The Jackbox Party Pack 12 review for PC, PS5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series X

While there are plenty of signs of fall, here’s one that’s underrated: the release of a new Jackbox Party Pack. Every autumn since 2014 we’ve had a new one (maybe skipping 2024 if you don’t want to count the Jackbox Naughty Pack – and I wouldn’t blame you if you just want to forget that one), and, it being fall once again, we have Jackbox Party Pack 12 to help us through the cold months – and many fall and winter parties – that lay ahead of us.

Like every year, Jackbox Party Pack 12 is a mixed bag. While nothing has jumped out at me yet as an all-time classic Jackbox game, it has its fair share of games that seem guaranteed to liven up a party – and one or two that may leave some people cold. In other words, the same ratio as every other Jackbox Party Pack.

On the more negative side of the equation, we have Hyperface and Debate and Switch.

The former is a game where you warp photos – either stock pictures or selfies – to match prompts like “Your face when they start construction at 7 am” or “Your face when the hypnotist tells you to look like a chicken.” While it’s kind of fun to morph your face and others’ into strange contortions, the replay value felt a little limited. It’s an interesting twist on the usual Jackbox drawing games, but the options feel pretty limited, all things considered.

As for Debate and Switch, your enjoyment will largely depend on how argumentative your friends are. If you’ve got a friend group who can get worked up about the smallest things, they’ll probably be super into the thought of debating whatever random nonsense the game throws at you – but on the flip side, if you don’t, the whole premise falls kind of flat. Unfortunately, the group I was in fell on the more introverted side of that equation, though I’ll readily admit that I can see how it would be fun in the right circumstances.

Thankfully, the other three games are a lot more promising.

Megapals, for example, calls on you to do word association with your friends. It gives you a prompt, you all see what words you can come up with that tie into the prompt, and the game determines who you’re best friends with based on who comes up with the most similar words. It sounds pretty dull when written like that, I know, but the real fun comes in trying to see who makes the same random word connections as you.

We Forgot a Card, by contrast, is one of those games that makes a tonne of sense both on paper and in practice. As you can probably guess from the name, the game gives you a prompt for an absurd kind of greeting card, and you have to decide what it would say inside. It’s precisely the kind of Jackbox game that lends itself to insanity, naughtiness, and stupidity in equal parts, which makes it the perfect kind of Party Pack game.

Rounding out the bunch, we have Idol Factions, which is this year’s attempt at a high-concept trivia game. It takes a bit of time to figure out what you’re doing – you have to sort concepts walking around a screen into categories like “Beginning/Middle/End Thing” or “Prequel/Original/Sequel Movie”, while keeping track of what direction they’re walking and how long you have until they explode. Personally, I was baffled by it all, right up until the point it clicked and it became my favourite game of this year’s Party Pack.

Of course, more than most other games, the Jackbox Party Pack series will always inspire wildly different reactions depending on who you’re with and what kind of games appeal to you – and clearly, Jackbox Party Pack 12 is no exception. I’m sure there will be some people who love all the games I disliked, and just as many people who can’t stand the games I couldn’t get enough of. It’s the kind of mix that has helped the series become such an institution, and it shows that this year’s edition is well worth picking up if you’re fond of Jackbox Party Packs.

Jackbox Games provided us with a Jackbox Party Pack 12 PC code for review purposes.