Party Alias Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Contents
• Rules of the Game
• Word Cards
• Explaining Words
• Errors and Skips
• Party Field Explanations
• Party Spaces
  • Storytime — Tell a Crazy Story!
  • Smiley — Give Free Rein to Your Emotions!
  • Poses — Strike a Pose!
  • Celebrity Card — Describe a Celebrity!
• Brief Rules of the Game

Contents

Game board with rotating spinner, 6 game pawns, 400 cards (290 word cards, 96 celebrity cards, 8 smiley cards, 6 pose cards), and 1 sand timer.

Rules of the Game

1. Set the rotating spinner on the game board.

2. Place the word cards face down in separate stacks next to each team. Place the position cards and smiley cards face down on the spaces marked for them on the board.

3. Each team takes a blank celebrity card and writes 8 names on it, for example, the names of acquaintances and friends. Then shuffle these cards together with the rest of the celebrity cards, split them into two stacks, and place them face down on the game board.

4. Each team chooses a game pawn and places it on the Start space.

5. Teams take turns choosing a player who will explain words in the first round. This player takes a number of word cards from the board (10-15 pieces). Each card has 8 words. The other teams then choose a number from 1 to 8 — for example, 4. The sand timer is turned over and the player starts explaining the word under number 4 (see Explaining Words). When the team guesses the correct answer, the explainer puts the card on the table and starts explaining the word under number 4 on the next card.

6. When the sand in the timer runs out, the other teams shout "Stop!" If the player continues explaining the word after that, all teams have the right to guess. The team that gives the correct answer fastest wins and has the right to move one step forward on the game board.

7. The number of cards on the table shows how many moves forward the team can make (see Errors and Skips).

8. The turn passes to the next team. Used cards are returned to the bottom of the deck. Unused cards are passed to the next explainer, who may also want to take several new cards from the board.

9. The spaces with numbers on the game board are numbered from 1 to 8, and now the number of the word that must be explained will be determined by the number on which the team's pawn is standing. Team members take turns explaining words.

10. There are also "Party" spaces on the game board. When a pawn lands on one of these spaces at the start of its turn, a special way of explaining is used (see Party Explanations). Successfully completing a "Party" task gives the team the right to spin the bonus wheel in the middle of the game board and move forward faster!

11. The team that first reaches the finish wins the game!

Word Cards

The words on the cards are arranged in random order. It all depends on luck — which words you get, easy or difficult.

Explaining Words

When explaining a word, you cannot mention any part of the word itself. For example, the word "coffee maker" cannot be explained as "a device for making coffee." The correct way to explain it would be: "a device for preparing a strong drink that people usually drink at breakfast." You can use synonyms — that is, you can say "boil," but not "brew."

The guessed word must match exactly. The explaining player helps the guessers find the correct form of the word. If a word has two parts and someone guesses the first part, you may then use that part of the word in the rest of your explanation.

You may use antonyms. The word "big" can be explained as "the antonym of small."

You may not use foreign languages, except when all players have agreed to allow it.

Give as many hints and clues as possible until the word is guessed or the sand in the timer runs out. However, the most important thing to remember is that this is a party game, and you should not take these rules too seriously! Agree among yourselves how flexible the rules can be.

Errors and Skips

If the explaining player makes a mistake — for example, says part of the word shown on the card — the word is not accepted, and the team must move one space back. That is why every team should listen carefully to the other teams' explanations.

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

If a word seems too difficult, you may skip it, but remember that doing so means you must move one space back. Sometimes, however, it is worth it, since you can save time.

Party Field Explanations

Every time a team successfully completes a "Party" space task, it has the right to spin the bonus wheel, which gives bonus points (1-3). This means the team can move forward by the number of spaces equal to the number of words it guessed, plus the number of steps shown by the spinner. The sand timer is used the same way as during ordinary explanations.

Party Spaces

Storytime — Tell a Crazy Story!

Explain all the words by telling a complete story — the team tries to guess them. Turn over the sand timer and begin your story, using the words from the card in the order they are listed on the card. If time remains, you may continue the story with the next card. If you skip words, the normal rules for skipping words apply. If you manage to tell the story so that your team guesses 8 words, your team gets the right to spin the bonus wheel.

Smiley — Give Free Rein to Your Emotions!

Take the top Smiley card from the stack. This card shows which emotion you must use while explaining words: Embarrassment, Anger, Joy, Tears, Fear, Madness, Sadness, or Hysteria. Start the sand timer. Begin explaining the words from the word cards (next to the number shown on the party space) while acting out the given emotional state using only your voice, facial expression, and body language. The team tries to guess the words. If you manage to explain all the words in the given emotional state, your team gets the right to spin the bonus wheel, but only if the other teams find your explanations convincing. The Smiley card is shown to all players.

Poses — Strike a Pose!

Take the top Pose card from the stack. Start the sand timer and begin explaining the words from the word cards (next to the number shown on the party space) while holding the pose shown on the card (jumping, sitting, standing on one leg, and so on). The team tries to guess the words. If you manage to hold the pose while explaining words until time runs out, your team gets the right to spin the bonus wheel. The Pose card is shown to all players.

Celebrity Card — Describe a Celebrity!

Take the top celebrity card from the stack. Start the sand timer and begin describing the listed celebrities in the order they are listed on the card. Your teammates try to guess them. As long as time remains, you may continue with the next card. If you skip names, the normal rules for skipping words apply. If you manage to get your team to guess 8 celebrities, your team gets the right to spin the bonus wheel for bonus points, and the number of points determines the number of EXTRA spaces you move.

In addition to real celebrities and the names of musical groups, the cards also list the names of well-known comics and cartoon characters.

Brief Rules of the Game

1. Teams take turns, and within each team, players also take turns explaining.
2. Spaces are numbered from 1 to 8. The team's pawn indicates the number of the word that must be explained (except in the first round).
3. The number of correctly guessed words equals the number of spaces the team may move its pawn forward.
4. The number of mistakes and skipped words equals the number of spaces the team must move its pawn back.
5. When you land on a Party space, you describe celebrities or explain words in a specific way.
6. When a team successfully completes a Party space task, it gets the right to spin the bonus wheel for bonus points, and the number of points determines the number of EXTRA spaces the team moves.
7. The team that first reaches the finish wins the game!