The Jackbox Survey Scramble is instantly gratifying | Hands-on preview
For those of us of a certain age, Saturday night television revolved around game shows before the likes of The Jackbox Survey Scramble came around. The whole family would gather around to watch members of the public in a battle of wits to win prizes beyond their wildest dreams. A cuddly bear. A weekend for two in Basingstoke. Maybe even a caravan!
Of these, a personal favourite was Family Fortunes. A game that revolved around top answers in surveys of the general public. Name something that you’d find in a handbag? Name something you associate with a chip shop? It was always thrilling to see what insane answers people would come up with. Well now, you can recreate the excitement in your own home with The Jackbox Survey Scramble. Based upon much the same idea, I’ve recently been enjoying two of the game modes on offer in this latest instalment in the Jackbox catalogue.
Hilo tasks players with choosing the most or least popular one word answers to a variety of questions based on answers from actual, real-life people! Most popular name for a dog? Foods that you would want a professional chef to cook for you? The most overrated holiday destinations? What feels like quite a straightforward prospect soon becomes a lot tougher when you have to find the 350th least favourite name for a dog which, for the record, is not Geoffrey. The top ten lists are frequently surprising and it just goes to show that people can be a lot more random than you would ever expect. This is great fun and can soon become a conversation starter as you debate who would want Jamie Oliver to make you chicken nuggets rather than a beef wellington?
The second game we got to play in The Jackbox Survey Scramble was Squares, which splits players into two teams. With a 3×3 grid on screen, you are battling to make the first row of three squares horizontally, vertically or diagonally, like a super opinionated version of noughts and crosses. Answers are split into rows of most popular to least and get it right and you’ll claim the square for your team. Squares can be stolen by taking a higher rated answer within the same category, allowing for semi-tactical play to block your opponent when you guess that salmon is a more popular bagel filling than salt beef. It’s frustrating in the nicest possible way when you’re within grasp of the win but oh so satisfying to block your opponent at the last moment.
Both of these have proven to be a huge hit, bridging generational gaps easily. These are simple games to play and understand, easy for just about anyone to pick up and play. There are no real wrong answers, just slightly better or worse ones, so players should never feel left out. The presentation is more simplistic than recent Jackbox offerings but in my eyes this is a vast improvement, allowing for a quick turnaround and keeps up the pace of moving from game to game.
I think that this would be a great starting point for anyone who hasn’t tried a Jackbox game before. The lobby system is as straightforward as ever, allowing anyone with a smartphone to scan a QR code, choose an avatar and username, then jump right into the action. It’s that easy.
Simple to get grips with and instantly gratifying, The Jackbox Survey Scramble will soon have you hooked for hours as you argue about the second best place to take a poo, outside of your own home.
The Jackbox Survey Scramble is coming to PC, consoles, and mobile on October 24th.
