Simple words for kids — an Alias set

Everyday nouns a preschooler already knows. The safest pick for a family game.

A set for playing with children from about five, and for mixed groups where adults and kids share teams. Only concrete things here — objects, animals and food a child has actually seen and can picture.

When this set fits

A child loses a round not because they explain badly but because the word sits outside their experience. "Melancholy" is a dead end for a seven-year-old; "ice cream" is an explosion of joy. This set removes that problem entirely: nobody can draw a word they have never met.

Who this set is for

Mixed company, where the youngest is five or seven and the oldest is past forty. The set levels the field: an adult cannot win on vocabulary, because no vocabulary is needed. It works at family dinners and birthdays, in groups of up to eight — more children around one table start shouting over each other, and the round turns into noise.

Pillow

Works: “you put your head on it when you go to sleep.” A child gets it in two seconds. Does not work: “a soft rectangular object with a filling” — that is a description written for an adult, and a seven-year-old stalls on it. The rule is simple: name the action, not the shape.

Butterfly

Works: “it flies over flowers, coloured wings, and it does not sting.” That last part matters — without it children say bee or wasp first. Does not work: “an insect of the order Lepidoptera”, and not even “a pretty insect”, because a dragonfly looks pretty to a child too.

Grandfather

Works: “your dad's dad.” One phrase, instant hit. Does not work: “an old man with grey hair” — the room will name anyone from the neighbour to Santa. Family words are explained through the relationship, never through appearance.

Where groups go wrong

The main mistake is an adult explaining to a child the way they would explain to an adult: hunting for the precise phrase, spending five seconds on it, while the child loses interest. The second is banning gestures. For a six-year-old, hands are half the language, and the ban turns the game into an exam. The third is setting a full minute: children tire of sustained tension faster than adults and spend the end of the round waiting for it to be over.

Let the youngest use their hands — relaxing the no-gestures rule costs nothing and the game only gets better.
Set rounds to 30 seconds instead of a minute: children tire of sustained pressure faster than adults.
An adult paired with a child should explain below their own level: not "domestic fowl" but "it says cock-a-doodle-doo".

Easy

Familiar words that land on the first clue. For warming up, for kids and for mixed groups.

cat, dog, ball, sun, water, bread, table, chair, window, door, spoon, fork, plate, cup, bed, pillow, blanket, book, pencil, notebook, backpack, bicycle, car, bus, train, plane, ship, tree, flower, grass, apple, pear, banana, carrot, potato, candy, cake, milk, cheese, egg, fish, chicken, cow, horse, goat, duck, rooster, butterfly, bee, mother, father, grandmother, grandfather, brother, sister, friend, doctor, teacher, yard, swing, sand, bucket, spade, doll, teddy, cube, hat, scarf, jacket, boots, socks, shirt, trousers, dress, button, pocket, towel, soap, brush, comb, clock, lamp, carpet, sofa, wardrobe, shelf, phone, key, money, shop, sugar, salt, tea, juice, soup, porridge, spoonful, kitten, puppy, mirror

Medium

Takes a few sentences and some imagination. The default setting for an ordinary evening.

aquarium, pineapple, hippo, squirrel, alarm, helicopter, vet, grapes, broom, beehive, pumpkin, garland, nest, walnut, mushroom, caterpillar, spring, board, escalator, fir, giraffe, acorn, bunny, zoo, hedgehog, puddle, holiday, carousel, chestnut, ticket, kangaroo, flowerbed, compass, envelope, grasshopper, astronaut, droplet, chalk, crocodile, dandelion, stork, torch, skis, raspberry, tangerine, anthill, glasses, deer, island, umbrella, petal, barber, biscuit, penguin, pirate, beach, tomato, firefighter, postman, rainbow, rocket, daisy, sledge, whistle, sweater, rope, treasure, pan, snowman, sunflower, flute, path, ostrich, swallow, seal, paint, apron, marker, footballer, tail, cloud, hamster, circus, onion, turtle, birdhouse, appletree, spruce, lizard, aster, drum, rod, melon, tadpole, feather, snowflake, bumblebee, sparrow, beaver, otter

Hard

Rare or abstract words. More failed rounds, and more laughing at them.

apricot, motorist, watercolour, alphabet, orange, astronomer, atlas, battery, library, builder, lorry, dumpling, giant, summit, exhibition, nursery, thaw, sail, waterfall, station, crow, geography, herbarium, gymnastics, globe, feeder, rowan, thermometer, dolphin, timber, conductor, palm, staircase, excursion, sketch, relay, crane, riddle, reserve, granary, stop, painting, beans, pocketbook, classic, bookshop, well, clover, spaceport, landscape, crystal, maize, labyrinth, skier, forestry, drawing, traveller, lighthouse, melody, mechanic, pancake, coin, musician, embankment, stilllife, obelisk, orchestra, islet, palette, passenger, crossroads, textbook, plasticine, flood, journey, portrait, tide, snowdrop, ray, reporter, violin, snowfall, nightingale, stadium, constellation, telescope, tulip, coastline, fountain, tile, magnet, harbour, canyon, glacier, meadow, orchard, windmill, harvest, meadowlark, seashell