Components
- Game Board
- Dice Bowl
- 7 Letter Dice + 1 Blank Joker Die
- 19 Category Discs
- 8 Pawns
- 8 Color Tokens
- Instruction
Object of the Game
Everyone plays against each other simultaneously, trying to be the first to move their pawn on the game board and all the way to the finish space. The player who reaches it first wins the game!
Setup
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Carefully remove the category tiles and color tokens from the game board. (The arrow removed from the game board is not used in the game and can be thrown away).
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Place the game board on the table and the dice bowl in the middle of it.
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Each player chooses a pawn and a color token of the same color.
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The players place their pawns in the starting space
1and their color tokens on the table in front of themselves. The tokens help the players remember which color pawn is theirs! Place the joker in the dice bowl and give the letter dice to the youngest player. -
Now the game can begin!
Game Play
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Roll the letter dice in the dice bowl. Now everyone tries to form a word using the letters on the dice.
Each letter that is showing can be used only once, while the joker stands for any letter (and can also be used only once). The words must consist of at least 4 letters and be in their infinitive form.
Of the letters in the picture you could form the words "snow" and "dinosaur" but not the word "taut", as the joker can only be used once.
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The first player to think of a word loudly calls out "ALIAS" to reserve the right to explain. They begin to explain the word using the usual ALIAS rules (see How to Explain), while everyone else tries to guess the word.
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As soon as someone correctly guesses the word, the following happens:
The explainer and the player who guessed the word correctly both move their pawns one step along the track towards the finish. More than one pawn can be in the same space at the same time.
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All the players - apart from the one who explained the previous word - now try to come up with a new word as quickly as possible, using the same letters. When someone has found a new word to explain, they call out "ALIAS".
How to Explain
Before starting the game, the players should agree on whether proper names, slang words, or regional expressions are accepted.
When you're explaining, you're not allowed to use any part of the word (e.g. you can't explain the word "mouse" by saying "What kind of animal is Mickey Mouse?", but you could say "A type of rodent").
You're allowed to use opposites (you'll find it easiest to explain the word "big" by saying "The opposite of small").
You're not allowed to use a foreign language, unless all the players have agreed to it.
Mistakes
If the explainer makes a mistake (uses a part of the word they are explaining), the word is not accepted and the player has to move their pawn one step back on the path.
After this the round ends, a new category disc replaces the previous one, and the dice are rolled in the bowl for a new round.
Playing Another Round
If no one has come up with a new word from the same letters after approximately 30 seconds, take the letter dice from the bowl. Roll the dice again.
When a new round starts, all the players try to come up with a new word.
End of the Game
The first player to reach the finish space 2 wins the game!
Optional Rule
If you want a bigger challenge you can shuffle the category discs with the text side down and place them in a pile next to the game board before the game starts. Turn the topmost category disc to find out the category for that round.
You will score extra if you come up with a word that fits the special category!
IIf the word fits the special category, the explainer can move an extra step!
When a new round is about to start, place the category disc on the bottom of the pile and turn a new one. The new category disc replaces the previous one.
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