Game Night (Brooklyn Nine-Nine)

In its original American broadcast, "Game Night" was seen by an estimated 1.81 million household viewers and gained a 0.7/3 ratings share among adults aged 18–49, according to Nielsen Media Research.[1] This was 7% decrease in viewership from the previous episode, which was watched by 1.94 million viewers with a 0.7/3 in the 18-49 demographics.[2] This means that 0.7 percent of all households with televisions watched the episode, while 3 percent of all households watching television at that time watched it. With these ratings, Brooklyn Nine-Nine was the second highest rated show on FOX for the night, behind Lethal Weapon, fifth on its timeslot and twelfth for the night, behind The Mayor, NCIS: New Orleans, Fresh Off the Boat, Lethal Weapon, Chicago Med, Black-ish, Gwen Stefani's You Make It Feel Like Christmas, The Middle, Bull, NCIS, and The Voice.

"Game Night" received acclaim from critics. LaToya Ferguson of The A.V. Club gave the episode an "A" grade and wrote, "Brooklyn Nine-Nine understandably treated its 99th episode like most shows treat their 100th episode. So in theory, the 100th episode would just be another episode of the series. Nothing more, nothing less. But that doesn't take into account that even a 'regular' episode of Brooklyn Nine-Nine can be special. And that's exactly what 'Game Night' is. Comparing it to the episode's namesake, while the 100th episode of Brooklyn Nine-Nine has perhaps been treated as low-key as a typical game night, it ends up being just as poignant as the episode's own closing game night."[3]

Alan Sepinwall of Uproxx wrote, "'Game Night' feels more special, because, like the Terry racial profiling episode from last season, it feels very personal in a way the series doesn't often — Stephanie Beatriz came out as bi not too long ago (and was, like Terry Crews in 'Moo Moo,' terrific here) — and because, like the Terry episode, it never attempts to wrap things up neatly. Rosa's dad (Danny Trejo, excellent in a comic role that turned dramatic in a hurry) eventually comes around, but you can tell he still doesn't understand who his daughter really is, and Mrs. Diaz is still keeping her distance."[4]