The Jackbox Party Pack 5

The Jackbox Party Pack 5 combines five different party games in one collection. Instead of classic gamepads, players enter answers, text and drawings via their smartphone, tablet or computer. Quiz questions, votes and small competitions come together on the main screen.

The five games suit groups with different tastes: a classic quiz, a decision game, rap battles, creative inventions and an action-focused skill competition. Individual rounds usually last between ten and twenty minutes.

The Jackbox Party Pack 5 was released in October 2018. On the German PlayStation Store, the PS4 release date is Oct 15, 2018. PC, Nintendo Switch and Xbox One followed on Oct 17, according to their respective store pages.

An iPad version was also released in 2018. For Android, the later update date in the store does not reliably indicate the original release date.

The game was released natively for PC, PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, iPad and Android. On PC, there are Windows, macOS and Linux versions. The iPad version is not the same as a native iPhone game.

PS5, Xbox Series X|S and Nintendo Switch 2 can use compatible earlier versions. This does not mean there is a separate new version for each. Jackbox also offers the game on selected TV platforms.

One person starts one of the five games on a screen everyone can see. The other players open jackbox.tv in the browser on their own device and join the displayed room. After that, their individual questions or actions appear on their phone, while results and scores are shown together on the main screen.

The rules vary greatly between mini-games. Some rounds reward knowledge, others an original idea or good timing. No additional controller per person is needed.

The five included games are part of the full main game. Steam also offers a separately sold soundtrack and bundles with several Jackbox Party Packs. Neither the soundtrack nor such bundles add further rules to the five mini-games.

The entire fifth Party Pack can be played on its own. No older parts of the series are required for the games.

The original Windows minimum requirements call for a 2.66 GHz Core 2 Duo processor, 4 GB RAM, a GeForce 500 or Radeon 5000 graphics card and 3 GB storage. For the recommended setup, Steam lists a quad-core processor, 8 GB RAM and stronger graphics. A broadband internet connection is also specified.

The old game requirements still list Windows 7 and 8.1. However, the current Steam client only supports Windows 10 and newer versions. Steam lists separate requirements for macOS and Linux.

You Don't Know Jack: Full Stream is a pop culture quiz for one to eight people. Host Cookie Masterson leads through questions that combine knowledge with unusual phrasing of answers.

The competition suits groups who prefer a more rule-based game: instead of freely invented punchlines, the correct answers decide the points.

Split the Room is for three to eight people and asks unusual what-if questions. Players each complete a missing part of a hypothetical situation. Then the others vote on what they would choose.

A deeply divided group is more interesting here than a unanimous reaction. Good answers should therefore not pin the other players down to an obvious choice.

In Mad Verse City, three to eight players compete as rapping robots. They write their own lines for their characters and then have their contributions face off in head-to-head battles.

Unlike the trivia quiz, what matters here is mainly how entertaining the group finds the texts and their delivery. The round depends on the players' ideas and the votes that follow.

Patently Stupid has three to eight people solve absurd problems with invented inventions. Players draw their ideas, give them a name and present them to the group.

Drawing is not an end in itself: what matters is whether the other players find the invented solution convincing or funny enough. The mini-game combines sketches, short presentations and votes.

Zeeple Dome is the action-focused part of the package. One to six people fling their characters at opponents in an alien arena. Instead of text or quiz answers, movement and timing decide what happens.

This means the collection also includes a game where players have to react directly to what is happening, rather than writing longer answers.

Depending on the mini-game, one to eight people can take part actively. For Zeeple Dome, the maximum is six, while most creative games require at least three players.

A spectator feature also lets a large audience take part in polls. Jackbox lists up to 10,000 people for this. That is not the same as 10,000 players active at the same time.

The games themselves are designed for group rounds with a main screen. Anyone who wants to play remotely can share video and audio via a suitable call or stream. The other players continue to answer on their own devices.

A reliable internet connection is needed for the browser-based inputs. For streamed games, players should allow for delays between the video feed and inputs.

The Jackbox Party Pack 5 is entirely in English. This applies to the interface as well as the tasks and spoken game content. The quiz and creative wordplay in particular therefore require players to have English skills.

On Nintendo Switch, a Joy-Con or Pro Controller is needed to navigate the menus. The five mini-games themselves, however, use external browser devices as input.