The big issue with board games is that you need to set them up, and nobody ever wants to do that. That’s whyJackboxgames are so great — as long as you have a PC and friends that haven’t yet killed their phone batteries, you can have a blast with minimal setup time.Jackbox Party Pack 9keeps true to that promise, as the new title is filled with complete bangers.
The newest set of party games has five on offer with one returning game and four new ones.Fibbage 4, the trivia game that’s also about fooling friends, is the newest iteration of theJackboxall-star.Roomerangis another funny prompt game that has a reality TV twist.Junktopiainvites you to buy random knick-knacks and sell them by inventing funny stories. For the more scientific players,Nonsensoryhas some drawing, writing, and vital guessing about what the other players are thinking. Finally,Quixortis trivia sorting kind of deal.
As usual, players log in by using their smartphones or other internet-enabled devices, like PCs, and going to jackbox.tv and entering the room code. Aside from accessibility options like having the code read aloud,Jackbox Party Pack 9introduces login via QR code. It’s just one of increasing array of features that shows the devs are mindful of the streaming public.
I lie to you, you lie to me
A lot of people are happy to see the renewal ofFibbage. It’s a game of answering multiple choice trivia questions, but the false answers are provided by the other players. You get the double pleasure of guessing the right answer and seeing your friends stumble on your (believable) lies. There’s a reason why that game has a series of its own at this point. Plus, there’sFibbage: Enough About You, the trivia game that involves answering questions and lying about your friends. One of my coworkers specifically asked aboutFibbagebeing included, so you can say it is a popular one.
Roomerangallows you to create your own reality TV contestant with a name, avatar, and on special trait (like being a ne’er-do-well, stay-at-home dad, and so on). Next, everyone gets prompts of theLove Island-esque fashion (look, I don’t know what modern reality shows involve merely observing people mess around) and vote for the funniest. Being voted the best gives you special elimination round powers, with immunity being the most base one. And that’s not even all the features described!
Junktopiasees a wizard turn you all into frogs (Mondays, am I right?). The mad sorcerer sends you all into a pawn shop to buy old crap, then you get to make up a funny backstory for it. So, if you buy the cheapest junk and come up with the greatest pun, you have the best chances of striking it big and being turned back into a human.
Nonsensorycombines drawing, writing, and guessing. A lot of the guessing is about the choices of other people. It takes some time to understand what’s happening, but it’s not at all tricky. Veteran Jackboxheads can imagine this as a funnier version ofGuesspionage.
Quixortis the one game I have mixed feelings about. It bids you to sort, say, movies from oldest to newest, with each title presented one at a time, falling onto the timeline. On one hand, people liked it and you can play it solo. Plus it has two gaming modes with their own crucial differences: normal and infinite.
On the other hand, it relies heavily on you knowing some quite specific American trivia, and the option to filter out that specific content didn’t seem to work. So yeah, your mileage may vary, butQuixortstill manages to combine some of the greatest stuff you can expect fromJackbox: trivia, humor, and fun design.
It’s the opposite ofDrawful
Jackbox Party Pack 9is the strongest title in the series. All of the games have been favorably reviewed by the people I roped in for live trials, and I like all of them, even if some (Fibbage 4) are better than others (Quixort). Sure you could compare it to theJackbox Party Pack 8:Job JobandPoll Mineslap, but I don’t even know if I playedWeapons Drawn.And I’m sure I’ll never ask people to playWheel of Enormous Proportionsagain.
Part of theParty Pack‘s strength is in the game design itself.Fibbage 4not only featuresFibbage About Youbut also video questions and preposterous (but real) headlines.JunktopiaandNonsensoryare great about playing into their concepts and, of course, no less funny or committed to the bit than the rest of them. EvenQuixorthas its cute touches – as well as the whole novel angle of sorting stuff on a spectrum/timeline/etc. WithRoomerang, there’s one feature that’s not-at-all hidden that I don’t want to spoil in the review because it’s best experienced by yourself.
Another great selling point is that Jackbox Games pulled out all the stops when it comes to art.Jackboxalways had good audio, especially with the abundance of voiced lines. ButJackbox Party Pack 9is the triumph of the art department.Fibbage 4stands out with modern designs hot from the furnace of online sensibilities. As one co-worker said, she wants every still fromFibbage 4as a poster. It’s as slick as slick can be.
The other games aren’t slouches, either, but what’s more impressive is the care and attention given to the clients (i.e. the interfaces you see when you log into jackbox.tv). They were never shabby, but this is the first time I’ve heard people be audibly impressed.Quixortis probably the game that shines the brightest. Your sorting area looks like you’re playing an ancient handheld game, and during your off time, you’re invited to feed a Tamagotchi-like critter to keep your device awake.
Jackbox Party Pack 9is a blast. Where it’s original, it’s great, delivering all the fun games and twists that we expect fromJackbox. When it reminds you of otherJackboxgames, it’s always a favorable comparison. And as forFibbage 4, the players would really love some posters.
Martynas Klimas
Always chasing that full-time-game-reviewer fairy. Perennially grumpy about Warhammer 40,000. Big fan of RTS, RPG, and FPS games. Has written for other sites. The only Lithuanian you know.
