Jackbox Survey Scramble Review: Says the Survey

The Jackbox Survey Scramble Review

Jackbox Survey Scramble is the latest entry in the Jackbox Games series. This is not a separate game pack, like the usual Jackbox Party Packs. It's a game, with several subsections that revolve around the idea of ​​finding popular answers in surveys. If you're a fan of the Jackbox games, The Jackbox Survey Scramble is a little different, so read on to find out if this new entry is for you.

A new view of the family dispute

Jackbox Survey Scramble is the interesting version of Family Feud's Jackbox series. It's not in the same format as the TV show, but it takes the idea of ​​having people answer surveys and then having players guess what the most popular answers will be. Between games, players can answer survey questions on their phones, which add to the database of answers the game takes from. All the questions are pretty simple, like “What weapon would you choose in a zombie apocalypse?” My only complaint about the survey questions is that the answers can only be one word, which leaves out obvious answers. This wasn't a deal breaker, but it's a limitation that players will quickly recognize.

There are 4 different ways to play The Jackbox Survey Scramble. The first game mode is Thread. This mode is the closest to normal Family Feud. Players are asked a question and then asked to guess the most voted answer twice. They are then asked to give the least voted answer twice (answers they did not rank do not count). And finally, players can choose between two answers. Whoever has the most points at the end wins. The TV screen displays a list of approximately 500 hidden answers and reveals the answers of the players in the list as they enter their answers. Hilo was simple, very well structured and quick to play. Choosing the least popular answers was a fun twist on the Family Feud formula.

4 game modes

Speed ​​is the second game mode in The Jackbox Survey Scramble. It is similar to Hilo, but acts as a blitz round, where players have to write their answers to a question. They have 20 seconds to submit an answer to the list of the top 500 or so answers. If a player gets an answer on the list, the 20-second timer resets. When players run out of answers to give within 20 seconds, the timer runs out and the player with the most points wins. The speed was great and there is some added value because players can also work together to see what percentage of the answers they can solve.

Squares is a game mode that works like tic-tac-toe. There is a 3×3 grid on the screen and each square has a value. For example, the first square could have answers 1-2, the second square will answer 3-5, the last square will answer 70+, etc. Players have to guess the answers to a question, like in Hilo and Speed, but they take charge of the tick-tac-toe squares that rank their answer. If a player gets an answer closer to the top value of a square's range, they can steal it. For example, if I have the 2^{North Dakota} square, which has answers 3-5, because I guessed 5^th best answer, another player can steal it if they guess 3^third or 4^th best answer. Squares was a lot of fun. Incorporating tic-tac-toe with the survey questions was a great idea for the game.

3/4 is not bad

The final game mode, in The Jackbox Survey Scramble, is Bounce. It has a Pong-like interface, where players submit answers to survey questions, and the best answers compete against each other, throwing the ball that bounces off the screen to the other players. Players choose teams to Bounce. While one team's answer is displayed, with their ranking, the other team can type answers like crazy, hoping to guess the highest ranked ones and avoid getting hit by the bouncing ball. This game took a few tries to figure out. It wasn't intuitive and the speed needed to steal was too fast for older players to take advantage of. I doubt I'll play Bounce again.

Jackbox Survey Scramble also has a “Tour” option, which makes a long game, adding Thread, Speed, Squares and Bounce points, in order. There is also a “Pick For Me” option, which chooses a game for players at random. Jackbox Survey Scramble's interface is clean. The images and background music never interfere with the game. They also don't elevate the presentation in any way. There are occasional issues when connecting phones to multiple people, but these issues could be resolved with a screen update. Due to the party game nature of Jackbox games, the experience is not ruined by setbacks. These are casual games that rarely require precision.

Overcoming your flaws

As a lifelong Family Feud fan, I loved The Jackbox Survey Scramble. It was fun to play and a pleasure to be a part of the surveys. I wish the answers didn't have to be limited to one word. And Bounce is not as strong as the other three games. I also wish there was a way to play online with random players. There are many minor problems with The Jackbox Survey Scramble, but the core gameplay is extremely fun and simple. These issues didn't really interfere with the great experience I had, which is why it still gets a good score. And the price of The Jackbox Survey Scramble is only $12.99 CAD, so probably $9.99 USD. It's a very low cost for a party game that I will be playing for a long time. Jackbox Survey Scramble is a must for Family Feud fans.

***PS5 code provided by publisher***