What Are Jackbox Games
Jackbox Games are a series of fun, over-the-top, and highly creative computer games. The games follow through the original concept of party games. This usually involves word games, puzzles, trivia, and stand-up jokes. Most of the games are designed to be more fun and humorous rather than serious and competitive. And because these are social games, all are designed to be played by a minimum of five players. Network consoles or PCs and mobile devices act as gaming consoles for all the games. There are two ways to play Jackbox Games. The first is streamlined gameplay. It allows users from different locations to enter online game rooms. Once a game has been downloaded, all you have to do is to start a conference call. This is usually done over Zoom or Google Hangouts. The owner of the software just needs to share the screen with other players. The players just need a functional PC and a fast and reliable internet. It’s also possible to play using a tablet or a touchscreen phone. The second and less popular method is for users to be physically present. This usually coincides with actual parties and get-togethers.
Jackbox Party Packs
Individual games are usually grouped in installations called Jackbox Party Packs. Some games are available for individual purchase. Each party pack contains approximately five games. This may contain a combination of party games of different themes. The party games usually take in a minimum of five players, and each lasts for around ten minutes per game. Each game may also be restarted to generate a new set of questions, trivia, or instructions. Players have to choose their names for each game. They may also change their player names after each completed game. The Party Packs and independent games aren’t free, but only one licensed copy is needed per team.
Compatible Devices
Jackbox Games are compatible with most consoles, although having the Steam gaming software is also a definite plus. Most players also communicate using Zoom. This allows for video and audio communication as required by most games. Unfortunately, the free version only lasts for a month. It’s highly recommended, then, for heavy gamers to have an existing Zoom subscription. Some games like Drawful have touchscreen activities. They are thus necessarily played using mobile phones.
Similar Games
Overall, Jackbox Games are meant to be lighthearted and fun for the whole family. If you are into such chill and relaxing games, we also highly recommend that you check out Animal Crossing: New Horizons. It’s a highly successful and popular life simulation game. It also has multiplayer functions allowing you to invite family members and friends. If you’re still not satisfied, here’s a list of 20 games similar to Animal Crossing. These are games that you can play with your friends and family as well.
Best Jackbox Games to Play
Jackbox Games are designed specifically for times when you can’t go out or your friends are far away. What better way to spend your weekend than at home? You don’t even need to leave the house to converse and play games with your friends and family. The games can be competitive, but there’s no reason to get stressed up over games. Just invite the people closest to you, turn on the Wi-Fi, and start the quality time.
1. Drawful
Drawful is the second game in the very first installation of the Jackbox Party Packs. Because it’s a drawing game, players will need a touchscreen phone or tablet to run it. The game generates silly phrases that the players must draw on the canvas. Each player gets a unique phrase during their turn. The pictures are then displayed individually to allow the players to guess what it is. Once all the players have indicated their guess phrase, the team votes on which guess is correct. Players earn points for being able to identify the drawing. Meanwhile, players also get points when someone selects their guess phrase as the right answer. Drawful is played with an average of three to eight players. Download on Steam
2. Monster Seeking Monster
Monster Seeking Monster is a game in the fourth installation of Jackbox Party Packs. The objective of the game is to get other players to go out with you. Technically, the dating part is entirely theoretical. No dating actually takes place, but the objective is to get as many matches as possible. At the start of each game, the game provides each player with a Secret Monster Power. This power can either support the player, hurt other player’s scores, or both. For a total of six nights, the players need to converse briefly with other players to try to score a match. At the end of each night, players need to choose one player to ask out on a date. If players pick each other, both will earn a heart. Players with the most hearts at the end of the game win. Players also earn hearts by fulfilling conditions that come with their Monster Powers. Monster Seeking Monster is played with an average of three to seven players. Download on Steam
3. Guesspionage
Guesspionage is the third game in the third installation of Jackbox Party Packs. The premise of the game is quite simple but informative. Players have to guess the exact percentage of people who answered yes or no to a survey question. Each player gets a turn to input a percentage guess for a specific question. Meanwhile, other players key in a directional guess. This is as to whether the real percentage would be higher or lower than the guessed percentage. Each player earns points depending on how close the guessed answer was to the actual answer. Other players also earn points if they are correct in guessing that the actual answer is higher or lower than the guess. During the final round, players have to choose the top three answers out of nine possible answers. These refer to the answers that they think are the most popular answers for a specific question. Players with the highest collective points win. Guesspionage is played with an average of two to eight players. Download on Steam
4. Quiplash 2
Quiplash 2 is the first game in the Jackbox Party Pack 3. It’s essentially a listing and fill-in-the-blanks game with hilarious and naughty themes. For each round, the game gives prompts to the players that they need to answer. The most common instruction is to provide alternative names for a specific object, place, or body part. Players can come up with the most hilarious answers they can. Players then get to reveal their answers to each other. Afterward, they’ll need to vote on the most ridiculous and funniest answer. Players earn points based on the percentage of other players who voted for their answer. There’s also a round where players have to fill in the blanks using creative phrases. At other rounds, they will have to choose from two options for the wittiest response. Quiplash 2 is played with an average of eight to ten players. Download on Steam
5. Survive the Internet
Survive the Internet is a game in the fourth installation of Jackbox Party Packs. It’s a parody of the outrageous, and out-of-context commenting that goes on in social media. For each round, the game gives the players a set of questions that they need to answer. Afterward, the game provides each player with a copy of the answer from another player. They will need to twist this out of context for a hilarious result. The game then displays the tweaked responses on the screen for all to see. Players then need to vote on the most ridiculous response. Players who get the best scores during each round gets additional points. Meanwhile, the player who wrote the answer gets pity points. Survive the Internet is played with an average of three to eight players. Download on Steam
6. Push the Button
Push the Button is the fifth game in the Jackbox Party Pack 6. The game takes place inside a spaceship with a set of humans. Except, there are several aliens among the group who are masquerading as humans. The objective of the game is to be able to identify all the aliens and then eject them from the ship. If at least one alien remains undetected, the aliens will win the game. The humans must look out for potential aliens through testing. There are writing, drawing, rating, morality, and glyph tests. These will provide clues as to whether a person on-board is human or not. Aliens usually receive prompts that are slightly off resulting in strange responses. Humans must learn which of the other players are human or alien and collectively vote on whom to eject. Push the Button is played with an average of four to ten players. Download on Steam
7. Fakin’ It
Fakin’ It is the fourth game in the third installation of Jackbox Party Packs. The game requires players to see/face each other. This is the only game in the Jackbox Party Packs where players have to be physically present in the same room. The game involves all players, except one, receiving a question or an instruction. The players need to either respond to the question or fulfill the task being requested. An example of this is having to raise their left hand. The Faker doesn’t receive the question or the instruction. Nonetheless, the faker must “fake” his response or action to avoid detection. During the first series, the game gives players a maximum of three chances to vote on who the Faker might be. Failing to identify the Faker means the Faker wins. Fakin’ It is played with an average of three to six players. Download on Steam
8. Trivia Murder Party
Trivia Murder Party is the second game in the third installation of Jackbox Party Packs. The gaming master gives the players a set of questions that they must answer correctly. For each question that a player fails to answer correctly, the game sends them to the Killing Floor. There the player can face off against other players. A randomly selected mini-game determines which players stay alive and which die. Players who lose the mini-game die and become ghosts. The game has created an elaborate set of rules that determine when a player should end up on the Killing Floor. For example, players who get the correct answer once go off scot-free. If they get two questions right in a row, the game still sends them to the Killing Floor to battle it out. Both living players and ghosts can return to answer another question. Both also have the opportunity to win the game. Trivia Murder Party is played with an average of eight players. Download on Steam
9. Fibbage 2
Fibbage 2 is the first game available in the second installation of the Jackbox Party Packs. The players must complete a set of fill-in-the-blank questions. Each of the players needs to input a fake answer to complete the sentence. Afterward, the game displays all the answers, including the real answer, on the screen. Not knowing who answered what, the players need to vote on which they believe to be the real answer. The person who gets votes for their lie gets points. In the same manner, the person who chooses the right answer gets double the number of points. This version of the game added celebrity quotes and road facts. It also adds the ability to narrow down the answers to a single lie and the truth before the voting process. Fibbage 2 is played with an average of two to eight players. Download on Steam
10. Role Models
Role Models is the second game in the Jackbox Party Pack 6. The game revolves around role selection. Each player needs to select a role for oneself and other players are given a set of categories. At the outset, players get to vote on a category that they want through a majority vote. The category reveals sub-categories to fit the number of players. The players must then assign themselves and other players to a sub-category. The game tallies the votes. The game then reveals the sub-category or role that each person got based on votes. If the game detects opposing traits or two players who have tied for the same role, the concerned players must answer questions. Other players are also sometimes requested to vote as to who is better at the role in case of a tie. The winner of the tie gets extra points. At the end of the game, the game condenses all roles into a single title for each individual. The person with the most pellets/points wins. Role Models is played with an average of three to six players. Download on Steam
11. Joke Boat
Joke Boat is the third game in the sixth installation of the Jackbox Party Packs. It’s a joke generation game located in a boat setting. In the beginning, the game provides prompts or incomplete jokes, which the players have to fill in. At the end of the first round, the game reveals the responses of the players. In the final round, the boat sinks after hitting a rubber duck. The game then shuffles the jokes previously written by other members so that each member gets another member’s joke. The goal shifts to users rewriting the jokes to make it funnier. Afterward, the players vote to select the best-recycled joke. Whoever gets the majority vote gets a life preserver from the captain while the rest drowns. Joke Boat is played with an average of three to eight players. Download on Steam
12. Bomb Corp
Bomb Corp is the fifth game in the second installation of the Jackbox Party Games. This game is very similar to Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes. Like the traditional game, the objective of the game is to get clues together to defuse the bomb. One member of the team gets the button to defuse the wires. Meanwhile, other members get pieces of information or clues as to how to disarm the bomb. Each of the other members gets a unique clue or instruction. The team must piece together the clues using verbal communication. The objective is to assist the person with the defuse button to cut the right wires. By working and communicating, the team prevents the bomb from exploding. The game adds more wires and clues to each bomb as the game progresses. Bomb Corp is played with a maximum of four players. Download on Steam
13. Mad Verse City
Mad Verse City is the third game in the fifth installation of the Jackbox Party Packs. The game is about freestyling robots and keeping up rhymes on the fly. At the start of the game, the team selects a word. Each member then needs to follow through on the word by creating rhyming verses. Following the key-in of verses, robots will face-off in pairs to deliver the verses. If the team has an uneven amount of players, a fully automated robot rapper joins in. The purpose of the robot would be to fill in the missing opponent and it joins the game normally. The players then vote on which of the pair delivered the best verse, which equates to cashpoints. Winners for each round get winner bonus points. Other players also get bonus points for the cheers they get. The player with the most cash points at the end of several rounds wins. Mad Verse City is played with an average of three to eight players. Download on Steam
14. Dictionarium
Dictionarium is the fourth game in the sixth installation of the Jackbox Party Packs. In the beginning, the game generates two made-up words that the players need to create definitions for. In the second round, the players have to come up with synonyms to the words provided in the first round. This should also be consistent with the definition they provided. The final round is about creating a sentence with the word following the same context. Users then vote for the funniest sentence. The definition, synonym, and sample sentence of the player with the most votes wins. A second mode also exists where players have to create the meaning behind made-up slang terms. Dictionarium is played with an average of three to eight players. Download on Steam
15. You Don’t Know Jack: Full Stream
You Don’t Know Jack: Full Stream is the first game in the Jackbox Party Pack 5. The game mechanics involve users answering trivia questions with pop culture twists. Each player keys in their answer in their device. Players who get the right answer get $1,000, while players who fail to get the answer right lose $ 1,000. Each question has a time limit of 20 seconds, but gains and losses are not tied to the time remaining. The game has three rounds in total per run. The first two rounds have five questions each, while the third round is the Jack Attack. In the Jack Attack, users have to list as many objects that they can think of depending on what is being asked for. The question usually gives reference to a fictional story or popular media. This means users would need to have a wide awareness of a variety of topics. At the end of the third round, players with the most money wins. You Don’t Know Jack is played with an average of eight players. Download on Steam
Final Thoughts on Jackbox Games
Jackbox Games are super inventive and fun to play. Most games require players to go head-to-head with each other in a competitive manner, but it’s all for the fun. There will be times when you’ll learn new facts. There are also times when you’ll just laugh at the jokes and ridiculous responses your team has come up with. But the crucial part is, that you’re spending quality time with your friends and family. No one’s going to stop you from spending your leisure time playing games with your friends. That is, after all, a form of a happy memory that you can create and cherish for a long time. And since there are a total of six Party Packs to choose from, each of your friends can buy a different pack. Having the complete set is sure to keep the group entertained for hours. And with Jackbox Games, we can certainly look forward to more games in the future. For additional ideas on remote social games, you can check out this article on the 25 best online games to play with friends at home. You can even go team retro with the 20 best nostalgic games you can still play today.
