Push the Button is one of the games featured in The Jackbox Party Pack 6.
Gameplay
Push the Button's concept is similar to the concept of Fakin' It and other mafia-inspired games, in which a player has to blend in with other players and conceal their identity. In Push the Button, all players are on board a spaceship, but some players are secretly aliens. The goal is to figure out who all of the aliens are and jettison them off the ship. If all aliens are found, the humans win. If at least one alien is not found, the aliens win.
In each round, a player at random is chosen as the 'captain'. The captain chooses a testing room and the players they want to test. Testing rooms include writing, drawing, rating, morality, codes, and more. In most cases, aliens receive prompts that are slightly different from what human receive. This results in responses that are different from the others. Playing in a call with the rest of your fellow players is highly recommended.
Testing Rooms
Opinion Hold
Players receive a prompt and must provide their level of agreement by choosing "Strongly Disagree", "Slightly Disagree", "Slightly Agree", or "Strongly Agree". Aliens receive a slightly different prompt.
Deliberation Deck
Players receive a fictional scenario with three possible decisions and must pick the decision they would most likely make. Aliens do not see the scenario and must choose from the decisions blindly.
Bioscanner
Two players that are chosen by the captain see a screen with ten glyphs. The captain receives three of those glyphs and must describe them to the two players. The two players must select the glyphs on their device that match the captain's description. If both players choose correctly, then the captain may choose any player to "scan". Scanning a player will reveal the player's identity, but only the captain will receive this information. The Bioscanner is only activated further into the game and can be chosen regardless of the other testing rooms. The Bioscanner has a five-minute cooldown. The Alien(s) can also hack and give different glyphs to the hacked player.
Drawing Quarters
Players will receive a drawing prompt. Players must draw what is prompted, while aliens receive a prompt that is slightly different.
Writing Pod
Players will receive a prompt, usually a "fill-in-the-blank" or a question. Players must write an answer to the prompt, while aliens receive a prompt that is slightly different.
Probe Screen
The probe screen allows players to see the history of how players responded in previous Testing Rooms. This is also the screen that grants the aliens the ability to hack other players.
Hacks
Hacks allow aliens to hack any player, including themselves. When a human is hacked, they will receive an alien prompt when tested. When an alien is hacked, they will receive a human prompt when tested. There are always twice as many hacks as aliens in the game. The total number of hacks is shown on the screen, but does not change when hacks are used. If tutorials are disabled, hacks will be available at the beginning of the game. Otherwise, hacks will be available later in the game.
Extraction Room
When a player pushes the button, they must choose the players who they think are aliens to isolate. The timer will also stop, giving the players more time to discuss. Players then vote if they think the isolated players are aliens or not. If the vote is unanimous, then the players will be extracted. If at least one of the players who were extracted is a human, then aliens will win. Each player can only push the button once, so if everyone pushed the button already and the vote doesn't pass, then aliens automatically win.
Tunable Game Mechanics
The number of players can tune certain game mechanics.
| Number of Players | Number of Aliens | Number of Hacks | Maximum Number Of Testees Per Testing Room | Game Time Limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 players | 1 alien | 2 hacks | 2 testees | 12 mins |
| 5 players | 2 aliens | 4 hacks | 2 testees | 15 mins |
| 6 players | 2 aliens | 4 hacks | 3 testees | 15 mins |
| 7 players | 2 aliens | 4 hacks | 3 testees | 18 mins |
| 8 players | 3 aliens | 6 hacks | 3 testees | 18 mins |
| 9 players | 3 aliens | 6 hacks | 4 testees | 18 mins |
| 10 players | 3 aliens | 6 hacks | 4 testees | 20 mins |
Achievements
- No Hit, Sherlock – Aliens win in under five minutes
- Almost got ‘em – The aliens win the game after a failed vote where they were properly isolated
- Hacked Off – Aliens win without using hacks
- Skin of Your Teeth – Humans win with one second or less remaining on the clock
Trivia
- The game was originally proposed for The Jackbox Party Pack 4. This game also took around two years of testing to make this game just right. (Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8nOw43CP98)
- The game was originally going to be a drawing game. (Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8nOw43CP98)
- The difference between human and alien prompts gets bigger as the game progresses.
- When the game is displaying a tutorial or players are in the Extraction Room, the timer pauses.
- There are three unused music tracks for the game that is available in the soundtrack.
- DODE's name is most likely a reference to the fact that she appears as a dodecahedron.
- The number of hacks in each game is always twice the number of aliens; two hacks per alien
- The bioscanner is the only testing room that always requires two players.
- DODE makes references to previous Jackbox games, like Fibbage, Word Spud, and others by claiming they will be deleted from the database.
