Reviewing a Jackbox Party Pack is something of a challenge. Some readers are interested in the value of the pack as a single purchase. Others want to know which individual games are worth playing. Finally, some have never heard of Jackbox before and have no idea what to expect. To try and deal with this, I’ll be tackling this title as though it’s almost five smaller reviews, with some overarching thoughts of how well they work as a collection near the end. The end result is a very long review, and not everyone is going to want to read it all. As you scroll down, you’ll see that I’ve labeled each section – feel free to skip ahead to the part that interests you. Anyway, note to the reader out of the way, let’s dive into Jackbox Party Pack 5!

Developer: Jackbox Games

Publisher: Jackbox Games

8 Hours Played // Review Copy Provided // $29.99

What is Jackbox Party Pack 5?

The Jackbox Party Pack is a collection of games played through your phones and an internet connection, with the Switch working as something of a hub. These games are party games. Many are similar to games like Balderdash or Cards Against Humanity, where funny answers and clever wordplay are the goal. In some cases, they encourage you to interact with the players in meatspace. In a big way, the goal of these collections is to create experiences that get people to laugh and learn a bit about each other, rather than encourage tight mechanical play or test intellectual ability.

The landing screen for the collection of games gives you a heads up on the details of each game – including whether or not it’s family friendly.

It functions like this: you load up the party pack on your TV and decide on one of the games to play. Then, an online room is created. Every player heads to jackbox.tv on their internet-enabled device – phone, tablet, laptop or PC – and connects using a unique room code. The game takes place on the main screen, but you’ll receive prompts, options or input opportunities to your personal device. In many cases, your prompts and inputs are hidden until the relevant moment. Play continues until a winner is decided by the rules of the specific game you’re playing.

Simple enough? Without further ado, let’s look at the individual titles in this newest entry into the Jackbox Party Pack series.

You Don’t Know Jack: Full Stream

The “irreverent quiz show party game” returns with its latest entry: You Don’t Know Jack: Full Stream! You Don’t Know Jack is sort of the titular game of the entire Jackbox Party Pack franchise, despite only appearing in the first, and now the fifth, entries. The game is immediately familiar to anyone who’s watched a quiz show before. Players are asked questions and rewarded or punished based on their answer. As with every good quiz show, there are plenty of twists and turns as the game progresses.

Old staples like the “Jack Attack” provide some unique twists to this comedy gameshow.

Having not played You Don’t Know Jack since playing the original, 1995 title as a young teenager, the experience was nostalgic for me. Only this time, I’m a grown-ass adult. This time, I understand all the references and adult-targeted, immature humour behind the game. And boy, is there a lot of it. There’s a reason that this is the only game in Jackbox Party Pack 5 that doesn’t sport a family-friendly setting. The ongoing “binjpipe” streaming service gag is a constant source of dark, off-the-cuff humour and the show’s host, Cookie, nails the presentation.

As a quiz game, You Don’t Know Jack is as unique in play as it is in presentation. The questions aren’t simple. The questions are typically worded in a way that forces you to mentally pause and question what’s actually being asked in the first place. In this way, the questions are both puzzles and trivia. This is a flavourful and unique take on the genre, and a lot of fun at that.

You Don’t Know Jack‘s confusing questions might frustrate some players, but it’s a part of the games unique challenge.

Split the Room

Split the Room is a 3-8 player game where players create controversial scenarios. Players are prompt with situations that are missing a key element and asked to fill in the blank. The players’ goal is to makes the choice controversial and challenging. Once everyone has filled in a prompt, the completed prompts are shown to all players, and everyone makes the created decision. The title derives from the game’s win condition: you earn points for creating a scenario that leaves the room divided. The closer the split, the higher the score.

Sexy Spongebob or normal you? Which would you rather be?

This is the game that I can’t wait to throw on in the middle of a night of drinking. For those of you familiar with the franchise, Split the Room is the Quiplash of Jackbox 5. This is the game that gives players opportunities to meme, create topical prompts, leverage inside jokes, and be disgusting, clever, offensive and funny. However, much like Quiplash, you really want a crowd, and you really want that inhibition gone. This game will give you opportunities to test people’s values, and see how much they’re willing to admit to their friends or in public. And hey, if you’re not into the adult answers, there’s a family-friendly setting which will skip the more provocative questions.

Mad Verse City

Mad Verse City is a rap battle show-off with an aesthetic that mixes urban life and early 90s transformers. Each player receives a series of prompts which guide you through the process of creating a 4-line rap. First, you’re simply asked for some kind of subject: a noun, a verb, a negative adjective. Then, you receive a line which ends with the word you’ve just entered; your next task is to write a full line which rhymes with this. Repeat this process a second time, and you’re done. You and another player then square off. Each rap is presented by freestyling robots – complete with one of eight Microsoft Sam voices – and the non-participating players are asked to vote on whose rap was better. Three rounds of this and a new rap god is born!

I just wish you could hear it. The Microsoft Sam voice is the real MC.

Mad Verse City was a hit among the other two Nindie Nexus players. Despite being my personal least favourite title, I can see the merit in it. The prompts you’re given create a unique variety of strange rhymes. While this is part of the fun, Sometimes they’re uncomfortable and fall flat. If you get a prompt and word combination that is just awkward, there’s nothing you can do but keep playing. Thankfully, this is unlikely to be an issue if you’re playing with people you know well. So in the end, Mad Verse City will leave you laughing – most of the time.

And what’s a rap battle without fat stacks of cash?

Patently Stupid

Breaking order for a moment here, let’s touch base with Patently Stupid. This title taps into the DIY engineer inside of all. Players will question the things that bug us in life, and look for the stupidest – but still plausible – solution to said problem. Every player is asked to fill in the blank on two statements, which will become the problems players have to solve. Everyone is then shown two potential problems and asked to pick one to address. Then, using a drawn image, a title and a tagline, you present your idea to all the players. Once everyone has presented, you’re asked to rank your favourite ideas, which then translates to “funding”. This funding works as a score; the player who obtains the most funding wins.

Obviously a problem that we all suffer from. Step up your game, TLC!

Patently Stupid has a couple of features that make it stand out from the rest of the pack. First off, it gives artists something to excel at. Secondly, it has the one “meatspace play” feature in Jackbox 5. Rather than having the hosts present your idea to the other players, you can opt to do it yourself. If you’re playing in a room, you can literally get up and walk the other players through your idea, presenting your title, tagline, and image in any order you choose, using the TV as your powerpoint presentation. These two unique qualities create an equally unique title, which is entertaining, and a lot of fun.

We all worked to solve one shared problem this round: “sleep is too boring!”

Zeeple Dome

Zeeple Dome, being a cooperative action game, marks a first in the Jackbox Party Pack franchise. Up to six players fling their bodies at aliens to earn “Zeeplebucks”. The title features difficulty progression, unlocks, and powerups, making it a unique addition to the franchise.

Aliens, powerups, and sweet cash money! Zeeple Dome brings it all to Jackbox 5!

I have a LOT of thoughts about Zeeple Dome. It’s fun, it fills a unique niche, and it provides more of a core gaming experience than any other title in the series. However, this uniqueness also holds it back. The game faces a common online gaming woe that is absent in most Jackbox titles: latency. Since your controls are sent from your phone to a server, and then back to your Switch, playing via stream – something that the Jackbox titles are particularly good for – is extremely challenging. Additionally, in a pack of word and image based games, this is a game that the usual Jackbox audience might not be interested in. However, this is the game’s hidden strength: gamers with a distaste for traditional party games might find a healthy middle ground in Zeeple Dome.

You win and lose Zeeple Dome as a team, making it unique among Jackbox games.

And this niche that Zeeple Dome seeks to fill is what makes the title’s inclusion so damn interesting. Zeeple Dome is a series of “firsts”. The first Jackbox title targeting a core gamer audience. The first title experimenting with real-time phone-to-server-to-TV controls. The first games that creates a co-operative, progression-based experience. Where is it all going? Is the Jackbox team looking at experimenting with new concepts? If this sells well, will we be seeing more real-time co-op titles in the future? What else can we do using personal devices in this way? Zeeple Dome makes me wonder just what kind of amazing experiences Jackbox Games is looking to create in the future.

The Jackbox Party Pack 5 Collection

The Jackbox party games have always offered a unique experience, but I always find myself playing every game once, and then going back to Quiplash or the stand-alone title Drawful. Jackbox 5 competes with itself since I can buy Jackbox 3, for example, at a cheaper price. So then, the question is, if I already own the other Jackbox titles or can purchase them cheaper, is Jackbox 5 worth the price?

Absolutely.

How else will you get to enjoy Binjpipe’s fantastic offerings, like menu screens!

Jackbox Party Pack 5 offers a more varied experience than any other Jackbox title to date. Quiplash is fantastic, but Split the Room offers a similar experience in a different flavour, which is something I’ve wanted for quite a while. An updated, 1-8 player, audience-participation-enabled You Don’t Know Jack is something that Jackbox packs 2-4 sorely lack. Patently Stupid gives the more artistic players something to engage with but doesn’t ostracize us writers. Mad Verse City offers those with sick rhymes the opportunity to shine. Finally, Zeeple Dome gives the core gamers something to challenge and master.

Concluding Thoughts

Every title in Jackbox 5 fills a different niche. With at least one great fallback title for every type of person, Jackbox Party Pack 5 can save any party. Better yet, these titles feel fresh. Even though I compare Split the Room and Quiplash, they’re very different games. Owning both is a boon, not a waste. And, as is the goal with Jackbox games, they’re funny – really, really funny. I’m sure I don’t need to make the argument for why the Switch version is better than the other available options, either – with a mobile screen and cell phones, you can start a party anywhere that you can get Wi-Fi. Jackbox Party Pack 5 should be a staple for any immature adult looking to entertain a crowd.

Jackbox Party Pack 5 was a blast to play, and a lot of fun to write about. If you’re looking for other games you can play with a crowd, check out Tricky Towers or Light Fingers! Maybe you want to step away from party games and play something more core fantasy? Check out The Warlock of Firetop Mountain. Either way, let me take a minute to say “thanks”. Nindie Nexus remains completely ad-free purely thanks to the passion of our staff. If you’d like to support our efforts or involve yourself in our growing community, please check out our Discord, Youtube channel and our Patreon.