Review: THE JACKBOX PARTY PACK 8 is a Decent Set of Games

Jackbox Games recently launched The Jackbox Party Pack 8 on Nintendo Switch, PC/Mac/Linux, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S. The team was kind enough to provide me with a PC review copy so that I could play with some friends online and I wanted to share my thoughts. As a whole, this isn’t my favorite Party Pack, but there are some really fun games to play with friends and family. The game retails for $29.99 and you can find my thoughts on each game below.

First, we have Drawful: Animate. This is like the classic game Drawful where you’re given a prompt and have to draw a picture to get people to guess the correct answer. Others create their own titles and try to trick others into guessing their title. The big difference for this game is that you actually draw two images that are combined to create a 2-frame animation. This was a lot of fun with the limitations merely being that drawing on your phone with a finger can be clumsy.

Next, we have The Wheel of Enormous Proportions. This is a trivia game that does a great job of mixing things up. Sometimes you have to select all of the items in a category, other times you have to input something, and others you have to quickly choose between two options based on the question. This can be a lot of fun despite the fact that several questions will have you guessing and praying. This is only half of the game though. The other half sees the players taking turns spinning the titular wheel to gain additional points. This part sucks because it determines the winner and is 95% random. You can influence it very slightly by how well you do in the trivia rounds, but even then, anyone can win the game depending on the wheel. If it weren’t for the wheel portion of this game, I’d like it a lot more.

Third is Job Job. The first time I played this game, I wasn’t sold on it, but as we played and saw how it should be played, it became more fun. Here, players are asked questions about themselves that are like icebreaker questions for a job interview. Then, everyone’s answers are scrambled up and spread across all the players who then have to use those words (plus other words on the screen) to answer “hard-hitting” interview questions. You then score points by getting other players and audience members to vote for yours. The key is to make sure that everyone knows to use a lot of words in the icebreaker sections so you have a large word bank for your answers.

Fourth is The Poll Mine. This is a game that really confused me when I saw the original trailer. It was not really explained well and it’s one that you really have to play to get, but I’ll try my best. Players are divided into two teams and then everyone playing is asked to choose their top 3, 4, or 5 items on a list in order. Then, the teams take turns guessing the top 3; second, third, and fourth highest; or all of them from the bottom up to score points. Overall, this is a fun game, but I wish that it would mix up what exactly you’re trying to guess. Have me guess the bottom 3 or 1, 4, and 8. Mix it up a little! Also, it was kind of weird because you have to discuss with your teammates, but then that can give additional clues to the other team. Not a deal breaker, but something to consider.

Finally, we get to Weapons Drawn. In this game, you play the role of both detective and murderer. You will have to draw weapons that incorporate (and hopefully hide) a designated letter from your name. Then, you invite a guest to the party, and try to murder other guests. With each murder, the group will try to guess who murdered who. This is a mix of a drawing game and a social deduction game which will not be everyone’s cup of tea. The drawing can really be frustrating as you’re given a prompt to draw a specific weapon using the letter you are given. Try drawing a kayaking paddle with a lower-case “a” incorporated and that should help you understand. In addition, as mentioned for Drawful: Animate, drawing on a phone with your finger can be very clumsy and the letters are always pretty clear and don’t look like they’ve been drawn, but rather typed. This adds to the difficulty of hiding the letters. Sometimes, things work out really fine and it’s not a problem, but others it can be very frustrating and feel impossible.

In the end, Drawful: Animate, Job Job, and The Poll Mine are my top three games from The Jackbox Party Pack 8. If you love Jackbox Games, this isn’t a bad pack to get. It’s not as strong as some others, but it’s decent.

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