The Jackbox Party Packs are available on pretty much every conceivable gaming platform, but they belong on Nintendo Switch. It's there that the "party" part of the name really comes into play. Some Jackbox games involve knowledge of trivia or strategy, whereas others reward social insight. There's something for everyone in the friend group, and it's all in one convenient, portable package. No need to haul a stack of hefty game boxes to game night. Jackbox also keeps being funny, unlike a certain card game that has an issue with humanity. The Jackbox Party Pack 6 is a worthy successor to the brand, even though it leans more on the social side than the strategic.
As usual, Jackbox 6 contains five different games. There's a sequel to a previous Jackbox hit, three new games that remix old ideas, and one that's more of a social experiment. Anywhere from two to ten players can join in by using their smartphones as controllers. Some even allow for an audience to join should you be playing on a livestream. One can technically be played alone, but who would want to do that? Jackbox is a party game through and through, and the sixth entry runs with that notion by having players do stand-up, accuse each other of betrayal, and assign each other a Pokémon spirit animal.
We're going to review the games one-by-one, starting with the reason most Jackbox fans will return for this installment.
Trivia Murder Party 2
The first Trivia Murder Party was a standout game in the already-solid Jackbox Party Pack 3. It took the simple trivia game and gave it a Saw-like vibe. Except the killer was just as silly as he was sadistic. The varied trivia and unique theming made it a favorite of streamers and casual gamers alike. Trivia Murder Party 2 builds on that foundation with more jokes, more mini-games, and some small-but-smart tweaks to the experience.
Trivia Murder Party 2 is very much a case of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." It's still a funny/creepy trivia game with spats of random mini-games. The new theme is that the killer owns a murder hotel, with players acting as his "guests." This mostly exists to offer a visual upgrade. It also somehow streamlines the experience. The hotel elevator provides a clear indicator of progress and eliminates the need for a tutorial.
The only major gameplay change is the ending. The final sequence still involves the last survivor trying to run to the exit by matching items to a category. The other players are ghosts who can possess the living body by catching up. This time, however, the survivor needs to get a perfect answer to leave. This makes the ending a lot more tense, as the ghosts can easily close in if the survivor continually gets it wrong. The game is still the same, but this and other tweaks amp up the horror feel in a fun way.
Joke Boat
This game, more so than any other, will depend on the crowd involved. The premise is that you're all stand-up comedians on a cruise ship. Beginning rounds consist of writing a series of nouns. Then you take a mix of other people's nouns, add them to a classic joke format, and write the punchline yourself. Other players then vote between your joke and someone else's. As you might imagine, the success of this depends on many factors.
First, are your friends funny? Can they come up with good wordplay on the spot? Second, are they shy? Will they shake their heads and say, "I can't," as everyone else writes in their jokes? Third, and rather crucial, is that the game gives you the option to tell your joke or have your avatar do it for you. Do it yourself. My group learned that the game was infinitely more fun when everyone is doing their best attempt at impromptu stand-up. Again, your experience depends on if your friends are willing to do the same.
Dictionarium
By far the simplest game in the pack, and seemingly by design. Dictionarium gives you a made-up word. Then your group has to define it, create a synonym for it, and use the synonym in a sentence. The group votes in between each step and the winner carries over to the next round. That's it. No surprise mini-games or tests of social skills. Just making up stuff and trying to be the funniest while you do it. One complaint our group had is that the default timer is way too fast in this game. It's like the developers wanted this to be the quick game for people who hate waiting for rounds to end. Good thing you can change it.
Push The Button
Anyone who's played Werewolf or Town of Salem will get Push The Button quickly. Depending on the size of the group, at least one person is an alien. Humans have to figure out who on the ship is an alien. Aliens must run out the clock so that their virus has time to take over the humans' ship. Thus begins a deception game with a twist.
Every player gets one turn in the captain's chair. The captain forces several players to endure a test. These tests can involve answering questions, drawing pictures based on prompts, and other mini-games. The catch is that aliens get different prompts, which will make them look suspicious. Aliens can hack these tasks to throw human players off or help their partners succeed. And yes, someone can push the button to accuse others of being aliens.
I found it to be my personal favorite take on deception games. The ability to lie convincingly helps, but it's not as essential as in Werewolf. Since the aliens' goal is to stall rather than destroy, they don't necessarily need to trick the humans into accusing one another. A well-placed hack can do just as much damage as a good lie. It is still a deception game at heart, though, so expect to participate in heated debate. Like in Joke Boat, social dynamics play a key role.
Role Models
I enjoyed this one a lot more than the rest of my group. Role Models makes a science experiment out of defining your friends. You choose a category, like "Classic Movie Villains." You all assign each other to a label in that category in private, then compare answers. Who is Michael Myers, the silent one of the group? If the majority agrees, then the chosen person is given that characteristic and the correct guessers get points. At the end of it all, everyone's given a master label that's a combination of all previous labels.
This is another game best played in a group of close friends. It's no fun to try and label a stranger. I ended up winning by a long shot, which maybe makes me biased. Even then, I had more fun validating my analyses than getting points. That seems to be the purpose of Role Models: testing everyone's knowledge of their friends. It's less of a game and more of a conversation piece.
A Game For Social People
The Jackbox Party Pack 6 is like every other Jackbox: A fun series of quick games that anyone can enjoy. The major difference is that this one seems more geared towards those with strong social skills. Push the Button, Joke Boat, and Role Models all reward those who can read the room. Even Dictionarium is easier if you can match your humor to the tastes of the other players. Only Trivia Murder Party 2 is a pure test of knowledge and skill.
That's not meant to disparage the game, however. Jackbox is meant to be a portable party pack. It can be both a great icebreaker and a staple with the usual gang. Party Pack 6 might be more fully enjoyed with the gang, but anyone can get into Trivia Murder Party 2. And who knows? You might discover that your girlfriend's best friend's fiancé is actually a natural stand-up comedian.
A digital Switch review copy of Jackbox Party Pack 6 was provided to TheGamer by Jackbox Games for this review. Jackbox Party Pack 6 is available for PC, Mac, Linux, PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Amazon Fire TV, iPad, Apple TV, Nvidia TV, and Comcast Xfinity.
The Jackbox Party Pack 6
The Jackbox Party Pack 6 adds even more hilarious games to your social fun collection. It includes word game Dictionarium, the personality-based Role Models, the comedy Joke Boat, hidden identity title Push The Button, and Trivia Murder Party 2.