21): https://store.playstation.com/en-us/product/UP2139-CUSA01229_00-JBGPARTYPACKPS41

Popular posts from this blog

Meow Tower: Nonogram Pictogram

Image
I seem to have a thing for mobile games about cats, and I am a huge fan of Nintendo 's Picross series. Normally those two interests don't overlap, but Meow Tower changed that. Combining the fun of befriending cute cartoon cats and solving intricate number puzzles hooked me immediately. While it's technically not a Picross game, seeing as that is a Nintendo trademark, the nonogram puzzles are still the same, and I loved being able to play them on my phone. Granted, there have been plenty of options to play these kinds of puzzles on the phone for years, but Meow Tower  sets itself apart from the rabble thanks to its stellar aesthetic. The developers behind this game are true artists. While it's a solid, straightforward nonogram game at its core, Meow Tower just looks so much better to play than any of the numerous generic options that crowd the app stores. The bubbly sticker-book style used for the art and menus gives Meow Tower a lot of charm and personality from t
Read more

Space Lich Omega

Image
Inspired by the ever popular Candy Box and Candy Box 2 , Space Lich Omega is an browser-based RPG adventure with an almost entirely ASCII display. However, it chose to step away from the established fantasy style of it's inspiration for a more science-fantasy theme. I ended up having a fun time with this game, despite its need for a little polish, thanks to the unique story and hilarious pop-culture Easter eggs that can be discovered throughout the different explorable locations. Despite the crude-ish interface, I never had any trouble navigating throughout the game. I actually ended up beating it in a relatively short time, especially when I had my gunk production going all out, allowing me to jump my health up enormously. Although I did need to do a little grinding every now and then for an item that I missed, that didn't interfere with my enjoyment too much. Ultimately, this is no Candy Box , but it still has its merits and is worth playing if you ever find yourself in
Read more

The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes

Image
Reusing game engines has proven to be pretty popular in the Zelda series. It offers developers a chance to craft more experimental and risky games, as the initial investment on the engine was covered by the previous, more traditional release. As a huge fan of A Link Between Worlds , I was ecstatic to learn it was getting a pseudo-follow-up. My excitement only grew when Nintendo sent me an early-access demo, and I somehow had no concerns that this was another multiplayer-focused game, despite my preference for solo play. Since the previous multiplayer Zelda games had pretty functional single-player modes, I anticipated that I could expect the same here. Unfortunately, that wasn't an entirely accurate assumption. Like its predecessors , Tri Force Heroes is level-based in order to accommodate its multiplayer focus. All of the stages are designed like dungeons, so they hold up really well for puzzle-solving challenges, but they lack a lot of the same charm you can find in Four Swor
Read more