Fakin' It XL Review: Worth the Solo Upgrade?
I’ve been a big fan of Jackbox Games back when they were called Jellyvision, and were known for You Don’t Know Jack. While I haven’t played every Jackbox Party Pack that’s released in the last few years, I’ve played a fair amount of them. I’ve somehow missed the iterations of Fakin It that made it into party packs. So I was excited to get into a full-fledged game based on social deduction. When Jackbox gives a standalone release to something like Quiplash or Fibbage, it makes perfect sense. Those are the undeniable heavy hitters. But I didn’t understand why Fakin’ It was getting a solo debut.
Fakin' It XL is a social deduction party game where everyone receives a secret prompt to perform—like raising a hand or making a face—except for one clueless player who has to bluff their way through it without getting caught. If players guess who the faker is, they get points. If the faker gets away with it, they get points. The different categories make trying to fake your way through certain questions pretty interesting. Some categories will have you answering a number, or raising your hand–with the faker completely having to read the room and hope it works.
What makes Fakin’ It worthy of its “XL” is the fact that it’s popular as hell. And this XL version makes it easier to play remotely. For instance, certain categories prompt players to point at other players–which is hard to do over a video call or Discord. Fakin’ It XL solves that problem by letting your on-screen avatar handle the physical stuff for you. Instead of squinting at a cramped grid of webcams to see who raised a hand or how many fingers someone is holding up, you just lock in your action on your phone. The game displays everyone's choices right on the main screen—completely removing the awkwardness of playing over a stream. There is the option to play an “in-room” version, too, if you prefer the old way.
While I ended up only being able to play it with a small group, I can definitely see the appeal. Though it’s still much better in person, despite its remote play features. Face Value provided some genuinely hilarious moments–something about making an inappropriate face, or trying to get past with an unreadable expression, was particularly funny for our group. Emojional damage, which has you choose emojis to respond to a prompt, turned out to be equally hilarious. Like the faker choosing the checkered flag emoji when the players are prompted “what country has the best tourist spots” or something similar.
Obviously, most of those anticipating Fakin’ It XL are those who helped propel it to be within the top 10 Jackbox Party game. But if you’re just playing it for the first time, like me, Fakin’ It XL brings new remote play features and a couple of new categories, making it the definitive edition of this fan favorite.
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