Overview
At this week’s Game Night, I played Tee K.O from Jackbox Party Pack 3. It’s a judging game developed by Jackbox Games, Inc, and it is available on Steam, Playstation, XBox, Nintendo Switch, Appl TV&Ipad, Amazon Free TV, Humble, Epic Games, Mac App Store, and Luna monthly subscriptions. (Information according to https://www.jackboxgames.com/tee-ko/)
Target Audience
Its target audience is 13+, based on Common Sense Media. This is my second time playing Jackbox but the first time playing Tee K.O. From both of my experiences, it seems like the game is widely understood as an 18+ game where players make adult jokes :^)
Types of Fun & Formal Elements
The game accommodates 3-8 players. The procedure goes like this: First, all players do drawings and write slogans based on very general prompts. Then, they will be given some drawings and slogans drawn/written by other players and match a drawing with a slogan to create a t-shirt. After everyone finished creating their t-shirts, all players vote on who made the best t-shirt by comparing two t-shirts at a time. Each round ends when all players have submitted their drawing, slogan, or votes. The rounds can also end when time is up. It’s very interesting that what the players wrote or drew is shared with other players, and funny pictures or slogans become valuable resources in this game. However, since there is no way to “fight for” those valuable resources in the game because the game algorithm will pair you up with other players’ submissions, all players are encouraged to submit funny (and often times 18+) drawings or slogans. Because of this mechanic, this game leverages fellowship, and I quickly learned to trust other players to generate spicy content for me to make my t-shirts. The reward system in this game also facilitates fellowship: when a t-shirt design beats another t-shirt design, the player who did the drawing, the player who wrote the slogan, and the player who put them together will all get points for the winning t-shit design. Interestingly, there is also the fun of challenge in this game because players want their drawings, slogans, and match design to be voted on by other players. Moreover, while I was playing the game, it seemed to me that all players want to come up with witty content and make the whole game room laugh. The leaderboard at the end of each round and the whole game also contribute to the competition. It also helps players understand the game objective: get the most points and win! With the point system, there can only be one player with the highest points, so the game is zero-sum in this sense.
Highlights and Improvements
A large part of the reason why this game works is that players can create unexpected pairings of funny images and slogans. While I was playing, I was curious and excited to learn what other players drew or write, and I had a great time choosing between pictures and slogans while creating my t-shirts. For improvement, I found myself a little lost when I was asked to write a slogan at first, and I think having some fun examples or ideas/hints could help. This can be especially useful to first-time players.
Comparison
I played another judging game called Apples to Apples, which is a lot less fun than Tee K.O. 🙁 One main reason is that the Apples to Apples lacks the excitement provided by Tee K.O., which is shown in its music, setting narration, time limits, point system, and leaderboard. While in both games, the judging is rather subjective, Tee K.O. did a better job comparing all the different designs by pairing them up and giving everyone the chance to get involved and be the judge for each pair.
