Ali: the Hebrew Party Word Game
Teams explain Hebrew words against an hourglass and race a pin up the map from Eilat to Jerusalem. Every card carries nikud, a transliteration and the English, so Israelis and Americans play the same game at the same table. Free in the baba app.
Free in the baba app. No subscription needed to play.
How It Works
Split into teams
Two to six teams of two to six people, so four players is the minimum. One phone per team; the free baba app on each.
Host a game
One phone taps Host and gets a four-letter code. The other teams join by typing it, scanning the QR, or opening the link you share on WhatsApp.
Explain for sixty seconds
One explainer, one card at a time, a real hourglass. Your team has to say the Hebrew word. Got It moves your pin forward; Skip moves it back.
Race up the map
Every phone shows the road from Eilat to Jerusalem with every team's pin on it. The first team into Jerusalem wins.
Built for a Table That Speaks Both
Every card, both ways
The Hebrew word with nikud, the transliteration underneath it, and the English. A guest who reads no Hebrew can still explain the card, and an Israeli who has never seen the English word is not stuck either.
Explain in either language
Explaining is allowed in Hebrew, English or both, and the host can lock a game to one. Whatever the explainer says, the guess that counts is the Hebrew word.
The other teams referee
Because every team has its own phone, the teams that are not explaining see the card. If the explainer says the word, part of it, a rhyme, or spells it, they call a foul: the card is lost and the pin goes one space back.
No decks, no categories
Every card is random from the whole pool of about 1,300 words, with no repeats in a game. Nobody gets an easy round and nobody gets the medical-terms round.
The Road to Jerusalem
The board is a thirty-space road up a map of Israel, from Eilat at the bottom to Jerusalem at the top, and every phone shows it with each team's pin. Three kinds of space change the next turn.
Hebrew Only
Land here and your next turn is explained in Hebrew alone. The English speakers at the table suddenly earn their keep.
Slang
The next turn is all Israeli slang: the cards Israelis use daily and no textbook teaches. There are 108 of them in the pool.
Everyone Plays
Every team guesses at once. Each word goes to whoever says it first, so the whole table is shouting for one turn.
Joining a Game
The host's phone starts the game and shows a four-letter code. Every other team joins on its own phone by typing the code, scanning the QR from inside the app, or tapping the link the host shares on WhatsApp. Once everyone is in, the host sets the language rule (Hebrew, English or both) and starts the hourglass.
When the sand runs out, a beep sounds and the last word on the card is open to every team: the first to say it takes the space. Then the next team explains. Game sounds and light background music run under the whole thing, and both can be switched off.
What You Need
Four or more people
Two teams of two is the smallest game. Up to six teams of six fit.
One phone per team
iPhone or Android, mixed is fine. The team passes the phone to whoever is explaining.
The free baba app
Ali is free for everyone in baba. Rules and an illustrated intro are inside, in English and Hebrew.
Before the Game
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there an Alias in Hebrew?
If you are looking for the Alias or Taboo kind of game in Hebrew, Ali is that kind of game: one explainer, an hourglass, a word your team has to say, and other teams calling fouls. Ali is its own game inside the baba app, with its own cards and board, and it is not made by or connected to the makers of Alias.
Do I need to know Hebrew to play?
No. Every card shows the Hebrew word with nikud, a transliteration and the English, and you can explain in English, Hebrew or a mix. The only rule is that the team says the Hebrew word. A Hebrew Only space is the one moment English is off the table for a turn.
Is Ali free?
Yes. Ali is free for everyone in the baba app, on iPhone and Android, with no subscription needed to play a full game.
How many words are there?
About 1,300 cards today, including 108 Israeli slang cards, and the pool is growing towards 3,000. There are no decks or categories: every card is drawn at random from the whole pool, and a word never repeats inside one game.
Can we play on one phone?
No. Every team needs its own phone. The other teams see the explainer's card on their screens so they can referee and call a foul, and the app cannot show the card to the referees while hiding it from the guessers on a single screen.
How many people do we need?
Four at least: two teams of two. The game takes up to six teams of up to six people, so a big table works too. A team shares one phone.
What counts as a foul?
Saying the word, part of it, a word that rhymes with it, or spelling it. The other teams see the card and call it; a fouled card is lost and your pin moves one space back.
What happens when the sand runs out?
A beep marks it, and the last word on the card is open to every team. The first team to say it takes the space.
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Alias is a trademark of Tactic Games Oy. baba is not affiliated with or endorsed by Tactic Games.