Monday , March 18 2024

Party Game Review: ‘AKA-Also Known As’ from Endless Games

AKA-Also Known As from Endless Games is a brain-tickling, shout-out-loud party game. The core concept of the game is easy: be the first to decipher the clue for a synonym answer. Players might be trying to determine a type of pasta one might call “cherub stubble” (“Angel Hair”) or a word in horse terminology fitting with “non-critical condition” (“Stable). Some of the cards are easy, and some are puzzlers, keeping each round energetic with players are on their toes to answer.

AKA-Also Known As sets two teams against one another in two distinct rounds of play. The first Main Round is head-to-head with players racing with mental reflexes to be the first to decipher a synonym clue in a category. A Host reads the card’s category and clue and then serves as judge to determine who answers fastest by raising their hand. This can often be a feat when players jump to be the first to answer and get the point. A handy dry-erase board keeps track of scores for Team 1 and Team 2.

Once a team gathers five points, the Final Round begins. The Host draws two cards, each giving one category and seven different clues with answers. A category of “Types of Lamp” would include a wide range of clues from “volcanic substance” (“Lava”) to “avenue” (“Street”). Both teams receive sixty seconds to answer as many of the clues on their card as they can. When the teams have answered all they could in their rounds, teams total up their numbers to find the winner. A tie means a whole new round of challenge.

A game of AKA-Also Known As races by with players jumping to answer. While other guessing games require players to draw or create their own lists as hints, the clues here are ready to go on the cards. Once players get their brains warmed up, they will puzzle out the answers faster and faster, getting into a perfect groove for high scores in the Final Round. With 324 Main Round cards and 162 Final Round cards, AKA-Also Known As offers a total of some 1,400 brain-teasers, meaning it will be quite a few games before players ever come across the same clue twice.

AKA –Also Known As is a party game for three or more players aged twelve and up. Each game is lightning quick, lasting only ten or fifteen minutes depending on how snappy players are with their answers. Many of the questions pull from pop culture while others are geographical or historical, making it a great balance for trivia lovers of all kinds. The puzzles balance out reflexes for people who might answer too quickly, which brings everyone together on the same playing field—as long as they have flexible minds.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBdBihGiiTk

About Jeff Provine

Jeff Provine is a Composition professor, novelist, cartoonist, and traveler of three continents. His latest book is a collection of local ghost legends, Campus Ghosts of Norman, Oklahoma.

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