When it comes to party games, Jackbox Games always comes to mind. Getting its big break with its comedic trivia game You Don't Know Jack, Jackbox Games has since developed countless other party games and gone on to release nearly annual Jackbox Party Packs, each filled with five popular games such as Quiplash and Murder Trivia Party. Now, Jackbox Games has developed a way for players to be able to access every Jackbox mini-game they own from one place: the Jackbox Megapicker.
With ten Jackbox Party Packs now available, it can be difficult to keep track of which Party Pack has which games, on top of the amount of time it can take players to switch from one game to another. Thankfully, Jackbox Games aims to alleviate those issues with the Jackbox Megapicker. The Best War Games had the opportunity to chat with engineering director Brad Vah about the Jackbox Megapicker and how it provides players with a more seamless Jackbox Party Pack experience.
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The Ins and Outs of the Jackbox Megapicker
The Jackbox Megapicker is a free product exclusive to Steam that allows owners of Jackbox Party Packs to sort, filter, and launch the Jackbox mini-games they own, as well as shop for new games, all in one place. It essentially acts as a separate platform built into Steam and makes the experience of switching from one Jackbox Party Pack game to another much simpler than ever before. When asked about the features of the Jackbox Megapicker, Vah laid out some details about the layout and organization of the platform.
Currently, the Jackbox Megapicker has two primary screens — the home screen and the library screen. The home screen provides an overview of information about favorited games and any sales that we may be running, along with a view of past games, recently played, etc...The Megapicker will automatically detect any Jackbox game a user owns on Steam. If they have the pack that contains the game installed, they'll be presented with a LAUNCH option. If they don't have it installed, they'll be presented with an INSTALL option prior to launch.
According to Vah, adding owned games to the Jackbox Megapicker should require nothing more than a click or two, providing what should be a very streamlined experience between the way a user's Party Packs are currently accessed and the way they will be accessible through the Megapicker. The Jackbox Megapicker also includes a shopping feature that allows users to purchase new games directly from the Megapicker itself, rather than needing to search for specific Party Packs through Steam. About the shopping process, Vah added,
Adding an item to the cart in Megapicker utilizes the Steam overlay to directly add it to their Steam shopping cart and use the Steam checkout process. Any title that you do not own in the Megapicker will give you the option to learn more about it or add it to your Steam cart.
Something along the lines of the Jackbox Megapicker has been requested by fans for quite some time now. Fortunately, Steam users can now enjoy the Jackbox Megapicker's quality-of-life improvements for a much more seamless experience without the momentum and excitement of their gatherings being dampened between games.
The Jackbox Party Pack
- Released
- November 26, 2014
- ESRB
- T For Teen // Crude Humor, Drug Reference, Fantasy Violence, Game Experience May Change During Online Play, Mild Language, Sexual Themes
- Developer(s)
- Jackbox Games
- Publisher(s)
- Jackbox Games
- Engine
- Adobe AIR
- Multiplayer
- Local Multiplayer
- Franchise
- The Jackbox Party Pack
WHERE TO PLAY
For 1-100 players! Your phones or tablets are your controllers! The team behind YOU DON’T KNOW JACK presents FIVE guffaw-inducing party games in one pack!
Games include:
1) The comedy trivia sensation YOU DON’T NOW JACK 2015 (1-4 players) with hundreds of all-new questions.
2) The hilarious bluffing game Fibbage XL (2-8 players), with 50% more questions added to the original hit game Fibbage.
3) The bizarre drawing game Drawful (3-8 players) -you draw right there on your phone or tablet (very little/no real skill required).
4) The racy-as-you-want-to-be fill-in-the-blank word game Word Spud (2-8 players).
5) The wacky-fact-filled Lie Swatter (1-100 players).
- Platform(s)
- Windows, PlayStation (Original), macOS, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S
- Genre(s)
- Party Game
