$16.99Party Panic Chaos for Four Goobers
Compete in 30+ fast minigames, a board game and a brutal obstacle course, on one couch or online.
Is Party Panic worth it?
Party Panic is worth it if…
- you want a couch game that total beginners and veterans can enjoy together
- you like short, silly rounds instead of long matches
- you have a group of up to four, on one screen or spread across the internet
- you enjoy games that do not take themselves seriously at all
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A party that starts in one minute
Party Panic is built for the room: short rounds, rules you can explain while the first minigame loads, and four players on one computer. Nobody sits out long enough to get bored, and nobody needs practice. The minigames are simple on purpose: chase an exploding chicken, fight over gems, play football with your face. The fun is not in winning, it is in what happens on the way there. Your Goober screams randomly, the physics are wobbly, and the silliest hat in the lobby (a pot, a slice of bread) somehow makes everything funnier. Even the drinking game is built in: turn it on while setting up a match and the loser of each round knows their fate.
Couch, online, or both at once
You can play with four people on one screen, four people online, or any mix in between, which solves the classic problem of the friend who cannot make it to game night: three of you on the couch, one at their own computer. The co-op side goes beyond head-to-head minigames too. Team up to survive the Gauntlet's obstacle course, or wander Trophy Island together hunting its challenges. Rounds are short and scores come fast, so there is always a next match to argue about. And when the humans are not around, bots fill the empty seats at three difficulties, so the party never needs a quorum.
30+ minigames of pure panic
The core of the game is a stack of over 30 minigames, each a few minutes long and explained before it starts. One has you stealing chickens from your friends' coops; the next drops you in a boxing ring. There are sprints, sumo shoves, coin grabs, races, dodge-offs against ghosts and falling rocks, and coordination games where the right button at the right time is harder than it sounds. Because every round is short and the mix is random, no two nights play out the same, and the score pedestal grows taller for whoever is on a streak.
The Gauntlet
If the minigames are the appetizers, the Gauntlet is the main course of pain. It is a race through a deadly obstacle course, and the whole point is to be the first one through. Giant swinging axes sweep the path and spike traps sit where you least want them, so the question is never whether to go fast, it is how fast you dare. One wrong jump and your friends stream past you, which is exactly the kind of moment game nights are remembered by. It is brutal by design, and it works beautifully as a change of pace after a stack of quick minigames.
A board game without the waiting
By popular request, Party Panic added a board game mode, and it keeps the pace up. Take turns hitting the dice, move your Goober around the board and race to collect the most trophies, with minigames deciding who gets the edge. There are two boards to choose from: The Temple of Goob and Willy's Pizza Party. Unlike the slow, turn-heavy board games it nods to, this one moves quickly, so the player in last place is never far from a comeback. Trophies, punches landed and punches taken all feed the final tally, so even the loser of most rounds can win the night.
Can you play it alone?
Can you play Party Panic solo?
Yes. Bots fill the empty seats at three difficulties, Easy, Normal and Hard, and they play well enough to beat you on a bad night. You can also turn them off entirely and play with 2 to 4 human players. The minigames are built around four players, so most people keep the bots on.
Do you need a controller?
No. The game is fully playable with keyboard and mouse, and you can remap the keys in the options if the defaults do not suit you. Any USB or wireless controller works too, and for four players on one computer, extra controllers make life a lot easier.
Does the online multiplayer work with local play?
Yes, and mixing them is the trick worth knowing: any combination of local and online players works, up to four total. Two friends on the couch and two at their own computers is a perfectly normal setup here.
What is the drinking game?
A built-in toggle you switch on while configuring a match. When it is enabled, the game adds drinking consequences to the rounds, which is exactly as dangerous to your win rate as it sounds. It is entirely optional; the game is just as playable without it.
Is it family friendly?
Yes. The violence is cartoonish and bloodless: Goobers get punched, scream, and stand right back up. The controls are explained before every minigame, so kids and grandparents can join a round within minutes. The drinking game is the one part you may want to keep away from the younger players.
