2: The Jackbox Games Theory: how to construct the perfect game night

Hey. It's me. Jabe. I'm the Guy That Brings the Jackbox to the Function to Compensate for His Lack of Willingness to Make Conversation. That's right. I do autographs at the door on the way out.

In all seriousness, Jackbox party games have been in my life for more years than I can count, and the fun they have brought to parties and gatherings is invaluable. Sure, you've heard of Quiplash and Trivia Murder Party. But did you know that, in 2023, the studio released their tenth party pack? That means there are over fifty Jackbox games in existence. And I've played all of them. So I'm going to take you through my theory of how to assemble the perfect game night for you and your friends.

Have you ever played a Jackbox game and thought, "Huh, this game really seems like it should be played later on in the night when the players have less expendable energy. I should plan my game night around that." That's what this entire theory is based upon. So strap in, buckle up, and turn your analytical brain on, because your game nights are about to enter another level of awesomeness. Or not! I actually haven't tested this theory at all.

Let's Get Down to Business.

Out of all 10 Party Packs, I would say all of them are worth purchasing EXCEPT for the first one. All of the games are either objectively really terrible, or have better, updated versions down the line. So please keep that in mind. Or don't. Whatever.

Unplayable

Each party game will be rated on a 1-5 scale in three categories: Effort, Funniness, and Companionship.

The Effort score essentially determines how much is demanded of the players during gameplay, whether it be doing a lot of drawing or writing, encouraging communication between the group members, active thinking, or presenting an idea, with 5 being most and 1 being the least. In my view, these games become less appealing as players become more socially tired, and thus should be reserved for early on in the night. Examples of high-effort games are Talking Points, Push the Button, and Monster Seeking Monster.

I swear to god this makes sense.

This effort vs time graph shows my thinking. The session should start with a warmup game that gets everyone in the mood without being too demanding. Then, high effort games take priority until they slowly decrease, and come back in full swing with a grand finale. After that, as attendees begin to leave and the party winds down, low effort games keep the mood chill and the commitment levels low. Dodo Re Mi, for instance, is effective for this period, as players can leave in between rounds.

The Effort score is key in creating a party environment that flows, keeps people engaged, and allows for variety. However, as we'll see, variety is the wheelhouse of the next category.

The Funniness score rates games from 1-5 based on how much comedy is intended to be the absolute objective for a given game. Notice that this is not necessarily how funny they are in practice, as games jive with some groups more than others. But in general, games like Quiplash and Fixytext (scoring a 5) require that the players are as funny as possible and the winner is determined by whoever succeeds more often. Games like Trivia Murder Party and Blather 'Round (scoring a 1) can often be funny, but it never the main objective of the game, instead being to answer the most trivia questions correctly or guess the secret word based on carefully constructed clues. 

Just do what feels right, man!

When planning your party, it is imperative that you choose games from all over the Funniness spectrum. The goal here is variety, and appealing to as many players as possible. However, it might take some finer tuning than that. If you're bringing Jackbox to Thanksgiving this year, and you expect to be playing with lots of stuffy aunts, uncles, and grandparents, maybe pick some low-funniness games. But if you're playing with the cousins, they might be more willing to crack a joke. Either way, having a good spread is what helps determine what kinds of games your group enjoys. Your initial assertions are unlikely to be perfect, so make sure to fine-tune based on what you discover.

The Companionship score doesn't tell which games to play at which points throughout the night, but rather the pool of games that can be selected from in the first place. If you've ever had the pleasure of enduring middle school PE, you know that the art of selecting your team is an important one. However, the importance of this selection matters differently in dodgeball and square dancing. In dodgeball, your teammates matter, sure, but you can just choose to not interact with a portion of them. You can go solo, dodging and throwing at your leisure, without really needing to rely on others besides as a human shield. But square dancing? Oh-ho. Now it really matters. Picking your square dance partner as a middle schooler might as well be like choosing between life and death itself. Picking your friends might result in a silly, ironic, and easygoing experience. But ending up with the wrong partner can be a torture not even the strongest men among us can endure. 

This should be illegal.

It's similar to Jackbox. Some games are like dodgeball: it really doesn't matter who you play with, it's still bound to be pretty fun. Examples of this are most of the trivia games and Fibbage games. You gotta be careful, though, because some games are like square dancing in this regard. These games in question, such as Talking Points, the Poll Mine, Fakin' It, and especially Role Models, are practically designed for you to play with friends or people that match your sense of humor. I cannot stress this enough: playing one of these kinds of games with the wrong group is absolute, unadulterated agony. It's easily the biggest example of self-sabotage you can commit when playing Jackbox. So before you start planning, assess your group. The more your group has a cohesive sense of humor, and the more they all know each other, the higher Companionship scores you can choose from. But in an icebreaker setting, or an awkward family gathering for the holidays, it may be best to stay in the 1-3 range. This seems trivial, but I can't impress upon you how much your entire day can be ruined if you screw this part up.

Constructing the perfect game night

Using a simple rubric, you can use the information discussed above to put together a list of games that will truly level up your party.

In my experience, I have noticed that the average Jackbox gathering lasts about 3 hours before people start to trickle out. If the average game is around 20 minutes, this leaves a good 8 to 9 games per party you can assume will be played. The following list is the ideal progression for the party.

1. Warm up. (Low effort, high funny)

Then, slots 2 through 5 gradually decrease the effort level.

2. High effort, high funniness

3. High effort, low funniness

4. Medium effort, high funniness

5. Medium effort, low funniness

6. Low effort, medium funniness

We'll reserve the seventh slot for a wild card. Choose a game that is rarely played, or repeat one the group really enjoyed.

7. Deep cut/wild card

8. Grand Finale (Any effort, high funniness)

At this point, the climax of the party's energy level has been reached. The remainder of the games will be played as people leave, and keep the mood relatively mellow.

9 (and beyond). Low-mid effort, low funniness

Using this schematic, a sample game night could look like this:

1. Quiplash 2

2. Monster Seeking Monster

3. Push the Button

4. Survive the Internet

5. Quixort

6. The Poll Mine

7. Split the Room

8. Job Job

9. Dodo Re Mi

Again, I'm just spitballing here, but I think this legitimately might work. If you want to try for yourself, use this spreadsheet I created with the help of Garrett Briskin (yes, there is actually another person on this planet insane enough to give this topic more than fifteen seconds of continuous thought). 

You might notice the "Obscenities" score. This is just a metric, rated 1, 3, or 5, that tells how much the usage of profanity elevates the experience. This will obviously vary from group to group, but it's something to keep in mind nonetheless. It's another filter that should be used when gauging the type of group that will be playing, so use it wisely. Keep in mind that most games have a family friendly option that prevents the game from sending that kind of content to the players, but I'm strictly talking about what the players are saying here. 

I don't think this warrants its own category, but some games are more difficult to learn than others. If playing with an older, younger, or less technologically inclined audience, I would avoid Weapons Drawn, Push the Button, Monster Seeking Monster, The Devils and the Details, and Hypnotorious specifically. 

Go on, my children

With that said... I think you're ready. Ready to test my theory for all its worth, and hopefully having fun in the process. Like I said, Jackbox Party Packs have been my go-to for years, and I hope this post has spread awareness for the kind of fun that is possible in their midst. 

But if you're new to the series or interested in getting started, how on Earth do you even begin?

Jackbox Games are sold in an array of Party Packs, each sporting five unique games. Some are better, and some are worse. It really comes down to opinion, but Packs 3 and 7 are generally regarded to be the best. There's also a Jackbox Party Starter, which comes with 3 banger titles: Quiplash 3, Trivia Murder Party 2, and Tee KO. This is a fantastic purchase for anyone looking to get into the series. If you happen to value my opinion strongly, here's my ranking of all ten packs in order from worst to best:

1, 2, 10, 4, 9, 5, 3, 8, 6, 7.

But really, no matter what you buy, you're bound to have fun. These games go on sale every weekend it seems like, so keep an eye out (if you're reading this at the time of release, all the packs are on sale at jackboxgames.com until the 15th!). For more in-depth reviews on the party packs, I highly recommend the YouTube channel Silokhawk and his party pack review series. He's super analytical and gives a fair assessment on all the games. Go check him out!

Do the right thing.

Party hard. Until next time.

Jabe