Latest news with #Jackbox
Forbes
30-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Sunderfolk Plays Like A Long Lost Edition Of Dungeons And Dragons
One of the joys of tabletop gaming is the socialization aspect. Yes, you're telling a story playing Dungeons and Dragons, but you're also hanging out with your friends. A lot of memories get made during the downtime moments before, during and after the game session. The same can be said for what are now called 'couch co-op' games. I built a lot of friendships during long sessions of Goldeneye, HALO and Super Smash Brothers. Games like Overcooked and Quiplash continue this fine tradition. Sunderfolk, from Dreamhaven and their in-house studio Secret Door, brings these two aspects of gaming together for a game full of slightly silly adventures with very strong game play. They provided me with a review code for this article. I played the game with my family on our Nintendo Switch Sunderfolk is a dungeon crawling adventure game where between one and four players get together to venture out of their sleepy little town to go on grand adventures. Players choose and customize a character and engage in short, tactical battles through an evolving story. Each character has their own strengths and as they evolve players can customize them to better fit their playstyle. The console or computer running the game handles most of the things a Dungeon Master does such as enemies and developing the plot. Players control their characters via an app available for smartphones and tablets. Much like the games designed by Jackbox, players simply scan a QR code or enter a short one into the app and their device is connected, ready to play. A lot of my fellow reviewers have compared Sunderfolk to being 'Jackbox, but D&D' It's an apt comparison because using someone's phone as their character sheet/action deck is very clever and removes a lot of the complexity in play. If a player is ever unsure about their next move, it's easy to quietly study options while other people take their turns. There have been a few tabletop games that use an app as a central component to a game like this. Many of them stumble because they can't find the right balance of automated efficiency and narrative flexibility. Sunderfolk has an excellent balance between silly storytelling and serious mechanics. Playing the game reminded me of my time playing D&D Fourth Edition. That version of the game focused on becoming a tactical, balanced board game. While it did that very well, many players thought it lost the storytelling flexibility that makes so many memorable D&D stories. Here, the tightness of the tactical game shines. It's genuinely thrilling when the players coordinate their attacks and take out a threat as a team. I loved it when we were able to push, pull and bounce a bad guy around the battlefield before they had a chance to act. The storytelling side of things also works well. It's just important enough for it to matter to the players but also full of goofy voices and opportunities for players to customize things. Anjali Bhimani provides all the voices needed to carry the tale forward with a wry tone that makes you think she's trying not to laugh at the awful names you've given her characters. I recommend Sunderfolk for anyone who wants a taste of the D&D experience without getting wrapped up in the logistics. That includes the dice curious, gaming group that struggle to get the full crew together and board gamers who want a taste of role playing. This is also a great game for nerd families to get together and play for an adventure or two after dinner but before bed. Sunderfolk is available now for Steam, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, or Nintendo Switch.
Forbes
07-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Jackbox Reveals ‘Party Pack 11,' ‘Trivia Murder Party 3' For Fall 2025
After a well-deserved year off — even if it still released Survey Scramble, the Naughty Pack, and The Jackbox Megapicker — Jackbox Games is back to its old tricks with two massive announcements during its first-ever studio Direct. The Jackbox Party Pack 11 is finally coming, as is a standalone Trivia Murder Party 3. Launching in fall 2025, The Jackbox Party Pack 11 will introduce five brand-new, original games, though the names and gory details of each one are still under wraps. The five promise to offer: 'We took a break last year from the Party Pack franchise in order to innovate and deliver some long-requested products for fans, including The Jackbox Megapicker,' said Jackbox Games CEO Mike Bilder, who said he believes the latest JPP outing will take the experience 'to another level.' And then we have Trivia Murder Party 3, the inevitable sequel to what's easily the favorite Jackbox title among me and my friends, and the out-and-out best pick for a standalone Jackbox game. After its first two titles were spent cooped up in a horror hotel, TMP3 goes full Friday the 13th and/or the incredible Sleepaway Camp by placing the experience in a summer camp, adding online matchmaking to its classic local room code play. Bilder said that Trivia Murder Party 3, which will launch in Early Access on Steam and Epic, is a purposeful decision in order to 'actively engage with our community and enhance the features they enjoy most.' Once the kinks are worked out, TMP3 will get a full platform release set for 2026. Meanwhile, Jackbox Party Pack 11 will launch on Steam, Xbox, Switch, PlayStation, Epic, Apple TV, iPad, Mac App Store, and Amazon Fire TV in the fall, for $29.99; it'll also be playable through the recently revealed Jackbox Games channel subscription on Amazon Luna, which also offers a free ad-supported version.
Yahoo
07-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Soon Every Smart TV Will Let You Ruin Friendships With Free Jackbox Games
Currently, to play hilarious Jackbox games like Bomb Corp and Survey Scramble, you need a PC, console, or mobile device. And some friends. That's changing soon as the games make the leap to smart TVs. But you'll still need friends. For years now, the Jackbox games have been some of the best ways to have fun with a large group of friends without having to pull out controllers or teach people a complicated tabletop game. All you need to play is one person who owns a Jackbox game, a way to play it, and some phones. That's it. And this has led to these games becoming incredibly popular as anyone—even your Qanon-pilled grandfather—can play easily, assuming they can use their phone's touchscreen effectively. And soon, it's going to be easier than ever to play games like Fibbage and Quiplash as Jackbox plans to bring its entire catalog to smart TVs via a new app. And some of the games will be free to play, too. On March 6, Jackbox announced plans to begin bringing its games to select smart TVs. The company is partnering up with Amazon to use the power of the cloud to eventually get its whole catalog of comedy games up and running on a smart TV near you. 'It has always been our goal to bring these games to as many people as possible and make them as easy to play as we can,' said Jackbox in a blog post on its website. The studio says that the first version of this upcoming app will offer a small collection of free, ad-supported games. But as they expand the app and get it on more platforms, they intend to bring the 'entire [Jackbox] catalog of games' to the app via a subscription fee. The plan is to launch a beta version of the app in Spring 2025. Personally, I'm very excited about this because it means that if you and a bunch of folks are at a friend's house and people suddenly want to play something, all you need to do is log into your Jackbox subscription on their smart TV and, in theory at least, you'll be able to start playing Fibbage or Drawful in seconds. Sounds awesome. I hope it works that flawlessly in the real world. . For the latest news, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
