LogFAQs > #966751909

30. Just One

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/254640/just-one

Category: Cooperative
Key mechanics: Clue-giving, word game, separate hands
Rules complexity (0 to 7): 0
Game length: <1 minute per turn
First played: 2019
Experience: 4-6 plays with 4-10+ players

Just One is a micro-party-game. One player is a guesser, and everyone else is a clue-giver. All the clue-givers write down one word each, and then the guesser looks at those words and attempts to guess the word. The catch - before the guesser can look at their clues, all of the cluegivers show each other their words. Each clue-word that is shown twice on a guesser's card is then discarded, and the guesser must proceed without the benefit of those words.

The fun is seeing if the word is "tuna," which players are going to be the bold ones who go with "fish," and which ones will go with "salad," "yellowfin," and the like. It's of the family of party games that is relatively resilient against replay, since you don't know who will change their clue this time, and who will end up with collisions, and what type of words the main guesser will be left with. It results in laughs and nods for cleverness and clever moments, and "argh, but WHY" moments - in other words, a lot of the stuff you want in a party game.

This is one of those games that lacks game-i-ness. I think there's some sort of scorekeeping, but it's obviously trivial. It's probably a stretch for me to have this game this high, but I do enjoy it. There will be further games that are even less game-y but which gave a fair share of entertainment in 2021, and hey, that is the purpose of this list!