Every year, the game production company Jackbox Games releases a digital party game collection that wows their community. On October 19, 2023, they released their latest party pack, “Jackbox Party Pack 10” for just $35!
How does the game work? One person buys a party pack of their choice, they choose a game (of the five the collection comes with), and everyone else enters a code provided by the game into a free website. Each game is either new or a sequel to a game Jackbox made in a previous pack, meaning all games are original to their company. Jackbox Party Pack 10 gave us “Tee K.O 2”, “TimeJinx”, “FixyText”, “Hypnotorious”, and “Do-Do-Re Mi.” With these new games out, hopes- particularly mine- were as high as ever that it would live up to its hype. My hope was proved into reality.
This year, players received games of a completely different superbness compared to games before:
As the sequel game of Party Pack 10, the players were given “Tee K.O 2!” In the updated version, players design drawings and slogans to create the ultimate merchandise (in terms of tops), with new tools and options added for the players’ convenience. The new-and-improved “Tee K.O 2” is a great mix of what already existed with new additions, keeping the best elements of the first version, Tee K.O from Party Pack 3, and modifying what could’ve used change like adding an erase tool. Keeping this in mind, it could have used more altering and new material, so I rate “Tee K.O 2” a solid 8 out of 10.
“TimeJinx” is a trivia game revolving around time traveling to renowned, yet silly, events of the past and guessing the year in which the event occurred. Overall, I found the game slightly repetitive. The concept of guessing the year again and again gets old after a few questions. I believe the different rounds could have had more change in between them, especially since the older you were, the easier the game became. If they had added more variety, I could see the challenges being more balanced for the players. I rate “TimeJinx” a 5.5 out of 10.
Among the few team games previously made by Jackbox, “FixyText” was an interesting one. Players split into two teams, each one is prompted with a text message and is tasked with editing a premade response. But here’s the catch- there is no deleting. After about ten seconds, the message devolves into absolutely hilarious chaos. The opposing team rates their performance, and takes turns driving a once average conversation into ruins of broken humor. Although, if you are introducing someone to Jackbox Games, I wouldn’t recommend starting with this game because it can be overstimulating. “FixyText” is a high 7 out of 10.
Moving on, the Pack reveals a game of deception and secrets: “Hypnotorious.” Each player receives a role to “answer” as, and is prompted with a series of questions to respond to as what they are. After the responses are presented, they must work together to sort each other out into groups that they aren’t aware of. But, the twist is that one player is an outlier and doesn’t fit anywhere, and must try to blend it, not even knowing for sure if they ARE the supposed outlier. If you couldn’t tell, it’s really complex. Although the concept itself is fascinating, when it comes to actual playability, it’s much too complicated to spend extended time on. Disappointingly, “Hypnotorious” is a 3 out of 10.
Last, but most definitely not least, there is “Dodo-Re-Mi,” the first ever rhythm game in Jackbox history! Instead of competing with other players, everyone works together to create a symphony of varying instruments. If you’ve ever played “Piano Tiles,” the mechanics are extremely similar. Once a song is chosen and each player chooses an instrument, they synchronize their devices to the game audio and play their own notes which change in difficulty and pattern depending on which instrument you choose, from guitars to constant screaming. By the end, the game compiles all of everyones’ playing to form either a beautiful or an absolute mess of a song. As you continue playing, you can unlock more songs, keeping it interesting with dubstep versions of classics to themes from other Jackbox games! Get enough notes right, and your team just might win! “Dodo-Re-Mi” was quite an excellent surprise, its brand new concept and wonderful production introduced a whole new kind of fun to Jackbox Games. Definitely a 10 out of 10!
Overall, “Jackbox Party Pack 10” had some amazing games, and some disappointing ones, but I would without a doubt recommend it to anyone looking for a good time with friends. Jackbox Games packs are available on most popular platforms or on the computer and most popular gaming stations. For Highschoolers especially, this collection of games is perfect for breaking the ice. All in all, “Jackbox Party Pack 10” is a solid 8 out of 10 pack.
