Jack to the future

Having taken a year off from its usual release schedule, party-game maestro Jackbox is back with a bang

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Between Zoom, Tiger King and hand sanitiser, the COVID-19 pandemic created some unusual must-haves. With entire populations stuck indoors, all trying to find fresh ways to pass the time — and to ease the tensions of social distancing and isolation - Jackbox's party games also, suddenly, got huge. “We sort of became famous as ‘that game we played during the pandemic’,” chief creative officer Allard Laban admits.

Originally designed to be played in a shared living room, Jackbox’s games proved adaptable to webcams and screen sharing, their sociable silliness a tonic in those locked-away times. Laban recalls a common sentiment: ""Thank you so much. You really brought our families together when we couldn't connect'."”