You Don’t Know Jack Facebook Game Review

 When you first open the game, it immediately hits you with the offer to purchase tokens for the game, which can be a little tedious considering you won’t really understand what they’re for until you explore the menu a little. Right after that you’ll get the option to jump into an ‘episode’ without much explanation of what you’re getting in to. The question and answer system is pretty easy to comprehend, even if some of the questions confound you.

The most difficult part of the episode is the closing challenge ‘Jack Attack’, in which the players must match different keywords together. The challenge starts with a very brief explanation that can be misinterpreted when the game gets rolling. The only way to really understand how it works is to try it and (in my case) fail hard before you understand exactly when to press your buzzer (or in this case spacebar).

The most interesting part about this Facebook version is its social element. As soon as the episode begins you are pitted against 5 other friends. If none of your friends have played that particular episode, then you compete against 5 randomly selected Facebook users. As you play, your performance is compared with that of the other players from their previous attempts, but the scores are updated question by question, so it feels as though you’re all playing together in real time.

The most obvious benefit to playing with friends is the bragging potential, especially with a game that embraces the child-like gratification of being the best with such comedic success. In addition to that there are even more bonuses to nagging your friends to play. Having a friend participate in an episode that you’ve already completed will result in bonus points for you; even more so if they lose to your score, motivating you to win as many episodes as possible.

Unless you’re a whiz kid, there’s not much fun to be had in the game itself, as you’ll end up picking answers at random for categories you have no knowledge of, but there’s still plenty of entertainment value for those less witty. The mock-commercials played in the menu screen and at the beginning of each episode are so side-splitting hilarious, they might even be worth spending some real cash to unlock.

‘Enhancements’ are also available to purchase with game tokens, which essentially boost your score by a percentage or make the questions easier by eliminating a wrong answer. These can also be purchased with real money, making the competition less fair, but at least you can tell if an opponent is using an enhancement by the icon next to their profile picture. Your friends won’t be as keen to brag when you point out their 30% score boost!

In addition to schooling your friends, there are other fun objectives to complete, such as achievements and gaining levels. Levels are gained by accumulating your winnings from each episode, whereas achievements are granted for a number of accomplishments (like bragging to a defeated friend). If an achievement is particularly difficult, however, it can be ‘purchased’ with tokens, therefore defeating its authenticity.

All in all, ‘You Don’t Know Jack’ can be a fun and hilarious way to spend a few minutes before work or in the evening, and amidst its silly attitude, there are many unusual and interesting facts to entice hungry minds. If you’re not a trivia junkie however, then you probably won’t want to invest more time than the occasional game.  You’ll soon realize that the lack of textual instructions lends to the game’s brilliant simplicity. Even a toddler could watch the brief 2-second animations and get flinging away with glee.

The best way to win at “You Don’t Know Jack” is to actually know your category!  If you’re just looking for a fun way to kill time, then all the episodes are sure to offer you a few laughs, but if you’re looking to set that high score none of your friends can beat, then don’t go for the most recent episode unless you know the category. The game allows you to scroll through and select from previous episodes, all of which can be played for free by paying in-game tokens or by agreeing to view a brief advertisement before the episode.

This way you can pick and choose which episodes to play based on which category you feel strongest in. The episode titles aren’t just good for a chuckle; they also give you insight into what theme the questions will follow, bettering your chance at being prepared.

Remember there’s no shame in admitting you don’t know the answer to something. When it comes to the ‘Jack Attack’ on the final round, it might seem like a good idea to guess when you don’t know the answer, but hold back unless you’re somewhat confident, as wrong answers will end up losing you 1000 points each. You might find yourself earning one of the top three places just by refraining from answering, since finishing with zero is still better than some of the negative scores your friends are bound to receive.

The Facebook version allows you to select your answer by clicking on the screen, or by pressing the corresponding number. Bonus points are awarded for speed, which is why it’s a good idea to familiarize yourself with the number pad of your keyboard. If you’re able to press the number without looking at the keyboard, your answers will come that much quicker.

• When it comes to cheating, ‘You Don’t Know Jack’ might have the easiest system to fool. When you replay an episode, only your original score is saved, which prevents you from simply copying the answers and earning a perfect score. However, since there’s no way for the game to verify your identity, all it takes is a fake Facebook account to get all the answers. Sign up with the dubious account (all you need is a different email address) and add the game’s app.  That way you can play through each episode and it won’t matter if you get all the questions wrong, just copy the answers and log back into your regular account to play the same episodes. The game will register it as your first session, and your friends will be scratching their heads in confusion at your apparent genius.  (Don’t forget to share your You Don’t Know Jack answers here at Datagrabber.org!)
• Keep a another browser window open with the Datagrabber.org You Don’t Know Jack cheat answer list for quick reference.
• You can also use another fake account to play episodes that you’ve already won on your regular profile. The game awards extra points to players when their friends play, and more so when their friends lose to them. So long as you and your fake account are friends, you’ll also receive more bonus points for each episode, allowing you to level up and earn rewards much faster.
• “But wait!” you might ask, “How do I get the answers for the ‘Jack Attack’?” You might recall that the end of the ‘Jack Attack’ only reveals the players who were correct, and not which answers they chose. So unless you’re one of those players, you won’t know which ones to pick the next time you play. Don’t worry, though, for there is a solution! All you have to do is click the screen or press the spacebar for every keyword that appears. Even though you’ll wind up with a negative score in the thousands, all that matters is finding out the correct keyword for when you play on your regular account. This will guarantee you a perfect score for every challenge of every episode! (Don’t forget to share and help build our You Don’t Know Jack trivia list!)