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Alias

#8316BGG ↗

1990 · 4-12 players · 60min · weight 1.25 · 1,579 ratings

no digital port yet
BGGEnrichedDeep analysis5SourcesRulesPickDeep dive
Rating
5.62
Users rated
1,579
Owned
2,311
Wishing
48

At a glance

What playing it feels like, broken down.

Core loop

Explainer describes words using sentences until teammates guess correctly; score advances on board for each correct guess.

What it gives you
How strongly each kind of experience comes through (0–3)
Sensation
0
Fantasy
0
Narrative
0
Challenge
1
Fellowship
3
Discovery
0
Expression
2
Submission
2
How it works (4 mechanics)
  • [3]semantic_overloading— “must get the other team member to say the word by using sentences to describe it”
  • [3]forced_table_talk— “explainer must change every turn; get the other team member to say the word”
  • [3]_other:word_description_under_time— “hourglass is set just before the team member starts explaining the word”
  • [2]attrition_clock— “hourglass is set just before the team member starts explaining the word”
Under-the-radar score: 0.12

Archetype fits

How well this game shape maps to mobile archetype templates. Composite is a weighted sum of the 10 fit dimensions.

ArchetypeCompositeLTFSessionComboArcShare5inOnboard
Wordle
semantic_overloading surface looks like Wordle's word mechanic, but the loop is describe-and-guess-aloud, not solo-placement deduction; no daily seed single-player puzzle structure; content_extensibility_score=3 is the strongest Wordle-adjacent feature but no emoji output or single-player arc.
3.804.0413288
Coop
Team-based structure nominally fits coop archetype, but forced_table_talk (physical explainer role) and semantic_overloading (verbal clue-giving) collapse without human participants; the game has a shared fail-state within each team but the bluff_info_asymmetry load-bearing for coop is entirely absent.
3.604.0413287
Balatro
semantic_overloading and forced_table_talk produce decisions under time pressure but these are verbal social mechanics that collapse entirely without human opponents; content_extensibility_score=3 (endless word sets) is the one genuine strength; no engine growth, no combo_scaling_depth, no solo playability.
3.404.0313287
Snap
Team-based competition and word-as-faction-resource is superficially similar to Snap's factional structure but forced_table_talk and semantic_overloading collapse without human table atmosphere; AI-generated word clues or descriptions cannot replace the spontaneous human expression that is the entire game.
3.303.0313287
Cozy
Hard tier: forced_table_talk primitive is an explicit Hard cap trigger; the entire game's value is derived from in-room social performance which is anti-cozy-digital; loss_tolerance_fit hard-capped at 3.
3.303.0313287

Raw extraction payloads

The JSON rows behind this page, before analysis turns them into candidate ranking signals.

V4 wide feature rowgame_llm_features_v4.raw_json · v4-wide · vocab v1 · 2026-05-03
{
  "bgg_id": 3818,
  "name": "Alias",
  "core_loop_micro": "Explainer describes words using sentences until teammates guess correctly; score advances on board for each correct guess.",
  "mda_aesthetic_vector": {
    "Sensation": 0,
    "Fantasy": 0,
    "Narrative": 0,
    "Challenge": 1,
    "Fellowship": 3,
    "Discovery": 0,
    "Expression": 2,
    "Submission": 2
  },
  "mech_interaction_primitives": [
    {
      "primitive": "semantic_overloading",
      "strength_0_3": 3,
      "evidence_quote": "must get the other team member to say the word by using sentences to describe it"
    },
    {
      "primitive": "forced_table_talk",
      "strength_0_3": 3,
      "evidence_quote": "explainer must change every turn; get the other team member to say the word"
    },
    {
      "primitive": "_other:word_description_under_time",
      "strength_0_3": 3,
      "evidence_quote": "hourglass is set just before the team member starts explaining the word"
    },
    {
      "primitive": "attrition_clock",
      "strength_0_3": 2,
      "evidence_quote": "hourglass is set just before the team member starts explaining the word"
    }
  ],
  "session_length_tolerance_min": 10,
  "content_extensibility_score": 3,
  "confidence": 0.8
}
V4 archetype-fit rowsgame_llm_archetype_fit_v4.raw_json · 5 archetypes
[
  {
    "archetype_id": "wordle",
    "raw_json": {
      "archetype_id": "wordle",
      "session_length_fit": 4,
      "combo_scaling_depth": 1,
      "arc_tightness": 3,
      "bluff_info_asymmetry": 1,
      "content_extensibility_fit": 5,
      "solo_decision_density": 2,
      "share_emoji_output": 2,
      "loss_tolerance_fit": 4,
      "visual_legibility_5in_fit": 8,
      "onboarding_cliff_fit": 8,
      "archetype_fit_rationale": "semantic_overloading surface looks like Wordle's word mechanic, but the loop is describe-and-guess-aloud, not solo-placement deduction; no daily seed single-player puzzle structure; content_extensibility_score=3 is the strongest Wordle-adjacent feature but no emoji output or single-player arc.",
      "mda_survival": {
        "Sensation": {
          "verdict": "does-not-survive",
          "condition": null
        },
        "Fantasy": {
          "verdict": "does-not-survive",
          "condition": null
        },
        "Narrative": {
          "verdict": "does-not-survive",
          "condition": null
        },
        "Challenge": {
          "verdict": "does-not-survive",
          "condition": null
        },
        "Fellowship": {
          "verdict": "does-not-survive",
          "condition": null
        },
        "Discovery": {
          "verdict": "does-not-survive",
          "condition": null
        },
        "Expression": {
          "verdict": "does-not-survive",
          "condition": null
        },
        "Submission": {
          "verdict": "does-not-survive",
          "condition": null
        }
      }
    }
  },
  {
    "archetype_id": "coop",
    "raw_json": {
      "archetype_id": "coop",
      "session_length_fit": 4,
      "combo_scaling_depth": 1,
      "arc_tightness": 3,
      "bluff_info_asymmetry": 2,
      "content_extensibility_fit": 3,
      "solo_decision_density": 2,
      "share_emoji_output": 2,
      "loss_tolerance_fit": 4,
      "visual_legibility_5in_fit": 8,
      "onboarding_cliff_fit": 7,
      "archetype_fit_rationale": "Team-based structure nominally fits coop archetype, but forced_table_talk (physical explainer role) and semantic_overloading (verbal clue-giving) collapse without human participants; the game has a shared fail-state within each team but the bluff_info_asymmetry load-bearing for coop is entirely absent.",
      "mda_survival": {
        "Sensation": {
          "verdict": "does-not-survive",
          "condition": null
        },
        "Fantasy": {
          "verdict": "does-not-survive",
          "condition": null
        },
        "Narrative": {
          "verdict": "does-not-survive",
          "condition": null
        },
        "Challenge": {
          "verdict": "does-not-survive",
          "condition": null
        },
        "Fellowship": {
          "verdict": "does-not-survive",
          "condition": null
        },
        "Discovery": {
          "verdict": "does-not-survive",
          "condition": null
        },
        "Expression": {
          "verdict": "does-not-survive",
          "condition": null
        },
        "Submission": {
          "verdict": "does-not-survive",
          "condition": null
        }
      }
    }
  },
  {
    "archetype_id": "balatro",
    "raw_json": {
      "archetype_id": "balatro",
      "session_length_fit": 3,
      "combo_scaling_depth": 1,
      "arc_tightness": 3,
      "bluff_info_asymmetry": 1,
      "content_extensibility_fit": 3,
      "solo_decision_density": 2,
      "share_emoji_output": 2,
      "loss_tolerance_fit": 4,
      "visual_legibility_5in_fit": 8,
      "onboarding_cliff_fit": 7,
      "archetype_fit_rationale": "semantic_overloading and forced_table_talk produce decisions under time pressure but these are verbal social mechanics that collapse entirely without human opponents; content_extensibility_score=3 (endless word sets) is the one genuine strength; no engine growth, no combo_scaling_depth, no solo playability.",
      "mda_survival": {
        "Sensation": {
          "verdict": "does-not-survive",
          "condition": null
        },
        "Fantasy": {
          "verdict": "does-not-survive",
          "condition": null
        },
        "Narrative": {
          "verdict": "does-not-survive",
          "condition": null
        },
        "Challenge": {
          "verdict": "does-not-survive",
          "condition": null
        },
        "Fellowship": {
          "verdict": "does-not-survive",
          "condition": null
        },
        "Discovery": {
          "verdict": "does-not-survive",
          "condition": null
        },
        "Expression": {
          "verdict": "does-not-survive",
          "condition": null
        },
        "Submission": {
          "verdict": "does-not-survive",
          "condition": null
        }
      }
    }
  },
  {
    "archetype_id": "snap",
    "raw_json": {
      "archetype_id": "snap",
      "session_length_fit": 3,
      "combo_scaling_depth": 1,
      "arc_tightness": 3,
      "bluff_info_asymmetry": 2,
      "content_extensibility_fit": 3,
      "solo_decision_density": 1,
      "share_emoji_output": 2,
      "loss_tolerance_fit": 3,
      "visual_legibility_5in_fit": 8,
      "onboarding_cliff_fit": 7,
      "archetype_fit_rationale": "Team-based competition and word-as-faction-resource is superficially similar to Snap's factional structure but forced_table_talk and semantic_overloading collapse without human table atmosphere; AI-generated word clues or descriptions cannot replace the spontaneous human expression that is the entire game.",
      "mda_survival": {
        "Sensation": {
          "verdict": "does-not-survive",
          "condition": null
        },
        "Fantasy": {
          "verdict": "does-not-survive",
          "condition": null
        },
        "Narrative": {
          "verdict": "does-not-survive",
          "condition": null
        },
        "Challenge": {
          "verdict": "does-not-survive",
          "condition": null
        },
        "Fellowship": {
          "verdict": "does-not-survive",
          "condition": null
        },
        "Discovery": {
          "verdict": "does-not-survive",
          "condition": null
        },
        "Expression": {
          "verdict": "does-not-survive",
          "condition": null
        },
        "Submission": {
          "verdict": "does-not-survive",
          "condition": null
        }
      }
    }
  },
  {
    "archetype_id": "cozy",
    "raw_json": {
      "archetype_id": "cozy",
      "session_length_fit": 3,
      "combo_scaling_depth": 1,
      "arc_tightness": 3,
      "bluff_info_asymmetry": 1,
      "content_extensibility_fit": 3,
      "solo_decision_density": 2,
      "share_emoji_output": 2,
      "loss_tolerance_fit": 3,
      "visual_legibility_5in_fit": 8,
      "onboarding_cliff_fit": 7,
      "archetype_fit_rationale": "Hard tier: forced_table_talk primitive is an explicit Hard cap trigger; the entire game's value is derived from in-room social performance which is anti-cozy-digital; loss_tolerance_fit hard-capped at 3.",
      "mda_survival": {
        "Sensation": {
          "verdict": "does-not-survive",
          "condition": null
        },
        "Fantasy": {
          "verdict": "does-not-survive",
          "condition": null
        },
        "Narrative": {
          "verdict": "does-not-survive",
          "condition": null
        },
        "Challenge": {
          "verdict": "does-not-survive",
          "condition": null
        },
        "Fellowship": {
          "verdict": "does-not-survive",
          "condition": null
        },
        "Discovery": {
          "verdict": "does-not-survive",
          "condition": null
        },
        "Expression": {
          "verdict": "does-not-survive",
          "condition": null
        },
        "Submission": {
          "verdict": "does-not-survive",
          "condition": null
        }
      }
    }
  }
]

BGG tags

Categories (3)
Party GameTriviaWord Game