Junior Alias is played in teams of 2 or more players. The aim is to explain words and pictures to your teammates without actually saying the word that is being explained.

ou can use synonyms and opposites, hints, utter sounds etc. Each team tries to guess as many words as possible before the sand in the timer runs out.

The team can move forward on the game board as many steps as they guessed words correctly.

Components

• Game board
• 300 cards
• 6 pawns
• a sand timer
• Instructions

Object of the Game

The first team to reach the finish space wins the game.

Setup

Shuffle the cards and place the deck in one of the slots in the game box. Each team chooses one pawn and places it on the start space on the game board.

Decide which team begins.

Game Play

1. The starting team chooses one of its members to be the first one to explain. Other members of the team try to guess the words that are being explained.

   The explaining player picks up a small pile of cards from the deck so that the other players can not see the words or pictures on them. Turn the sand timer and the player can start explaining the first word (see Explaining).

2. Once someone guesses the correct answer, the explaining player places the used card on the table and starts explaining the next word.

3. The explaining player may skip a difficult word if they feel they cannot explain it, and place that card aside, but this will set the team back 1 minus point (see Minus points).

4. When the sand in the timer runs out, the other teams shout "Time!". Now the other teams are allowed to take part in guessing the word too. The quickest team to guess the word gets to move 1 step forward on the game board.

5. After the last word has been explained, the team counts their points. If they have for example 7 cards in front of them on the table, they move their pawn 7 steps forward on the game board (see Minus points).

6. Return used cards to the bottom of the deck and give the deck to the next team. Now it's their turn.

7. The explaining player in the team changes on each round.

8. 

   The team that first reaches the finish space is the winner. Players finish the last round, which means other teams still have a chance to reach the finish space too.

Explaining

You are not allowed to mention any part of the word in your explanations.

For example, the word "football" can not be explained by saying "a ball that is kicked with a foot". You could say, for example, "a round thing that you try to kick into a goal". You are allowed to use synonyms (words that have the same meaning), so you can say "leg" but not "foot".

You are allowed to use opposites - the easiest way of explaining the word "large" is to say "the opposite of small". Explain as much as you can and combine many different ways of explaining!

Minus Points

If the explaining player makes a mistake and mentions a part of the word that they are explaining, they must place the card aside (possible correct answer from the team is not accepted).

Each mistake or skipped card results in 1 minus point. One minus point equals one step backward on the game board.

For example, if a team has guessed 6 words, but the explainer has made two mistakes, the team gets to move 4 spaces forward (6 - 2 = 4).

Although skipping a difficult word causes you a minus point, it might save you valuable explaining time and earn your team many points!

End of the Game

The game ends as soon as a team reaches the finish space. This team is declared to be the winner of the game.

Continue Reading