Jackbox Zoom - anygood? alternatives?

[MojoJojo]

So I've discovered that the Jackbox games apparently work quite well over video calls, with people using their smartphones to enter answers, and I've been thinking about giving them a punt. Are they any good? Are there any other games that can work in a similar way? Any thoughts on which pack to get?

[evilcommiedictator]

I've done that with work people, yep, it's surprising that these kind of things haven't exploded tbh.
Google Hangouts works and so does skype and discord, but for those your sound will have to go through headphones to not get picked up on the mic. There's a number of free online games like pictionary and cards and stuff too, I'll grab the links later

[C_Larence]

I was skeptical of Jackbox at first. Thought it sounded like Cards Against Humanity style shit for cunts forced fun. I was pleasantly surprised to find that some of the games are actually very fun. Quiplash & Fibbage are the two that stood out, and I believe they can both be bought as standalone games. The fun will vary depending on who you're playing with, but I've played with people ranging from 15-60 and have had a laugh with them all.

To answer your question about which pack to get, I recommend Jackbox 2, as it has both Quiplash and Fibbage on it. I have it on good authority that the most recent Jackbox has some cracking games on it, but I haven't played any of them myself.

[thecuriousorange]

Is there a free version of Jackbox?

[thelittlemango]

There's a Jackbox game called 'Push The Button' (I think it's in pack 5) that's like a simple version of Among Us and which is great as you can learn to play in about 5 minutes and you end up pleading your innocence or throwing friends under the bus.

Loads of the games are great though, they vary from wordplay games, to drawing and then having to do a presentation on your thing to earn points, to more interactive things to a brilliant rapping one, the only tolerable Zoom based quiz in my experience.

[MojoJojo]

I was skeptical of Jackbox at first. Thought it sounded like Cards Against Humanity style shit for cunts forced fun. I was pleasantly surprised to find that some of the games are actually very fun. Quiplash & Fibbage are the two that stood out, and I believe they can both be bought as standalone games. The fun will vary depending on who you're playing with, but I've played with people ranging from 15-60 and have had a laugh with them all.

To answer your question about which pack to get, I recommend Jackbox 2, as it has both Quiplash and Fibbage on it. I have it on good authority that the most recent Jackbox has some cracking games on it, but I haven't played any of them myself.

I'm probably going to go for 3 - it doesn't have Flibbage but I might pick that up independently or as part of another pack. A lot of advice online recommends getting the first two packs because the good games in them all have sequels in later packs.

[Jerzy Bondov]

It probably varies between groups but for me and my friends the rapping robot one has been the biggest hit. Just a great excuse to insult your friends. If you can't get someone to get up and walk out of the room/Zoom call in anger then you're not doing it right. There's one where you have to come up with inventions and give a presentation on them which is also great.

[thelittlemango]

It probably varies between groups but for me and my friends the rapping robot one has been the biggest hit. Just a great excuse to insult your friends. If you can't get someone to get up and walk out of the room/Zoom call in anger then you're not doing it right. There's one where you have to come up with inventions and give a presentation on them which is also great.

They're both from Jackbox Party Pack 5 and both great, played it at Christmas over zoom with my family and my mum was writing some very hurtful bars.

[The Mollusk]

I was skeptical of Jackbox at first. Thought it sounded like Cards Against Humanity style shit for cunts forced fun. I was pleasantly surprised to find that some of the games are actually very fun. Quiplash & Fibbage are the two that stood out, and I believe they can both be bought as standalone games. The fun will vary depending on who you're playing with, but I've played with people ranging from 15-60 and have had a laugh with them all.

This pretty much sums up my experience of it entirely as well. Played it with friends of a similar age the first few times, then branched out and played it with my parents (mid-50s) and my step siblings (aged about 10-16) and it was a belting good laugh on all occasions. It's only as good as what you put into it but the combo of personalities in a session often makes it more fun than the sum of its parts. Many of the games seem to be very good at coaxing out the best or most outlandish inputs from everyone playing with its "less is more" approach to what it instructs from you.