For my critical play, I chose the game Quiplash 2 from Jackbox Party Pack 3, an online collection of games developed by Jackbox Games. This game is rated T for Teen, and would be most enjoyable for players aged 13 and up due to the nature of the prompts and ability to create and use “inside jokes” throughout the game. My friends and I played Quiplash 2 with a computer (through Steam) and our phones.
The gameplay of Quiplash 2 revolves around the players answering various prompts with clever responses. At the start of each round, each player responds to two prompts within 90 seconds. Each prompt is given to exactly 2 players, so there will always be 2 responses for each prompt. After every player submits their responses, each prompt takes turns being displayed on the screen with their respective 2 responses, while players vote for their favorite response. There are no specified criteria used to guide the judging, so players are free to choose based on cleverness, humor, creativity, accuracy, etc. The response with more votes wins, and points are allocated to the writers of the response depending on how many votes they receive, as seen in the photo below. This setup is repeated for 2 more rounds, and then whoever has the most points is declared the winner. 
I argue that Quiplash 2 uses judging to foster friendly competition between players. This voting system allows players to learn each others’ senses of humor and also allows players who know one another to curate their responses to the group that is playing. Lastly, the judging system provides an environment where inside jokes can easily be made, strengthening relationships between players with shared humor.
A friendly competition is fostered through the voting system in Quiplash 2. This is because of the relatively low stakes and fast voting that moves on quickly. Each round of Quiplash carries more and more points, so no one is truly counted out of the competition throughout the game. Players can bomb the first round, and come back strong and still win the game. This tiered importance of rounds keeps the stakes relatively low, and adds to the friendly atmosphere throughout the competition. Additionally, rounds move quickly, and each voting session is short. The fast voting softens the blow when you receive no votes because before you know it, the next round of voting has begun and you only have a short amount of time (15 seconds) to cast your votes. My friends and I all experienced the pain of receiving zero votes (being “QUIPLASHED”, as shown below), but all noted that the embarrassment only last a couple seconds due to the fast paced nature of the game. This also contributes to friendly competition.
The judging system in Quiplash 2 also allows players to learn one another’s senses of humor. At the end of each voting session, players can see who voted for what responses. This display allows us to see what others found funny or clever, providing a demonstration of one another’s senses of humor. Understanding each other’s humor first allows us to feel closer to one another, as we are learning about each other. But additionally, it allows us to curate our responses in future rounds to one another’s senses of humor. This furthers this connection between players. My friends and I found that we hit our stride with our best games being the 2nd or 3rd games since at this point, we had begun to curate our answers to one another.
The last way that the judging mechanic in Quiplash 2 affects group dynamics and relationships is in aiding in the creation of inside jokes between friends which strengthen friendships. Quiplash 2’s success relies on players to create short, witty responses to well thought out prompts. The judging, as mentioned earlier, encourages players to aim their responses to the humor of the group. This sets up an environment where inside jokes can easily be made. My friends and I had several instances where someone’s response was repeated several times throughout the night, demonstrating a strengthening of our relationship.
