Review: THE JACKBOX PARTY PACK 7 Might Be the Best One Yet
Jackbox Games recently released The Jackbox Party Pack 7, and it has been a real surprise to me. Jackbox Games was kind enough to send me a copy of the game on PC, but you can purchase the game for Mac, Nintendo Switch, PC, PS4, Xbox One, and more. The party pack comes with five games, and most of them have been incredible. You can play each of the games with up to eight players.
If you don’t know what any of the Jackbox Games are, they’re social party games that you can play with friends. You need the game on your preferred platform, and then everyone joins in via their phone or tablet to actually play the game via typing, drawing, etc. They’ve really become popular in the era of social distancing as the host can share their screen and then everyone just plays with their mobile devices. Now, let’s get on with the games.
First, we have Quiplash 3. Quiplash is a personal favorite of mine from previous packs, and this one is an improved version thanks to its reworked third round. For the first two rounds, each player is given two prompts that they must answer. Each prompt is given to two players and then the others have to vote on which answer is better. It is very easy for this game to become hilarious. It also helps create some inside jokes. Also, the new mechanics for the third round are much better than the previous iteration. Now, the third round gives each player a prompt (2 players per prompt) and you give three answers. The other players then vote on which group of three is superior.
Next, we’ve got The Devils and the Details. This game definitely requires the perfect group. Each of the players takes on the role of a demon as they pretend to be a family and do the things that humans suffer through like homework and plumbing. Most of the events are cooperative creating a frantic and chaotic atmosphere, but there are also selfish tasks which can be good for the individual players, and bad for the group. It’s pretty chaotic, and if there was a dud game in this pack, I’d say it’s this one.
Champ’d Up is the third game in the pack, and it’s a lot of fun. Each player is given a title that they must create a character for. For instance, Champion of Middle Management. After creating your champion (you get 2 minutes to draw and name them), you’ll be given the image and name of one of the other champions. You must then use those clues to try to create a contender for their title. There have been some absolutely hilarious moments as I play this game with friends.
Fourth, Talking Points is the public speaking game that I didn’t think some of my friends would enjoy. You start off by filling in the blanks for three prompts. Then, each player is given three prompts that other players created. You choose one of those prompts and then have to give a presentation on that prompt. However, you aren’t alone. One of the players will be your assistant and chooses the images and text for your presentation slides. Trying to match your speech to the unknown pictures has been a riot, and this game may be my new favorite Jackbox game. Now, there is an option where the presenter can add text to the image slides, but my group has found that takes up too much time and just is not worth it.
Finally, there’s Blather Round. This one definitely takes some getting used to, but the more you play the better you get and the more fun it becomes. Each person gets to choose from three prompts to work with and then you create very vague sentences to try to get your team to guess what your prompt is. The other players are constantly feeding you guesses though and you can even use the guesses to help guide them towards the correct answer. The quicker you can get the answer correct, the more points you and the guesser receive. Plus, if your guess helped create a clue, you also get some points!
The Jackbox Party Pack 7 might be the best set of games yet. The couple of other packs I’ve played with have a few good games, but Pack 7 has four to five (depending on the group) good and even great games. If you’re looking for a new game to play with friends distantly, this is definitely one to check out!
