Anomia
Anomia Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
OBJECTIVE
To win the most cards. It can be your turn at any time, and anyone can be your opponent!
CONTENTS
- Blue Deck & Red Deck
Each deck includes:
- 92 Playing Cards
- 8 Wild Cards
- 8 Unique Symbols
SETUP
The youngest player picks a deck, and the oldest player shuffles it thoroughly before splitting it into two Draw Piles within everyone's reach. For your first game, begin with the blue deck.
To start the game, the oldest player takes the first turn.
For 3 players, remove all cards of two symbol types (including any Wild Cards that have either symbol).
HOW TO PLAY
On your turn, draw one card from either Draw Pile and place it face up to start your Play Pile. If you already have a Play Pile, place the card face up on your existing Play Pile.
You should only have one face up card showing on your Play Pile.
Players continue taking turns clockwise, until any two cards have matching symbols which triggers a Face-Off.
Flip fast! Make sure everyone can see the card at the same time.
Face-Off
When two matching symbols appear, the matching players race to shout an example from the category on the other player's card. Whoever finishes saying a correct answer first wins the Face-Off. The winner takes the top card from the loser's Play Pile and places it face down on their own Winning Pile (see illustration on page 1).
The winner's top card stays in place.
Pay Attention! After a Face-Off, a new symbol may be revealed. This could trigger another Face-Off.
A correct answer is something the group agrees is true. It can be real or fictional, past or present.
Example: For "musician," you could say Bruno Mars, your Aunt Sally, or The Pied Piper.
Tie Breaker
If two players finish shouting correct answers at the same time, a tie occurs. A third player draws a card from either Draw Pile to start a special Face-Off. Both tied players Face-Off by shouting an answer for the tie-breaker card. The first player to answer correctly wins the Face-Off.
- If the drawn card is a Wild card, shuffle it into either Draw Pile and draw a new card.
- The winner takes the top card from the loser's Play Pile and adds it to their Winning Pile.
- After the Face-Off, the card used to break the tie is shuffled back into one of the Draw Piles.
Resolve all possible Face-Offs before play continues. If you see a match that the other players have missed, point it out.
Wild Cards
Wild Cards have two symbols. If you draw a Wild Card, place it face up between the two Draw Piles to create the Wild Pile. If the symbols on a Wild Pile card match the symbols on any two players' Play Piles, those players must Face-Off.
If you draw a Wild Card, place it on the Wild Pile, resolve any Face-Offs it reveals, then continue your turn by drawing again.
There should only be one Wild Card showing on the Wild Pile.
END OF GAME
When both Draw Piles run out, count your Winning Pile. The player with the most cards wins. Having fun? Play again, try the other deck with different categories.
DESIGNER'S NOTE
Like many games, Anomia started as something else. When I was a kid, my friends and I played a game called "Store." All you needed was a regular deck of cards. Each player chose a store such as Toy Store, Candy Store, or Pet Store, and everyone had to memorize everyone else's store. Then we sat in a circle and flipped cards, one at a time. If two players revealed matching cards (e.g., two Jacks), those players had to shout something you could buy in the other person's store. It was chaos. Nobody could remember anything. Completely hilarious.
For years, I kept thinking about Store. What if the categories could be anything: animals, foods, cities, tools, basically the entire universe of common knowledge? That idea stayed with me for a long time.
Eventually, I made a prototype and started exploring this idea with friends.
During a playtest, the phrase "tip of the tongue" came up. That led me to the word anomia. In ancient Greek, it means lawlessness or chaos. In the late 1800s neurologists adopted anomia to describe the inability to name familiar things. Chaos plus the inability to name things? Sign me up! Anomia was born.
— Andrew Innes