How Jackbox Chose What Games Went Into Party Pack 11
We spoke with one of its game directors, Tim Sniffen, during EGX 2025.
What goes into making a new Jackbox game? Following Party Pack 11 launching last week, we sat down with one of its directors to learn more.
It's been a week since Jackbox Party Pack 11 released across most major platforms, and this latest set is pretty entertaining. Following the standard approach of including five games where everyone plays off their phone, Party Pack 11 isn't particularly revolutionary compared to past entries, sure. Despite some missteps, I still enjoyed plenty of laughs with friends during my review.
Five games comprise this latest pack, with Legends of Trivia being a major quiz game highlight. Suspectives is a social deduction game where you investigate survey answers. Doominate requires twisting innocent situations, while Hear Say involves recording sound effects to play over video clips. Cookie Haus sees you decorate cookies based on unusual prompts, and designs are then put to a vote.
I've been a regular player since being introduced through Jackbox Party Pack 3, and the series has been a familiar favourite with my local friend group ever since. So when EGX 2025 gave me the chance to learn more about what goes on behind-the-scenes and speak to Tim Sniffen – who was the Game Director on several of the modes in this year's game – I didn't need much convincing to say yes.
Mainly, I was curious to learn about the process behind choosing games in each pack.
“There's a greenlight committee you're pitching game ideas to, and we always have many more than five. They're looking at the balance of what might make a good collection of five. As something gets greenlit, they may think, 'Oh, it'd be great if we had this kind of game.' So they'll be looking for that.
“And then sometimes the team that pitches the game will be the people who go right into production. Other times, for whatever reason, it will go to a different group. I directed Suspectives, but three other people had pitched it.”
Almost all the major Jackbox Party Packs feature a drawing game where you create designs on your phone, though I'm told this isn't a mandatory requirement since the idea still has to stand on its own. Sniffen emphasised the importance of balance, though he tells me Cookie Haus was an easier idea to greenlight since “that concept was proven out before.”
Mentioning that Legends of Trivia was my personal favourite from Party Pack 11, Sniffen explained that the team “really loves the collaborative aspect” compared to other games. Unsurprising then to learn this one had a larger development team because of its greater size, and Legends of Trivia is split between a mini-campaign with three playable levels.
With that in mind, can we expect more games at this scale in future packs?
“I can't promise anything. I think everyone was really excited to work on it, especially with the new approach to the collaborative play. So again, no promises, but it was an enjoyable experience to make and we're hearing great feedback on it.”
Jackbox Party Pack 11 is out now on Steam, Xbox, PlayStation, Switch, and iOS.
Henry Stockdale
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