Just One

2018

Just One is a captivating cooperative party game where players team up to uncover mystery words. With a unique twist on clues and scoring, it's a race to get as close to 13 points as possible. A reimagining of 'We Are The Word', now with a global appeal!

60
minutes

3 - 7
player(s)

Medium Light

About the game

‘Just One’ is an exciting and engaging cooperative party board game that will keep you and your friends on the edge of your seats. The game’s theme and setting are not confined to a particular scenario or place, which makes it a versatile choice for all types of gatherings. Its inherent simplicity and appeal lie in its core mechanics which revolve around word guessing and teamwork.

In ‘Just One’, players take turns guessing a secret word, while the rest of the players provide a single, unique clue to help the guesser. The twist? If any players provide the same clue, those clues are cancelled out, leaving the guesser with less information. This adds a layer of strategy and anticipation to the game, as players must think creatively and uniquely to assist their teammate.

Game components Unboxing the fun!

Just One is a cooperative party game where players work together to discover as many mystery words as possible. The game components include:

1. 110 Cards: Each card features a list of mystery words. In each round, one player will select a card and without looking at it, will place it on the easel.

2. Easel: This is a small plastic stand where the selected card is placed. The player who picked the card will position it in a way that they cannot see the selected word, but the rest of the players can.

3. 7 Easels: These are used by the other players to write down their one-word clues. When the guesser is ready, the other players reveal their clues by placing their easels facing the guesser.

4. Dry Erase Markers: These are used by the players to write their one-word clues on the easels.

5. Rulebook: This contains all the rules and instructions needed to play the game. The rules explain how to set up the game, how each round is played, and how the game is won.

Interaction in the game:

During each round, one player (the guesser) selects a card and places it on the easel without looking at the word. The other players then write down a one-word clue related to the word on their own easels. Once everyone has written their clues, they are revealed to the guesser. If the guesser correctly guesses the word based on the clues, the team scores a point. The game continues until all the cards have been used, and the team with the most points wins.

However, there’s a twist: before the clues are revealed to the guesser, the other players must compare their clues. If two or more players have written the same clue, those clues are erased and the guesser will not see them. This encourages players to come up with unique clues to help the guesser.

Game setup Lay it out, line it up, let’s go

‘Just One’ is a fun and interactive cooperative party game where players work together to discover as many mystery words as possible. The game is simple to set up and can be played by 3 to 7 players. Here are the step-by-step instructions to set up the game:

1. Distribute the game components:

First, remove the game components from the box. The game contains 110 cards with 550 words, 7 easels, 7 erasable felt markers, and a rulebook.
Each player should receive an easel and a marker.

2. Shuffle the cards:

Shuffle the deck of cards and place it in the center of the play area, within reach of all players.

3. Decide the order of play:

Randomly decide who will be the first active player. The active player changes every round, so each player will get a chance to play this role.

4. Start the first round:

The active player takes a card from the deck without looking at it and places it on their easel so that only the other players can see it. Each card has 5 words printed on it.
The other players silently choose one of the words and write down a one-word clue related to it on their easel.
Once all players have written their clues, they compare them. Any duplicate clues are erased and cannot be used in this round.
The active player then turns around their easel, reads the remaining clues, and tries to guess the word.

5. Continue to the next round:

Once the active player has made their guess, the role of the active player passes to the next player in clockwise order, and a new round begins.

Note: The game continues until all cards in the deck have been used, or until the players decide to end the game. The team’s final score is the total number of cards correctly guessed.

6. Scoring:

After all rounds are complete, players count the number of cards that were correctly guessed. This is the team’s score. The aim is to achieve the highest score possible.

Game flow Round and round we go

‘Just One’ is a cooperative party game that involves guessing and creativity. The game is played in rounds, with each player taking turns to be the guesser while the rest of the players are clue-givers. The game continues until all 13 cards have been played or the deck runs out. The aim is to score as many points as possible.

The game is divided into the following phases:

Choosing a Mystery Word: At the start of each round, one player becomes the guesser. This player closes their eyes or looks away while another player draws a card from the deck and places it on the easel. The clue-givers then silently agree on a number between 1 and 5, corresponding to one of the words on the card. The guesser opens their eyes and sees only the number, not the word.
Writing Clues: Once the word is chosen, each clue-giver writes a one-word clue on their easel. The aim is to help the guesser identify the mystery word. The clue can’t be a variant or a translation of the word, and it can’t contain hyphens or spaces.
Comparing Clues: Before the guesser can look at the clues, the clue-givers must compare their clues. If two or more clues are identical, they get cancelled out and aren’t shown to the guesser.
Guessing the Word: The guesser now looks at the remaining clues and tries to guess the mystery word. They only get one guess. If they guess correctly, the round is a success and the card is used to keep track of the score. If they guess incorrectly or pass, the round is a failure and the card is discarded.
Next Round: Once the round is over, the guesser role passes to the next player and a new round begins.

In terms of scoring, the players collectively aim for the highest score possible. A perfect game scores 13 points, but any score above 9 is considered excellent.

Players'turn One turn to rule them all

In ‘Just One’, players take turns being the “active player”. The goal of the game is to guess as many words as possible, with the help of the other players. The game is cooperative, meaning everyone is working together to achieve the highest score.

Setup:

At the start of each round, the active player draws a card without looking at it and displays it to the other players. Each card has a number from 1 to 5, and the active player chooses a number.

Choosing Clues:

Each of the other players then writes down a clue on their easel to help the active player guess the word. The clues should be just one word and cannot be a word that is a form or part of the word to be guessed. This is where strategy comes into play because each player needs to think about what clue would be most helpful without being too obvious.

Comparing Clues:

Once everyone has written their clue, they compare them. If two or more players have written the same clue, those clues are cancelled out and won’t be shown to the active player. This introduces another layer of strategy – players need to think not just about what the best clue might be, but also what clues other players are likely to write.

Guessing the Word:

The remaining clues are then revealed to the active player, who must try to guess the word based on these clues. If they guess correctly, the team scores a point. If they guess incorrectly or choose not to guess, the team does not score. The game encourages strategic decision-making here too: sometimes it might be better not to guess if you’re unsure, to avoid giving the team a penalty.

End of Turn:

After the active player takes their guess, the turn ends. The role of active player passes to the left, and a new round begins.

Scoring:

The game ends after a predetermined number of rounds, and the team’s final score is the total number of correct guesses. The aim of the game is to score as high as possible – the maximum possible score is 13.

Strategy Tips:

Try to think of unique clues that other players are unlikely to write, to avoid your clue being cancelled out.
Don’t be too obscure with your clues – they need to be helpful to the active player.
When guessing, consider all of the clues together instead of focusing on just one.
If you’re not sure about a guess, it might be better to skip rather than risk a penalty.

End of the game All good games must come to an end

The game of ‘Just One’ ends when players have gone through all the rounds, which equals the number of players times three. This means if there are five players, the game would consist of fifteen rounds.

Victory Conditions:

In ‘Just One’, all players work together as a team, so the game doesn’t have individual winners or losers. The aim is to achieve the highest score possible. The scoring is based on the number of correctly guessed mystery words. The possible outcomes are:

13 or more words: You are a mind reader! Exceptional teamwork.
10 to 12 words: Well done! You and your friends are in perfect harmony.
7 to 9 words: Not bad! But there’s room for improvement.
4 to 6 words: You should probably have a serious talk with your friends.
0 to 3 words: You and your friends are not on the same wavelength at all.

Actions before Final Scoring:

Before calculating the final score, players must complete the following steps:

Finish the current round: The game does not end immediately when the last card is drawn. Players must finish the current round of guessing and clue-giving.
Count the score: After the final round is completed, players count the number of successfully guessed words throughout the game. This will be their final score.
Refer to the victory conditions: Players then refer to the victory conditions to determine how well they performed as a team.

Remember, the goal of ‘Just One’ is not only to win but also to have fun and enjoy the challenges of non-verbal communication and collaboration.

Scoring Did you outsmart your rivals?

In the party game ‘Just One’, scoring is an integral part of the gameplay. The objective is to score as many points as possible as a team, through successful guessing of secret words. Points are awarded based on successful guesses and lost in the event of unsuccessful attempts.

Scoring System:

Successful Guess: If the active player is able to correctly guess the secret word, the team is awarded one point.
Unsuccessful Guess: If the active player is unable to guess the secret word, or guesses incorrectly, no points are awarded and one point is removed from the team’s total score.
No Guess: If the active player chooses not to guess the secret word, no points are awarded or lost.
Eliminated Clues: If any clues are eliminated because they are identical to another player’s clue, no points are lost. However, this may make it more difficult for the active player to guess the word, potentially leading to a loss of points.

Tie-Breaking Rules:

In ‘Just One’, as a cooperative game, there is typically no need for a tie-breaker as players are working together to achieve the highest score possible. However, if players want to add a competitive edge to the game, they may decide to use the number of successful guesses they have individually contributed as a tie-breaker.

For example, if two players have each contributed the same number of successful guesses, the player who contributed the most unique clues (i.e., clues that were not eliminated due to being identical to another player’s clue) could be considered the winner.

Particular Cases and Exceptions Wait… is that legal?

The game ‘Just One’ is relatively straightforward, but there are a few rare rules, exceptions, and clarifications that can be important:

Clue Givers:

If two or more clue givers write the same clue word, they must cancel out their clues and they are not shown to the guesser. It’s important to note that the words are considered the same regardless of whether they are in singular or plural form, or if they are the same word in different languages.
If a clue giver writes a clue that is made up of more than one word, the clue is cancelled and not shown to the guesser. The only exception to this rule is if the clue is a recognized proper noun, like ‘New York’.

Guesser:

If the guesser cannot guess the word within the given time, they can pass and move on to the next word. However, this counts as a failed attempt and the team loses that round.
The guesser is not allowed to make any guesses until they have seen all valid clue words.

Scoring:

If the guesser correctly guesses the word, the team scores 1 point. If the guesser fails to guess the word or if they pass, the team does not score any points.
If a clue giver breaks any of the clue giving rules and the guesser correctly guesses the word, the team does not score any points for that round.

Gameplay:

The game ends when all 13 word cards have been used. The team then counts the number of points they have scored. The maximum possible score is 13 points.
There is no penalty for discussing strategy or planning ahead during the game. However, clue givers are not allowed to discuss the clues that they are going to write before they write them.

Tips and tricks Play smarter, not harder!

Just One is a cooperative party game where players work together to discover as many mystery words as possible. It’s all about strategy, creativity, and teamwork. Here are some strategies, tips, and common mistakes to avoid in ‘Just One’.

Advanced Strategies:

Try to think of a clue that is indirectly related to the word. If your clue is too obvious, there’s a good chance another player will write the same clue.
Think about the other players’ knowledge base. If you know a player has a particular area of expertise, use that to your advantage when writing your clues.
Don’t limit yourself to single-word clues. Sometimes, a phrase or a sentence can give a clearer clue and less chance of duplication.

Beginner Tips:

Try not to overthink your clues. Your first instinct is often the best one.
Keep your clues simple. Avoid complicated or obscure clues as these can be confusing to the guesser.
Cooperate with your team. Remember, you’re all working together to guess as many words as possible.

Common Mistakes to Avoid:

Avoid using clues that are too similar to the mystery word. If your clue is too close to the word, it will be removed.
Don’t forget to consider the other players’ clues. If your clue is identical to another player’s, both will be cancelled out.
Avoid giving vague clues. If your clue isn’t clear enough, it might not help the guesser and could even lead them in the wrong direction.

Ways to Optimize Gameplay:

Communicate with your team. A strong team dynamic can be the difference between victory and defeat.
Practice makes perfect. The more you play, the better you’ll get at coming up with unique clues.
Stay positive. Even if a round doesn’t go well, keep the mood light and don’t get discouraged. Remember, it’s just a game and the goal is to have fun.