Emily Buzzie – Game Design
The goal of this game is to finish various prompts, get shown 2 random prompts that were filled out by other players, draw a ‘stupid invention’ to solve the problem said in the prompt, and then vote on other players inventions, which are given a title and tagline before presented.
Was the game fun?
This game was a lot of fun. I’ve never played it before, and it made a good first impression. Due to the mad lib style prompts, randomization, varying drawing skills, and creative titles and taglines made the game very different for each player. Even during the second round, when given the same prompt, everyone’s inventions, names, and taglines were so different from one another.
Interactions between players
Some interactions between the players include finishing prompts for other players. Each player gets to finish a prompt or two, which is then given to another player to pick from. So when you are drawing, you are creating an invention for other players’ prompt. Another interaction would be the voting process. Once everyone has drawn their invention, and created a title and tagline, all the other players vote on each other’s work. This determines points, and ultimately the winner. Everyone’s reason for voting is different, personally I choose the funniest invention or the invention that I would want and use.
How long did it take to learn?
As mentioned earlier, this was my first time playing this specific JackBox game, and it didn’t take very long at all. There is a narrator that explains a little bit in the beginning, and continues to explain each step and each time something appears on the main screen and phone screen. It was very easy to pick up, no confusion, and very quick to catch onto. The title helps with this, as the goal of the game is to make a stupid, funny, helpful invention.
Would you play again?
I definitely would. I have played JackBox before, but never Stupid Inventions, it is already one of my favorites, if not my favorite. Getting able to draw was fun, but getting to decide the title and tagline was somehow more fun to me. Voting was the most fun, in the whole game, it was super funny to see what everyone came up with. All in all, I would 100% play this game again. I feel like no matter how many times I played and who I played with, it would be different each time.