The hilarious, somewhat addictive mini-game compilations have been around for a long time now and in the unlikely event you’re not familiar with the series, The Jackbox Party Starter has arrived to fix that. There are few better ways than firing up one of these outrageous party games to kick off a gathering with some friends. This smaller than usual collection is made up of three of the most popular entries in the series and is squarely aimed at welcoming newbies to the party.
For the unfamiliar, Jackbox games usually consist of trivia, drawing, wordplay or a mixture of all three. Points are up for grabs, and often it’s purely a popularity contest which decides who comes out on top. Up to eight players can use their personal devices to join the game and get involved, but a whopping 10,000 audience members can also enter the fray.
As well as all gathering around the telly, Jackbox games have found a home on streaming sites such as Twitch, which allows random players from all over the world to get involved. This works for most games, but not for those which require discussions in an Among Us style scenario, for example.
The three games to make the cut for this starter pack are Quiplash 3, Tee K.O. and Trivia Murder Party 2. They have been brought bang up to date for the occasion with additional language support, subtitles, moderation, content filtration and settings specifically designed for those streaming their game.
First up is Quiplash 3. The first game in this series introduced me to the world of Jackbox Games, and I have been a fan ever since. Players receive prompts which they will need to answer in such a way to win the votes of their fellow contestants, score points and eventually emerge victorious. There is also a new final round called “Thriplash” in which each person can respond to prompts with three answers (see what they did there).
Things can get pretty close to the bone in Quiplash 3, so now it features a moderation feature which allows responses to be seen before being displayed up on the big screen. Also, filtering allows for unsavoury and offensive language to be cut out completely. It all depends on who you are playing with as to whether you will make use of these, but the choice can only be a good thing.
Next up is Tee K.O. This is a game which tasks each player with drawing as many different designs as possible along with coming up with numerous slogans. These are then dished out at random between all contestants who compete to win best tee by creating the best combinations.
The coolest part about Tee K.O. is not only the fact that you can share your work, but also purchase actual t-shirts featuring your finest creations. Whether you have the nerve to wear them out in public is another matter however.
The final game in The Jackbox Party Starter is the excellent Trivia Murder Party 2. This quickfire quiz game is mixed with numerous skill-based challenges and sees players trying to escape a rather eerie haunted hotel whilst being forced to play a serial killer’s twisted games.
There are loads of mini games on “The Killing Floor” to keep you on your toes, such as avoiding drinking from the poisoned chalice and quick fire maths amongst many others. You’ll be taken here when you get a question wrong, and are given one last chance to avoid getting murdered. The most exciting part is the final round which sees players jostling for pole position in order to escape the hotel by correctly answering multiple choice questions.
The Jackbox Party Starter is clearly aimed at those who are yet to discover the series, because the new features don’t really warrant owners of the previous games to purchase them again. The good news is that all three games are brilliant fun, and the package is priced accordingly.
As it goes, The Jackbox Party Starter does a great job of introducing players to the party game phenomenon. The choice of games is bang on, and it provides more than enough to help people decide if this is a series they want to party on with.
The Jackbox Party Starter is available from the Xbox Store
