Use Your Words

In a world where $25 gets you five diverse party games in each of the Jackbox Party Pack collections, asking $15 for one flimsy game is just offensive.

All in all, Use Your Words executes well on what it sets out to offer: An accessible party game. Your mileage will definitely vary with the amount of people you have to play with, and three people are needed at minimum to play. But if you have enough friends at your disposal there is definitely a lot of fun to be had in this game, and it will certainly create great memories with your friends and family.

While Use Your Words is very much a copy of an established (and very effective) format credit is due for the new twists it brings to the party. The MST3K-esque potential in the Sub the Title mode, specifically, is huge and opens the door to some very different opportunities for people to exercise their funny-making chops on. The pacing can tend to be a little slow because of the use of video clips (though they are very short) but I think the developers have tried to find a balance in reminding people of the context (which can be vital) and keeping things moving. I like the idea of the “House Answers” feature, it’s a great stab at adding an extra challenge, but in our playthroughs my family found it changed the answering strategy too much within our group so we were glad to have an option to disable it. If you’re looking for some fun and have access to a group of people on a somewhat regular basis Use Your Words will provide a few evenings of entertainment and engagement for everyone.

Use Your Words is the latest in Xbox One party games, but it is by no means the best. Its lack of variety makes the experience repetitive and boring after only a few games. Furthermore, while Use Your Words is priced cheaper than other party games on Xbox Live, its competitors have greater variety, depth, and replay value.

A quiz variant that does some interesting things, but doesn't provide enough content to keep the party going.

Use Your Words is a great way of entertaining the entire family for a good couple of hours.

Use Your Words doesn't break a whole lot of new ground, but it is fun to play, and a welcome addition to the growing genre of be-the-funniest-in-the-room games.

With the right crowd and the right mood, you'll have a lot of laughs and a great time. Use Your Words follows the format of the genre, but is just unique enough to be memorable.

For the first time in a long time I only have one complaint about a game I'm reviewing. This game really needs to add a single player mode. I have no idea how it would work but it's kind of pain finding people to play with. The game has occasional hang ups and graphical missteps on occasion. As I said earlier, the average player should expect to spend at least 15 minutes getting the hang of the games concepts and core principles of the game and that's mostly because of the seven house card rules.