For a while now, the Jackbox Party Packs have dominated the party game conversation with a mixture of fun interactive experiences geared around creativity and trivia. But as the Party Packs have continued to roll out on an annual basis, an agreed-upon entry point for the series becomes less and less clear.
To help with that specific issue, Jackbox Games is introducing the Jackbox Party Starter, a collection of three party games from its extensive library. But this is not just a mishmash of games hand-picked from different Party Packs; each game in the Party Starter has been updated with new prompts and some important accessibility features as well.
The Jackbox Party Starter includes three completely different party games: Quiplash 3, Tee K.O., and Trivia Murder Party 2. Each of the games leverages the mobile interactivity of the Jackbox party games in a clever way and can appeal to a wide variety of people (not just gamers).
Quiplash is a personal favorite, and its third entry is arguably its best. The basic gist of Quiplash is that each player is given two prompts on their mobile device/computer that they must respond to in either a funny or clever way. Once all of the responses have been submitted, the two that were for the same prompt will go head-to-head and the remaining group members and the audience (usually a livestreamer’s chat) will vote on their favorite.
Tee K.O. asks players to show their artistic side by drawing a picture that will then be matched with another player’s random tagline and put on a shirt. The mishmash of a funny picture and a seemingly unrelated tagline allows for some funny shirt options, which the group then votes on as the best. What’s cool about Tee K.O. is that players can actually make real versions of a shirt design if any stand out as a favorite.
And finally, Trivia Murder Party 2 more closely aligns with the earlier Jackbox brand as a trivia-based party game. Only the twist is that players who get an answer wrong are forced to play a follow-up mini-game that decides if they live or die. Dead players can still participate but the goal is basically to answer as many questions as possible right at the end and be the last person alive.
It makes sense why Jackbox Games would pick these three options for the Party Starter, as they represent the diverse array of experiences that the studio has crafted over the years. They are fun in varying group sizes but will also function well in a livestream setting.
To that end, Jackbox has also added some features that broaden the appeal of the Party Starter to more families and party groups, and some features that will help streamers keep their viewers’ experience clean. Localization is a big selling point for the Jackbox Party Starter, as each of the three games has options for French, Italian, German, Castilian Spanish, and Latin American Spanish. So, a game like Quiplash that could only really work if the player understood English can now reach a wider audience.
The other key improvement for Jackbox Party Starter is better moderation and content filtration tools. Admittedly, this only really applies to streamers that want to play Party Starter with their viewers but it’s something that they have been asking for. Being at the mercy of one’s viewers can be a stressful experience, but these tools will allow streamers to keep the gameplay clear of any offensive responses.
Jackbox Party Starter seems to be an excellent entry point for a series that has been consistently creative and engaging for a long time now. The improvements and additions made to each game and the whole package are appreciated, even if they are small in the grand scheme of things. And once more people see how fun Jackbox can be, there are a slew of Party Packs available to them, including Jackbox Party Pack 9 later this year.
Jackbox Party Starter releases June 30, 2022 on PC, Xbox, PlayStation, and Switch.