Anomia Party Edition

This may not be as portable or easy on your wallet as the two-deck set, but the party edition is great for really large gatherings, like dorm game nights, or office parties. With that out of the way, let me say that Anomia itself is pretty easy to learn (especially after you play a round or two for practice) - honestly, it takes me longer to explain the rules to people who’ve never heard of it than it actually takes to figure out how to play. The game can be played by most ages (the makers recommend 10 and up) - and some of the answers my friends, family and I have each come up with at one point or another have been legitimately hilarious. Anomia is as much about paying attention and reflexes as it is about knowing, say, any Madonna songs, Star Wars characters, or countries around the world. Each game also goes very quickly, making it great if your group only has about a half hour to spare (most of the rounds we’ve played have been over in just over twenty minutes, but I’ve heard of rounds going even faster when everyone is really focused on the game).

This is the only game I’ve ever felt compelled to leave a review on. My wife and I have played hundreds of card and board games and this is by far our most played one. It definitely gets cut-throat competitive (at least in our games), but there are tons of laughs and everyone has the best time. I bring it to every game night and it’s a favorite! Bit about it: Players take turns turning over one card at a time from a pile of cards in front of them. There is a symbol and a category on each card. When the symbols on two cards match, the players with those cards try to name an item based on the category of their opponent's card as quickly as possible. The first to do so takes their opponent's card as a point. Play continues until all cards are gone. The person with the most scored cards wins. Cards are decent quality. This party version comes with six sets of cards which can be played independently, or mixed together for one massive mix up. The game is easy to teach and learn. It can be played with children that are old enough to read and understand the categories.

This is a really fun and fascinating party game. It's the only game that has me really understanding the acronym ROFLPIMP. Its high-level, fast-paced card-matching mechanics rile everyone up, then when the time comes to think of a word for the category match-ANOMIA! Even the brightest among us have that feeling of the mind going blank at times. Or you might accidentally say a word that matches your own card rather than your opponent's card. It's just so funny when you find a match between your and your opponent's card, and all you have to do is say something that belongs in the category "female pop singer" before your opponent says "country in Africa", but neither of you can think of anything! Such a weird sense of pressure and stupidity! Note: We're all pretty intelligent and one of us who is very talkative finds himself extra tongue-tied, which he finds a bit frustrating :) We've found with some of these types of party games that book-smart people do less well than people with other kinds of intelligence-our construction worker friend was excellent at a similar game. But try it and see!

Super fun family game. Lots of laughs.

This game has been a huge hit with my family and friends! It is easy to learn and generates a lot of energy as well as hilarious moments. I would recommend this game to anyone. I only have one complaint and I don't consider it a deal-breaker: Possibly the biggest drawback, as other reviewers have mentioned, is with the design of the plastic liner that is supposed to contain the six decks. The niches for each deck are too shallow and cards will often spill over (See photo for reference). Also the finger grooves beside each niche are not deep enough to reach the whole deck. Any time I brought the game somewhere I inevitably had to re-sort the cards that had fallen out. I ultimately ended up throwing the plastic liner away and getting plastic boxes to hold the decks (See photo for reference). NOTE: An alternative such as rubber bands might possibly have worked, but I didn't test that. I personally wanted something more substantial. I'm still giving the Anomia Party Edition 5 stars because the game itself is still really solid even if the packaging is not.

A very easy game to introduce. Essentially just categories, but with a little twist that makes the game surprisingly fun! Quick how to play: -The deck is shared, start by placing the deck(s) in the center for everyone to flip a card in front of them on their turn. -Each player will have only a single card shown at a time, if drawing a new card place it on top of your previous card. -Each card will have a word and a shape. -If any players match a shape with another player then they will have a showdown. -In a showdown you have to name something in the word category of your opponents card before they do yours -First to do so wins the opponents card -When winning the card you take the opponents card and add them to your own separate pile for scoring at the end -Winning the card will reveal the card below, meaning another showdown may begin immediately -All showdowns must be completed before the next player in rotation draws -Lastly there is one other type of card. A wild card. This card is not added to your pile but is placed in the center. The wild card will add an additional rule that makes a specific pair of different shapes also match. Perform all showdowns of the wildcard first then the person who drew the wild still has to draw a card for their pile. Additional/house rules: more than one wild card can be in play, answers used by any player can't be used more than once per day(or game or forever) Overall, this game will keep you on your feet. There is no way to win AND be an inactive participant in this game on your phone. Also unlike a trivia game where there is only one answer, categories+matches give a wide variety of answers along with quick thinking. Reasons for 4 and not 5 out 5: this game isn't something you'll pull out every play session necessarily. Nice for engaging a new group quickplay or larger group play, but you can get tired of it. It's nice for a mix but not long back to backs for more invested gamers. Also although there are many categoried decks, if you play too much of the same deck you'll start noticing the repetitiveness of those words. Lastly the box is much bigger than needed and the card slots don't hold it very well. With all that box space you'd figure you would have a nice way to secure it all, but it's really much bigger than needed and could have been much more portable. Overall things that can be mitigated with some house rules and your own box for carrying.

Great game to play with family, adults and teenagers. Very open ended and challenging, but memorable with creative responses that people come up with. The image matching also keeps you constantly on your toes while playing since you don’t just wait your turn.

This is a fantastic board game for folks to come together and get competitive. It's fun for families or groups of friends. I recommend this version because it is the party edition and has many more game play options.