Solo board game developer Sam Greszes says Debate and changea recently launched game Jackbox Party Pack 12 surprisingly resembles his game Die on this hillwhich he sent to Jackbox Games as part of a pitch to turn his board game into a video game. Both Die on this hill And Debate and change are party games in which players get together and then argue for or against silly debate topics. Both have a public voting component and both offer the ability to swap words in the topic to change the meaning. Greszes says that in early 2025, after some exchanges with Jackbox Games in which they expressed interest in the project, they requested a demo of Die on this hill. After receiving a copy, Greszes said communication with Jackbox broke down only to see a YouTube video announcing Debate and change more than a year later.
“It feels like a betrayal,” Greszes said, speaking to Kotaku. “Esespecially of someone who is grew up up with (Jackbox) games And plays them each year.”
Greszes said that Die on this hill came to him out of a desire to win something after being fired in 2024. “I had This idea one late night In April of as, ‘What if get In A argument on THE Internet was amusing instead of manufacturing You to want has throw your phone out THE window?’” he said. Die on this hillplayerUse word cards to put together crazy-style phrases like “math paved the way for ketchup” and two participants compete by arguing for or against the topic while non-arguing players vote for their favorite. Here is a tutorial published on Die on this hilllast year’s YouTube page.
By the summer of 2024, he had a working prototype and decided to launch a crowdfunding campaign to raise the funds needed to take it from prototype to finished game. In November 2024, it launched a Kickstarter and a month later the game reached its funding goal with a little extra to spare.
“The game doesn’t TO DO a lot money For Me In profit,” he said, sharing that after paying shipping and production costs, he used what was left to buy himself a Switch 2. “But the point of the game wasn’t to make me money. It was to do something. Before physical copies of the game were distributed to backers, Grezes contacted Jackbox Games. Grezes is originally from the Chicago, Illinois area, where Jackbox Games is headquartered, and said he typically buys every Jackbox Party Pack when he goes out and has game nights with his friends. He was thinking of turning Die on this hill in a video game would put it in even more hands, but he didn’t have the technical experience to do it himself.
“They seemed pretty interested,” Greszes said. He said that during two long meetings with Jackbox, they talked about finances, that Greszes’ cut in the potential licensing deal would be minimal, and that the price of the video game should be lower than the board game. Greszes said he told them it didn’t matter to him. “I just to want THE game out there,” he said. “I want people to know I made it.” Greszes said Jackbox requested a demo of the game but It was clear that no formal or verbal contract had been made. He didn’t sign anything and neither did Jackbox, although Greszes said he tried to convince them but it didn’t work.
He told Jackbox he was willing to send them a copy of Die on this hill but asked them if they would be willing to sign an agreement stating that if they decided to make a game based on it, Greszes would be involved. He said Jackbox told him no and their refusal seemed reasonable to him. In March 2025, when copies of Die on this hill started being sent to backers, one was also sent to Jackbox.
” It is kind of Or that finished,” he said.
After Jackbox confirmed receipt, Greszes said he followed up to find out their thoughts on the game and was told no one had time to play it yet. He received the same message in subsequent follow-ups. “I sent as three, maybe four other emails Since spring through as winter, And I just figurative All right, It is A No go.”
Greszes said there were no hard feelings toward Jackbox because the project didn’t seem to be working. “It was A moonshot,” he said. “I’m just a guy and Jackbox, they have other things (to do.)”
How to develop Debate and change. Jackbox Party Packs released on an annual basis. They either offer completely new games like Dodo Ré Mi or new episodes of old fan favorites like Quiplash Or Murder party quiz. During a GDC 2021 conference, Jackbox CTO Evan Jacover detailed their development timeline, explaining that there are six months of active production during their annual cycle. Die on this hill arrived at Jackbox Games in March 2025, too late for that year’s party pack, but just in time for 2026.
Earlier this week, several months after communication with Jackbox ended, Greszes said he found a video of Jackbox developers talking about making Debate and change on YouTube Shorts. He also found a video taken from a stream showcasing the game live at Pax West 2026. In the video, players can be seen creating topics using fill-in-the-blank prompts. Two players debated the topic while the audience voted for their favorite and shortly after, the players changed the topic by changing the words of the prompt.
“I am truly stunned,” Greszes wrote on Bluesky.
Greszes said he knew there probably wasn’t much he could do. He understands that it is not possible to protect game mechanics and reiterated that he and Jackbox Games have not entered into any type of contract, legal or verbal. This could all be a misunderstanding born from the convergent evolution happening in the video game industry. Games with similar mechanics, board or digital, happen all the time. He’s not looking for money, he’s not even looking for excuses.
“If if Jackbox got In touch with Me And they were as, ‘Hey, were manufacturing This game. He has a few similarities, but We feel We to have do enough has differentiate he. We research has give You THE heads up. We can put You In A special THANKS, And GOOD shout has as GOOD promote your game on social media because We think It is cool, And he was A inspiration has We as We do OUR game.’ I would be to have has been on THE damn moon,” he said. “I really admired them, and to be recognized by them for this thing that I did (…) would have been an honor for me.”
Kotaku has contacted Jackbox Games for comment.
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