I played Quiplash, one of the games in the Jackbox Party Pack, with a group of my teammates at the competition I am attending, on my laptop (Mac from Steam Launcher) connected to a TV in my hotel room. The setup and premise of the game are very easy to understand for first time players, and by allowing everyone to join a lobby on their own device made it so that nobody had to be left out of the experience. The group I played with was 6 people, which in retrospect, may have been less than optimal. The even number of players we had led to a lot of ties between prompts, which contributed to a lot of groaning after the votes were displayed.
I felt that when we began playing, I was slow to answer prompts. Being funny on the spot was challenging, and I found myself editing or rephrasing answers while the allotted time dwindled away. I was definitely overthinking and trying to find something perfect to respond with in a matter of seconds, when the game is desgned for those spontaneous and spur of the moment ideas. The game helped draw this spontaneity out of me and my teammates, where everyone finished answering their prompts considerably quicker by the 3rd or 4th time we played. Games that I find a lot of fun in can typically be played better when each move is carefully considered and evaluated, and I would say that my normal communication style through text, is reflective of this. This time-limit mechanic didn’t allow for writers block, and I noticed that the more unhinged and barely coherent responses were also the ones that garnered the most laughs (and votes). Allowing myself to lean into this chaotic and more unfiltered style, even if I could not perfectly convey the joke I wanted to, ultimately made the game far more enjoyable.
The voting aspect as well also brought out some interesting dynamics, both within myself and with the group at large. For the first couple of rounds, everyone was playing it relatively safe with their style of humor: sticking to puns or very lighthearted jokes.
“A name for a roller derby team full of nuns”
“Holy Rollers”
“Cross-checking sisters”
The escalation of humor into more off-color topics was gradual. One of my teammates would sumbit a joke that somewhat pushed the envelope of previous topics, and would experience tumultuous laughter when their answer was finally revealed. This, in turn, encouraged everyone else to also reach somewhat further with their responses. What was awesome about the several rounds that we played was that it the responses never seemed to extend into the realm where people were uncomfortable. It was very intriguing to notice how my own boundaries for what I could write were being pushed, it was interesting to see how willing I was to write my own authentic “first thoughts” rather than have to moderate myself to the apparent group norms.
“What would break up Alvin and the Chipmunks?”
“A steamy sex scandal with the Chipettes”
“Dave selling them to a taxidermist”
The change in my decision making was interesting to reflect on after the fact; I was mimicking the groups responses and was staying within these perceived limits of what I could write without really consciously thinking about it. Quiplash was able to bring my teammates and I closer together by removing the collective uncomfort we had with being genuinely authentic around each other.
To address the ethical concerns of voting based games, although I agree with the sentiment that Ellie expressed about games where the “best” response must be chosen, it is clear that a more pressing issue for Quiplash is what happens if someone decides to push the envelope of what is an acceptable response to the point where the violate the comfort of the group. The “hurt feelings” of not being voted for would be somewhat minimized compared to the hurt that someone could feel if a topic that upsets them is presented and shared to a group through this game. It is ultimately on the players to decide what is acceptable and what is not, and if even a single player decides to use a sensitive or unacceptable topic in their response, then the game can be quickly ruined.
The question of who is responsible for such responses is challenging for me. Although I have not tested it, I must believe that the game has implemented certain censorship guidelines for obviously hateful content. However, there is no way for the designers of the game to know what content may make players uncomfortable that would not flag a hateful content checker. They are leaving it to the players to self-regulate, which is certainly a risky decision. How far should game designers go to moderate player-generated responses? For Quiplash’s case, it is made especially difficult when the entirety of the game is based around such responses.
