A turn starts with a hold
The phone goes from hand to hand, so a plain tap could start a turn by accident. You have to hold the button, and the 3, 2, 1 countdown gives you a moment to lift the phone.
Party game on one phone
Alias
You describe the word on the screen without saying it. The others guess as many as they can before the clock hits zero.
- Platform
- iPhone, iOS 15 or later
- Price
- Free, Premium is a one-time purchase
- Languages
- English, Polish, German, Italian, Spanish, French
- Age rating
- 17+
One turn on film
The film shows a turn in a team game: the words, the clock and the screen where the phone goes to the next person.
How to play
Describe, don’t say
A word appears on the screen. You explain it in other words and the others try to guess.
Got it or Skip
After each word you tap Got it or Skip and get the next one straight away. Only the clock ends the turn.
Pass the phone
After the turn you see how many words were guessed and who describes next. That person holds the button and the clock starts after a 3, 2, 1 countdown.
Modes and categories
A free game is 3 turns of 60 seconds. In Premium a turn can last 30, 60, 90 or 120 seconds and a game 3, 5, 7 or 10 turns.
Quick game
Everyone plays for one shared score, with no teams and no names. At the end you get between zero and three stars.
Team game
Red plays against Blue, with two to eight people on a team. The game remembers the names, so a rematch starts with one button.
Categories
Objects, Animals, Food, Sports, Jobs, Movies & TV, Places, Actions, and Mixed, which draws words from those eight. The 18+ category is in Premium and asks for your age every time.
Free and Premium
You get 5 free games, then an hour’s wait or one ad for an extra game. Premium is a one-time purchase: the limit and ads go away, and you get the settings and the 18+ category.
What I did
My friends and I played word-guessing games and wanted a comfortable version on a phone. I made it on my own, from the rules to the App Store release.
- Rules
- Two modes, scoring and the screen for passing the phone between turns.
- Screen design
- A cream background, black outlines and a separate colour for each category.
- Development
- The whole iPhone game: screens, the turn clock, scoring and drawing words without repeats.
- Words
- 3435 words in each of six languages, sorted into nine categories.
- Sound and vibration
- Four end-of-time sounds, ticking in the last three seconds, a vibration at the start and end of a turn.
- Store
- The Premium purchase, ads and the App Store release.
Decisions
Alias has a cream background, thick black outlines and strong colours. Below are a few things I settled for a game played around a table, with the phone going from hand to hand.
Colours and type
#fffdf5#ffd93d#ff6b6b#4d9de0#3ddc84#b39ddb#ff8fc7
Archivo Black, Space Grotesk
Technology
A skip gives the rivals a point
In a team game it does not pay to tap through a hard word. Every skipped word is a point for the other team.
“Got it” is wider than “Skip”
You tap this button a dozen times a turn, often without looking at the screen. It got more room than the one next to it.
A started game always finishes
The free limit counts whole games, not turns, so it never runs out halfway through. An ad will not stop the game either: if it fails to load, you keep playing.
Words that fit the country
The German, Italian, Spanish and French versions have their own film titles, places and dishes. The Polish ones would mean nothing abroad.
- words per language
- 3435
- categories
- 10
- languages
- 6
Screens
Alias