While every group has their personal favorites, it has been widely agreed that the Trivia Murder Party games were a part of any Jackbox Party Pack they appeared in. With a fun mix of quizzes and minigames, plus a goofy slasher horror parody theme, they're a go-to favorite for casual party gaming. It seems that developers Jackbox Games agree, as the third iteration–the creatively titled Trivia Murder Party 3–is a fully standalone game, and out today, albeit in early access, after a series of mostly well-regarded public playtests.

More than ever before, TMP3 is here to riff off the aesthetics of classic slasher horror movies, specifically Friday the 13th, albeit in a family-friendly kinda way. Playing either locally (able to tap in via phone) or online with only one host required, you and your 1-7 pals are the counselors of Camp Mass Acres. But to keep things cute and fluffy, you're also trapped in an adorable and especially murderable hand-stitched voodoo doll body.

Don't think too hard about it.

The story isn't important. The charismatic but villainous narrator/game-show host [REDACTED] is, though. He's great as ever, laughing along and occasionally at the players and generally being as cheerful and affable as a crazed murderer can be. While he's obviously referencing Friday the 13th above all, he's a perfectly Halloween-y host.

What set Trivia Murder Party apart from other Jackbox quiz games were the Killing Floor minigames, where any players who get a regular question wrong are sent. Any players here have to complete some kind of surprise bonus challenge–be it arcade or timed logic–or be killed. Death isn't the end, with you still having to answer all quizzes going forward, but ghost players start the final lightning round at a disadvantage.

One big addition to this game is Plot Twists. Random events that can throw fun twists into the game, like power outages that force players to work together to light questions up with narrow flashlight beams, or giving some players a single-use jump-scare that they can deploy at any moment to trip up the others. There should be enough questions and dialogue here to play it many times over without encountering too many repeats, but these might help keep things fresh even when you're starting to run low on content.

Curiously, Trivia Murder Party 3 is launching without a classic Jackbox feature, and a favorite way to play for many a streamer: Audience Participation, which allowed viewers on Twitch or other sites to act as a chaotic extra force, throwing spanners into the works through group polls. Here, you're locked into playing with a maximum of 8 players, although you don't have to bring your own buddies for once. This one has public matchmaking and bots to fill the gaps, but it's still best experienced with friends. This is also the first Jackbox game to feature unlockables - cosmetic goodies to dress up your little plush murder victim.

Trivia Murder Party 3 is out now in Early Access, priced at £13.75/$15. Prices may increase as development continues, with a full release due sometime in 2027.