#social-deduction

#social-deduction

This game is not an expansion; it is a new environment with three new scenarios and requires nothing from the original game. Just like the original, there are three scenarios (with five unique games in each scenario), each with different difficulties from 3 Stars to 7 Stars. The game is played by one to four players. Each scenario has six suspects, six locations, and six time frames that you can investigate.

Like the other viral game series, the gameplay involves looking at evidence and interrogating suspects if you're innocent, and trying to blend in and escape detection if you're the criminal. But Jackbox's Suspectives mini-game, aka dog Among Us, has everyone playing as a dog wearing a hat and not an astronaut. And rather than sci-fi, the setting is more like film noir. It was an instant hit among my group of friends, and likely one of the stand-outs of the latest Jackbox Party Pack (can you believe they have already reached 11 packs?) out this week.

I used to play a lot of Werewolf, back when I had roommates, and I flatter myself that I got pretty good at navigating the many layers of deception and manipulation involved. The werewolves lie, but villagers also sometimes lie-to try to catch someone else in a lie. People change their stories halfway through the game. They accuse and cast aspersions; they sow chaos; they plant seeds of doubt. The game often devolves into shouting.