In this game, players need to correctly guess a mystery word from a card. Clue givers will write down a single word that relates to the mystery word on an easel.
Players must give unique clues in order to count. If any clue is repeated, that clue is discarded and the guesser has to work with only the remaining clues. Also, the guessing player only gets one chance to guess the secret word correctly.
The name of the game is to try to come up with the best andmost unique clues possible. The right or wrong word will make all the difference.
The average playtime is only about 20 minutes. The game is recommended for ages 8 and up.
Each card has five mystery words (photo by BoardGameChick.com)
How many players can play Just One?
The cooperative game plays 3-7 players. However, party games like this one are better for larger groups. For example, it’s best if you have at least four people to play with.
What comes with the game?
The contents of the game are simple. It has 110 cards, seven easels, seven dry erase markers and a rulebook.
The high-quality easels are a nice touch compared to board games that just have a pad and pencil.
The contents are simple without feeling cheap.
Just One game set up
To begin, shuffle the deck of cards and draw 13 to create a small, face-down deck. Return the rest of the cards to the box. They will not be used.
Distribute an easel and marker to each player. Randomly select the first player.
How to play the Just One party game
The first active player draws a card without looking at it and places it in front of the other players. Then, that player chooses a number between one and five to let the other players know the mystery word.
Players may request a different number if they don’t know the chosen word.
Silently, the rest of the players write a one-word clue on their easel that relates to the chosen word, trying to be careful to write down something unique.
Then, clue givers reveal their clues to each other while the active player keeps their eyes closed.
All identical clues or invalid clues are canceled. Tip over easels with invalid answers facedown to hide the bad clues.
Finally, the active player opens their eyes, reads the remaining easels and attempts to guess the mystery word.
They only have one chance to guess correctly.
In the case of a correct answer, place the card face up next to the deck.
However, in the case of a wrong answer, return the card and a card from the top of the play deck to the game box. You lose an opportunity for a future point.
An active player can also choose to skip their turn and return the active card to the box with no extra penalty.
The player to the active player’s left will take the next turn, and the next active player repeats the process.
Example clues for “Flight” included “Orville” and “Airplane” (photo by BoardGameChick.com)
Valid or invalid clues in the Just One party game
There are rules to which clues you can and cannot give. For example …
Valid clues include:
a digit (6, 7, 8, etc.)
an acronym (FBI)
an onomatopoeia (Riiiiiiiiiing)
a special character ($, %, etc.)
Invalid clues include:
words that are in a foreign language (queso)
a word that has the same root as the mystery word (prince and princess)
an invented word (anything intentionally misspelled)
a word that is phonetically identical (weather and whether)
Clues are considered duplicates if they are from the same word family (prince and princess). Plurals or misspellings also still count as a duplicate clue and should be discarded.
What if there are no valid clues remaining?
If the guessing player has no clues to work with, place the card back to the box (you lose that point), and play continues to the active player’s left.
Is there a time limit for clue giving?
The rulebook does not specify a time limit for writing clues or offering guesses.
If you have an extra timer around and players are taking a painful amount of time to move things along, it doesn’t hurt to incorporate a timer if you feel that it’s necessary, in my unofficial rulebook opinion.
When does the game end?
The game ends when your 13-card deck is empty. At the end of the game, count the successful guesses and rate your score with the chart on the back of your rulebook.
To me, this is the most boring part of the game. Basically, you’ll either feel good or bad about yourself since everyone “wins” or “loses” together as a team.
Do the points really matter? Basically, if you’re below three points, question your life choices and move on. Or simply try to beat your previous highest score.
Can you play Just One with three people?
Yes, there is a three-player variant. During setup, players take two easels and provide two clues each. Again, duplicate clues and matching words will cancel each other out.
With party games like this one, it plays better when you have a higher player count.
The contents of the game Just One are simple. It comes with a deck of cards, easels and felt markers (photo by BoardGameChick.com)
Is Just One a good game?
Overall, yeah. It’s a fun party game and it’s very easy to play with just about anyone. One of the main reasons I like this game is its simplicity.
I’m generally a fan of party games for this reason, though.
Still, it takes a bit of a thought process to come up with good clues.
It’s the type of game that I would play multiple times. But since there are only 110 cards in the deck, it may run its course after a while since inevitably you’ll familiarize yourself with the mystery words.
I felt this happening even after only a few times of playing, but that is partially my own fault for not shuffling properly.
If you are looking for similar games, they have another game called So Clover that is similar but it plays a bit more like a puzzle.
I actually like that one for smaller groups (4-5 people) and Just One better for larger groups (5-7 people).
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