Anomia

Anomia

3-6 players ~30 min

In the box

  • Anomia card deck (red or blue)
  • Wild cards

Objective

Win the most cards into your personal winning pile by beating opponents to correct answers in face-offs.

Game end

The game ends when both draw piles are exhausted; the player with the most cards in their winning pile wins.

What playing this feels like

Speed, attention and memory: None / Low / Medium / High. Timer is separate: none / optional / core. Bluffing: None / Optional / Conditional / Core. Breaks: Good / Medium / Poor.

Rules load
Low
Social pressure
High
Talking
High
Speed pressure
High
Timer
None
Direct conflict
Medium
Bluffing / deception
None
Information load
High · Words + rapid recall
Memory load
Medium
Attention pressure
High
Noise potential
High
Break flexibility
Poor

Low rules does not mean low pressure. You watch every card because a face-off can suddenly involve you, then shout a word first.

Setup

  1. Split. Sit in a circle and split the shuffled deck into two draw piles. Two draw piles sit in reach with space between for wild cards.
  2. Trim. With three players, remove two symbols before splitting the draw piles. Fewer symbols create more face-offs for a small table.

Walkthrough: first round

Worked opening: Ana flips a card showing a blue spiral and "Dog Breed". No other spiral is face up, so play passes. Ben flips a card with the same blue spiral and "Soft Drink". Ana and Ben face off at once: Ana must name a soft drink from Ben's card while Ben names a dog breed from Ana's card. Ana shouts "Cola" first and wins, so Ben's card goes face down into Ana's winning pile.

  1. Flip. On your turn, flip the top card of one draw pile onto your pile. Your new top card shows a symbol and category.
  2. Check. Compare your card's symbol with every other player's top card symbol. A matching symbol starts a face-off with that player; no match means play passes clockwise.
  3. Name. In a face-off, both players race to shout a valid example of the category on the opponent's card. The faster correct answer wins the face-off.
  4. Take. The face-off winner takes the loser's top card and places it face down in their own winning pile. The loser reveals a fresh card and play continues clockwise.

Rules

  1. Flip. Flip the top card of either draw pile onto your pile face up. Only your new top card stays live for face-offs.
  2. Face. After every flip, compare symbols on all players' visible top cards; any two matching symbols start a face-off at once. Each player names the category on the rival card, and the faster answer wins the card.
  3. Wild. Place a drawn wild between the piles, then draw again after it resolves. The wild links two symbols and those players face off until the next wild covers it.
  4. Tie. If both players answer together, a third player flips a fresh card. The tied players race on the new card, and the winner wins the card.
  5. Win. When both draw piles run out, count the cards in each player's winning pile. The player with the most cards in their winning pile wins; disputes go to the rulebook link at the bottom of this page.

Examples

Common mistakes

Rules summary based on Anomia Press.

Keep learning

Play it at game night

Bring this guide with you. We will teach the rest at the table.

See events