Tag Archives: Jackbox

Blog: Off-Week – 10/24/18

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So here’s the thing, I didn’t really prepare much of anything to write about this week and I don’t quite feel like phoning it in more than I already am.  But there is a reason for all of this, something I’m sure I’ve spoken about before.  I just haven’t really played anything of note since last week.

Well, that isn’t entirely true.  I did play some Call of Duty Black Ops IIII which was a lot of fun for the few hours I spent with it, but it didn’t leave me wanting to return to it in a meaningful way.  Like, it’s fun in the way that Call of Duty always has been, but it didn’t manage to grab me the way the older games did.  I know exactly why that is too.

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The simple answer is that I don’t have the time or the desire to really get into Black Ops IIII.  It’s a really fun experience that I wouldn’t mind dipping into from time to time, but the military shooter genre itself isn’t really doing it for me the way it did ten years ago.  I have plenty of good memories of playing these types of games from the past, but these days I find myself wanting a more insular and solitary experience.

It’s why games like Super Smash Bros Ultimate and Fallout 76 are doing absolutely nothing for me.  It’s because I just want to play a game by myself, and experience it at my own pace.  I almost made the mistake of buying the latest Jackbox Party Pack because I wanted to play the game where you make robots rap battle, but then I remembered that I’d never get the chance to actually play it.

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More to the point though, I think the real reason I haven’t played anything this week is because of what is arguably the biggest release of the year being so close to being out.  With Red Dead Redemption 2 mere days away, I’ve found it hard to want to play anything but that.  It’s one of the first times in a long while that I’ve felt this “hype” for a game that’s demolished my will to touch anything else.  I’m sure by next week I’ll post something about Red Dead Redemption 2 and title it in a ridiculous fashion.  Something like, “Yeehalloween” or some shit.

Blog: My Kind of Party – 08/15/18

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So there I was, sinking into one of the couches surrounding the television in my friend’s home, desperately trying not to fall asleep while watching whatever garbage was currently playing.  It was then that I decided to take control of the situation and put something slightly more interesting on.  I reached into my “Bag of Too Many Games” and pulled out some of the best party games I could find in an attempt to entertain the soon to be slumbering group of people.  Behold, the some of the party games I think are pretty rad.

GANG BEASTS

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I don’t know if I’ve mentioned my love for physics-based mayhem before, but it’s a big part of why Gang Beasts is so appealing to me.  It’s this wonderful mix of sloppy combat and physics wackiness that makes it so fun to play with other people.  Once everyone gets their mind around the way things work in this vibrant battleground, it immediately turns into a situation of who can break the game in their favor fastest.  The concept of just knocking your opponent out, picking them up and hurling them off a moving truck is incredibly appealing to me, and it definitely has won over several of the people I’ve shown it to.

DUCK GAME

Imagine a nightmarish scenario in which you’re surrounded on all sides by bizarre costumed ducks with a fondness for the Second Amendment.  While it would definitely be among the worst real world situations you could find yourself in, it makes for a really fun party game.  The controls aren’t too complex which makes the entire thing a little more accessible to new players.  Also there’s a quack button.

THE JACKBOX GAMES

The Jackbox games might secretly be the best party games currently available.  The decision to not rely on controllers and use a browser-based solution instead was brilliant.  Showing people who never play games this “magic trick” is a high point for me as well because the entire game becomes so much more intriguing to new players when they don’t have to use a controller to interact.  Aside from that, the games are mostly fun.  There are some stinkers in each pack, but for the most part they’re all good candidates for a fun time with friends.  A good way to start would be with Fibbage, which I’m pretty sure is represented in most of the packages.

THE YAWHG

This one is a little more divisive than the others on the list.  I think you need a very specific kind of group of people to really enjoy The Yawhg.  The way the game works is that up to four people pick a character to control for six turns.  You’ll do stuff like get wasted or fight crime or learn magic, all of which grant you skills and gold in return.  Once the six turns are up, a destructive force called “The Yawhg” swoops in and destroys the whole city.  Depending on what actions you took before and after the incident, your story plays out differently.  It’s a multiplayer “choose your own adventure” book that has awesome art and only takes like twenty minutes to play.  It’s one of my favorites.

LETHAL LEAGUE

You know what’s great about Lethal League?  Everything.  It’s this super hectic, fast paced game about hitting a ball so fast it kills your opponents.  It’s this mix between racquetball, dodge ball and anime that makes it so fun.  While there are some other modes, the main crux of what you’re doing is volleying the ball back and forth with your opponents until it reaches a speed that one of you can’t react to fast enough.  I have to emphasize that when I say it’s hectic, I mean it.  It can be overwhelming if you’re not expecting it.

GENITAL JOUSTING

Okay, look… I don’t know how the scoring works, or what kind of other multiplayer modes there are in it, but what I do know is that Genital Jousting gets the attention of every person in the room without fail.  There’s no good way to describe what you do in this game, but it involves doing penis like actions to other penises.  The game itself is fine, but if you’re looking for a showstopper, Genital Jousting is that game.

There are a bunch of other games that I’m failing to mention for various reasons, but if there was an honorable mentions part of this blog, things like Overcooked, Towerfall, Crawl, and Ultimate Chicken Horse would be on there for sure.  One last thing – don’t make people play Mario Party, that’s just mean.