Alias (board game)
Alias is a Finnish board game . This game is about explaining terms, it is suitable for both children and adults. The original of the board game was developed by Mikko Koivusalo and published by Tactic in early 1990 . There are now several versions, and it has also been published in English and Swedish. The game mechanics are very similar to Tabu .
Game material
- 1 game board
- 1 hourglass
- 6 pawns
- 400 cards with words
regulate
You play with at least two teams. The minimum number of players is four, there is no upper limit. With Alias you have to rewrite words, make explanations without naming the word you are looking for. These words are e.g. B. Verbs, adjectives, nouns, names of famous people, colors, etc. The words on the cards are not classified by word class. Last but not least, it is about luck whether a team gets easy or difficult words. The word must be explained using synonyms, opposites and other paraphrases so that the partner or partners can guess as many words as possible while the hourglass is running. Only the exact basic form of a word is acceptable as a solution. At the game board, the team moves forward according to the number of correct answers. Whoever crosses the finish line first is the winner.
Game flow
- The word cards are shuffled and placed in their game box. The last card in each box must be turned over so that it indicates when the deck of cards needs to be reshuffled.
- The order of the players is agreed upon, e.g. B. by age, decide.
- The first team decides who will explain first and who will advise. The explainer takes about 15 to 20 word cards in his hand and the opponents choose a number from 1 to 8, e.g. number 4. As soon as the hourglass is turned, the explainer rewrites all the words with the number 4 on each card. Whenever a word is guessed by your team, the explainer moves on to the next card.
- When the hourglass has run through, the opponents shout “beep” and are allowed to guess the last word, whereby the faster team gets the last point.
- When the last word is guessed, the correct answers the team got are counted. The team moves the corresponding number of spaces forward on the game board. The used cards are placed under the deck of cards.
- Now it is the turn of the other team in the same way.
- After the first round of guessing, the number of the words to be explained is displayed on the board, the playing fields are numbered from 1 to 8. The playing field on which the team is located shows the number of the words to be explained.
- The explainer changes every round.
- The first team to cross the finish line is the winner.
Alias as a means of language learning
Verbal skills are playfully expanded to explain words. Activating the thought process is a key factor in efficient learning. The players become more quick-witted and expand their vocabulary and expression. Under certain circumstances - depending on what has been agreed - it may also be permitted to use a foreign-language equivalent to explain a word. As a result, not only native language but also foreign language skills can be trained. A game to explain words can also be useful when learning a language, Alias could be played as a translation game. For example, the player can translate the Finnish word “ilmapallo” as “balloon”.
Finnish variants
Many different variants are common in the Finnish area.
- "New Alias" is a modernized edition. The rules are the same as for traditional aliases, but the playing fields are categorized according to 1. Things, 2. People and Professions, 3. Adjectives, and 4. Verbs.
- “Special Alias” is included in the New Alias, shown on the back of the New Alias game board. The playing fields are categorized according to 1. Our environment, 2. Sports, 3. Entertainment and culture, 4. Idioms and phrases.
- “Music Alias” is a version that deals with musical subjects. The explanations are sung. A small plastic piano is included.
- "Junior-Alias" is a version that is suitable for children. In addition to the words, there are also pictures.
- "Party-Alias" is a version in which words are also explained, but when the pawn comes to stand on a "party field", the player must e.g. B. tell funny stories, describe celebrities or explain the words in an unusual position, e.g. B. hopping. In Party Alias, players must also explain the words in different moods, e.g. B. hysterical, angry, scared or drunk.
- “Family Alias” is not played in teams, but each individual player moves his own character. Children and adults have their own word explanation cards.
- "Moomin Alias" contains words and images related to the Moomin theme.
- "High School Musical Party-Alias": Disney's musical film High School Musical is the subject of this variant. The player must z. B. Guess which character in the film the other player is explaining.
- "Alias-DVD", a DVD version with the Finnish presenter Marco Bjurström .
- "Etelä-Pohjalaanen-Alias" the words and phrases are in the South Ostrobothnian dialect.
swell
- http://www.lautapelit.fi/Alias_ENG
- http://www.tactic.net/site/rules/FIN/02260.pdf
- fi: Mikko Koivusalo
- http://www.tabu.de/
- fi: alias (lautapeli)
- http://www.tactic.net/info.php?lang=FIN&k1=&k2=&k3=
Web links
- Alias in the game database BoardGameGeek (English)
- List of Alias variants at BoardGameGeek (English)