How to Play Alias Online

4 min read · Free to play on Boardly · 4–16 players

What You Need

1Teams take turnsTeams alternate. At the start of each turn, one player from the active team becomes the Describer.
2The Describer sees a wordOnly the Describer can see the word on screen. The clock starts ticking — usually 30 to 60 seconds depending on your settings.
3Describe the word — without saying itUse any words, comparisons, stories, or gestures to help your team guess. The only rules: you cannot say the word itself or any part of it.
4Team guesses out loudYour teammates shout their guesses. If someone gets it right, the Describer marks it correct and moves to the next word. Wrong guesses are fine — keep going.
5Score and swapWhen the timer runs out, your team scores one point per correct word. Then the other team takes their turn with a new Describer.
6First team to the point goal winsKeep playing rounds until one team hits the score limit. The team with the most points wins.

❌ The word itself

Word: Elephant → cannot say "Elephant"

❌ Any part of the word

Word: Football → cannot say "foot" or "ball"

❌ Sound-alike words

Word: Knight → cannot say "night"

🗣️ Start with easy words
Do not get stuck on the first hard word. Skip it and come back — collecting easy points first builds your score and your team's confidence.
🗣️ Use comparisons
"Like a car but you ride it and it has two wheels" works well. Compare the unknown thing to something your team definitely knows.
🗣️ Move fast, do not overthink
The timer is your enemy. A rough description said quickly is worth more than a perfect one that takes 10 seconds to build.
🗣️ Use gestures for tricky words
Gestures are allowed. If you cannot find the right words, show what you mean — mime it, point at things in the room.

👥 Shout everything
Wrong guesses do not cost points. Say whatever comes to mind — you might land on the right word by accident.
👥 Listen for clues in the description
Sometimes the way a word is described tells you its category — animal, place, action. Use that to narrow down your guesses.
👥 Build on each other
If a teammate guesses "bird" and the Describer reacts positively, try specific birds. Team guessing works best when players build on each other's ideas.

Team setup: Split your group into 2 teams before the game. The game supports 4 to 16 players total.

Turn timer: Choose 30, 60, 90, or 120 seconds per turn depending on how fast-paced you want the game.

No account needed: Share a lobby link — everyone joins as a guest. Works on any device.

Gather your teams and start describing.