Keep the Good Times Rolling | The Jackbox Party Pack Review

Playing games is all about bringing players together to have fun in a single experience. Most people think that you have to either play along in an epic single player campaign or play away from each other in a tense multi player session, however “couch co-op” has been making a strong comeback. Games like Nidhogg make having your friends over to play video games fun again. However, Jackbox Games has decided to create a mega pack of all their best games, which just so happen to embrace that very concept. Games like You Don’t Know Jack and Fibbage make playing in the same room a blast and having everything in one convenient package is just icing on the cake. If you want to have a blast, this pack is definitely the way to go.

The Jackbox Party Pack is a set of five games wrapped up into one simple package. Once you buy the pack, you get You Don’t Know Jack 2015 Edition, Fibbage XL, Drawful, Word Spud and Lie Swatter. This collection of games is a great value and each game on its own is worth the price of admission. Each game is designed to be short and compact while allowing the players to customize the experience. In addition to a customizable experience, each game has the ability to be controlled by a cell phone or tablet. Simply connect everyone’s phone to the same network as the console you are playing on and the game will recognize the controller. Now you don’t have to worry about having enough controllers or making some players look away while others play the game. This system works great and it gives each game a board game feel while being completely digital. There aren’t many games that take advantage of this and it really works for this genre of games.

The first game, and the one that you are probably most familiar with is You Don’t Know Jack 2015 Edition. This is the latest version of the popular quiz show of the same name. For those unfamiliar, the game follows a quiz show format where questions are asked and the player buzzes in and chooses the correct answer from the four that are on the screen. It is a fairly simple concept, but where You Don’t Know Jack really shines is its delivery. Most of the questions are asked in a funny way and the host, Cookie Masterson, does a great job of throwing in a snarky comment when the time is right. A full game consists of eight multiple choice questions, one “Dis or Dat” where you have two options and you pick which option applies to the question, and the Jack Attack which is a word association game. The game is the same format as the You Don’t Know Jack game from 2012, but this time all the animations are updated, the questions are completely different and the game is a little more polished this time around. Most people have probably played this game at some point, but whether you have played the game or not, this is a great reason to buy the pack on its own.

The next game is Fibbage, which also saw an independent release before being included in the pack. The game is very simple and utilizes your phones and tablets for up to eight players. The game simply shows a phrase on the screen with a blank somewhere in the sentence. Each player types in a word to fill in the blank and after everyone answers, the words are shown on the screen. The game then asks everyone to vote which player entered which word. If you get people to believe a word was yours, that wasn’t, you get points. However, if people can successfully guess your word, they get points. This game is very simple to play, but it is a blast to play with large groups and you get to see the length your friends will go to lie to you. There are tons of phrases to play, so you’ll have a ton of game time to play before you start repeating phrases. No matter what, this is a great game and one of our favorites outside of You Don’t Know Jack.

Next is Drawful and this game did not see an independent release before this pack. This game is also a blast and it combines Fibbage and Pictionary. The game is played when one player is given something to draw with a limited time to do it. Then the picture is shown and everyone guesses what the picture represents. Finally, everyone then votes which answer is correct and the points are given to those that guess correctly on both rounds. In this game, you will need at least three players but up to eight players can play. If you ever loved Draw Something, this game takes that concept to the next level. This one is a real crowd pleaser and it always gets everyone laughing and getting into the party spirit. It is highly recommended and it brings something new to your party game collection.

Word Spud is next and it is another game that has not made an appearance in the Jackbox line before this pack. The game is relatively simple since you are given a word and one player is chosen to continue the sentence with a word or phrase. The remaining players are given a yes or no vote on whether to keep the player’s addition to the sentence. If you vote yes, you gain points and the person who chose the word gets points too. However, if the majority of people playing choose no, the original player is penalized. There isn’t much to the game and while the game has its moments, it is easily the weakest portion of the offering.

Finally, you get Lie Swatter which is another newcomer but this game can be played with up to 100 players at a time. This game is the simplest of the lot and just requires the players to determine if a statement is true or false. While it doesn’t seem like there is much to it, it is a great time and the more people you play with, the more interesting the game becomes. It is a simple, fast-paced game that delivers a lot of laughs. While this wouldn’t be a great game for an independent release, this is perfect for a collection like this.

Overall, The Jackbox Party Pack is an awesome collection of games for those that like to play video games or just those that like to have people over. With the ability to play on your phone, you don’t need tons of controllers and since everyone carries a smart phone, your guests bring their own controller. It is well priced and a ton of fun, so if you are looking to throw a party, this is a great collection of games to make sure that everyone is thoroughly entertained. We loved our time with the game and we know you will too.

This review is based on a review copy of the PlayStation 4 verison of The Jackbox Party Pack developed by Jackbox Games.