Jackbox Party Pack 12 review - "A unique bundle of games"

The Jackbox Party Pack 12 has a formula that feels very much like its own. Each of these packs of games is filled with a handful of mini-games, which are played through your phone as a controller. Your TV becomes a sort of display for what everyone is doing or when you need to vote. They've done a fantastic job of having this set formula, with a lot of different games within it, that create something that feels new. We have lots of friends over all the time, so pulling out a Jackbox Party Pack is always a fun time. Let's dive into the games in the Jackbox Party Pack 12.

MegaPals

MegaPals is one of my top games from this pack, if I am honest. In this game, you basically need to answer a question, putting in as many of the answers you would associate with the question into the chat. Your goal is to match with other individuals playing, so knowing your friends can give you an advantage here! If you pair up with friends, you all get points. At the end of the round, the leftover answers become the next prompt, so MegaPals becomes word association. The people who get the most answers correct with each other are the MegaPals and joint winners at the end! There is a little hint on the screen above people's heads, if you are really struggling. I find this to be so funny and just a really great game to play.

Hyperface

Hyperface is my other top game from this pack, as it's the type of game that has you morphing and playing around in a funny way. You are given a prompt like "Your face when someone takes the last nacho", and you need to take a selfie (or select a face picture), then morph it to fit the prompt. You can stretch your face, colour it in, and otherwise morph the place in a really fun way. It's quite fun to play around with the design of the face, but at the same time, you sort of know who has submitted what, and you can often feel bad for not picking your friends! (This is something I have very much seen when our 10-year-old plays with her little mates.

We Forgot a Card

We Forgot a Card in the Jackbox Party Pack 12 is one that feels like it would be very fun, but I think that the groups I have played with - it's just not hit as hard as I thought it would be. Everyone chooses card designs that match a category - these might be holiday-related, or they might be something really strange and random. Then, you need to write inside the card to match it to the event; however, it's more to get people to laugh at what you are writing. Everyone picks the winning card, and it moves to a plushie that needs to be given some sort of secondary bit of a sentence after a string is pulled. I feel there is something there, but it's just not quite hitting with our friend groups.

Debate and Switch

Debate and Switch is a debate game where you are debating nonsense things like if brownie edges are better than middles or how much nap time adults should have a day. One person picks yes, the other no, and then they debate out loud. The other players can move their characters to be in front of the person that they are agreeing with and type out comments that appear in the middle of the screen. It's a big presentation game! Once a debate is over, players can switch out a single word within the topic to create a new topic, out of the previous one, which makes for some silly prompts.

Idol Factions

The last game in the Jackbox Party Pack 12 is a classic trivia game, with a Jackbox twist. This trivia game has you sort of moving answers to one of two categories, but these categories are really random! They'll be like quotes from a famous actor or titles of subreddits with 1 million subs. You then need to shift the answer coming from one side of the map to the right portal, which solves what category it comes from. This is a team game, so you need to pass the answers to your other teammate if they are in the path of the portal. It's a fun idea, but it becomes quite chaotic fast. 

I do always enjoy a new Jackbox Party Pack, but for me the Jackbox Party Pack 12 wasn't their best showing. It's difficult, as Jackbox can only really be compared to Jackbox - so it's down to what mini-games you and your friends enjoy. I do love the audience participation aspect of all of the mini-games and how much these games bring people together.