The key to a good Jackbox game, at least when it comes to the more joke-oriented ones, is one that allows everyone the opportunity to be funny. I play this game with a group of people who are sometimes down with going all in on a joke in these games, but often feel exhausted at the thought of having to come up with something funny on the spot. Not everyone is an annoying nerd who listens to too much comedy bang bang (i.e. me), so when a game provides the right prompts and help for players to construct jokes with, that's when these games are their most effective. I'm thinking stuff like Mad Verse City, Tee KO, Job Job, or Talking Points. These are games that, even if improv comedy is the last thing you want to do, you can often just have something hilarious basically handed to you by the game, and now you're on an even playing field with people who are more down to clown. After all, a good party game should have as many people at the party involved or invested as possible.

Whenever a game just goes "Okay now here's the part where you say something funny", the results are way more inconsistent and therefore less fun, and I couldn't help but feel that when it came to Junktopia and Roomerang in this pack, even if their presentation is really good. I still enjoyed them, but at this point with so many Jackbox games it's hard to advocate for them when there are games everyone is immediately on board with. Quixort is good for any annoying trivia nerd (i.e. me), and Nonsensory is just generally confusing. Lastly, I agree with the sentiment other reviews have when it comes to getting these games under one launcher, at 9 entries with 5 games each, most of which are only in one pack, people really need a more orderly way to manage them.

Reviewed on Jan 01, 2023


Comments