JAB: Real-Time Boxing
JAB is a strategic boxing game unlike anything you’ve played before. In JAB, you get direct control over your boxer’s fists, providing an experience as close as possible to real boxing without getting punched in the face. JAB is real-time. There are no turns. You can play as fast as you want, but remember: playing smart is more important than playing fast.
To win the game, get a knockout by throwing devastating haymakers at your opponent until he staggers to the ground, or strategically win more rounds than your opponent by impressing the judges with your beautiful technique.
Finally, you can beat up your friends and family, without the annoying assault charges and anger management classes!
JAB is a complete game, only one copy is required to play.
How is JAB different?
JAB re-invents the Real-time genre by slowing down gameplay and challenging you with strategic decisions. The innovative engine tests a player’s “strategic agility” by forcing constant quick decisions. It also measures your ability to calmly manage your focus, in a chaotic situation. The JAB engine is designed to be a develop-able skill, much like learning to play a fighting videogame, or even a real sport. Which also gives the game huge replayability.
So how does the JAB engine work?
The JAB engine can be broken down into a series of strategic real-time mini-games (mechanics), all running simultaneously. While focusing on all mini-games at once is almost impossible, all mini-games are equally important to win the game. A good player must not only be good at playing each of the mini-games, but also recognize which one he should be focusing on at any given time. A new player, much like a new boxer who steps into the ring for the first time, can easily feel overwhelmed and freeze up, priming his opponent for a knockout… so STAY CALM.
Strategy in a Real-time Game? Stop Lying to me.
No! It’s true! Every macro strategy or “style” in JAB, has a counter, like real boxing.
To counter a haymaker spammer, or slugger, a boxer must play like an outside-fighter, who focuses on counter-punching, and blocking, and points. An outside-fighter, like in real boxing, will be overcome by an in-fighter, who goes purely for combo points. An in-fighter boxer who is going for combos, will be knocked out by a slugger. Like boxing, every player has a specific style, however only players who can dynamically adjust their style and strategy dynamically to counter their opponent (hybrid fighters), will truly dominate. See: Mike Tyson.
User Reviews (4)
Add a Review for "JAB: Real-Time Boxing"
You must be logged in to add a review.
You will often see people comment that JAB does a great job making you feel like you’re actually boxing. Having never boxed, I can’t say whether that is true or not, but the blend of speed and tactics involved in this game makes it really stand out.
Most speed games reward pure speed and recognition, only requiring you to do a simple task once you notice a particular trigger condition (Halli Galli, Jungle Speed, etc.) In JAB, speed definitely does make a difference. If you can play your cards faster than your opponent, you cold potentially reap a great benefit.
However, JAB differs from the rest of the pack by offering some interesting choices. Do you hold back and try to block your opponents blows? Or do you go all out and try to end the round early? Should you concentrate on points/combos or go for a KO? It is not easy to figure out what is best, and what’s more, you need to keep a close eye on what your opponent is doing. It’s much more challenging than it seems, and the inability to manage everything at once really makes the game a lot of fun.
Jab is a boxing card game published by Tasty Minstrel Games that is played in real time.
I like Arkham Horror and Earth Reborn. This game sounded goofy.
Even goofier: it’s awesome.
Jab simulates a boxing match between two fighters. The theme is realized through remarkably intuitive and creative gameplay mechanics played in real time. It’s fast, it’s fun, and perhaps most importantly, it’s a game which rewards players with repeated plays with the understanding that a skill is being developed.
Many games cultivate skill progression by rote memorization, or the illusion of skill progression by way of blind luck.
Jab fosters progression in the rarest of ways: Your skill is developed by honing your instincts. Like a musical instrument, or boxing itself, proficiency with Jab requires muscle memory matched with an increased awareness that can only be achieved through practice.
And by practice, I mean losing. Losing badly. For a game that can be played in fifteen minutes or less, it’s incredibly fun and rewarding; and for less than twenty bucks, it’s purchase is a no-brainer.
If you don’t own it, then you don’t have a game like it in your collection. Buy it now, thank me later.
This game involves much real time thinking and paying attention. The game revolves around three target zones for each player. Head, left arm and right arm. You have a deck of attacks with names and colors. Examples include red haymaker, blue cross, purple jab, so on and so on.
The game is simple. In real time, like war or spoons, play cards from your decks with each hand on one of your opponent’s three zones. At the end of using all your cards or your opponent ending the round, score points from one of the three zones and who has the most points at the end of the round wins. Each attack has a point value between 0-2 points, the opponent gets to block one stack of the three from being counted, so spread your cards all around so can actually score points after the round ends. Winning three rounds wins the game, or knocking out the opponent ends the whole thing. Simple and to the point? Nope, there are blocks, counters, extra combos and different ways to win every time.
Problem for me is that I’m colorblind and cant tell the difference of some of the colors. Oh well. The game is fun, fast and very much like ERS or slapjack in that paying attention to cards played, and responding to the opponent is crucial.
I dont know of any other games quite like this. Easy to learn and play and good fun. A big hit (pardon the pun) with my son.