LogFAQs > #977140322

Just one today.

33. Anomia
Expansions Played: N/A

Anomia: "Inability to remember the right words such as names of people or objects."

Simulator games seem to be all the rage in the video game world these days, but board games are countering with Anomia, AKA "Uh, um, uh!" Simulator.

Anomia sets a central deck on the table. Each player, in turn, will flip over a card from the top directly into a stack in their play area. Each card has a symbol and a category on it, and if the symbol matches one on the top card of another player's stack, you both have to race to name something belonging to the category on your opponent's card. The winner takes both cards, and when the central deck runs out, the player with the most cards wins.

Sounds like the easiest game in the world. But when you play with higher player counts (which you basically always should), it instantly becomes impossible to pay attention to everything. You'll be fumbling for even the simplest category. "Name a color?! Uh, uh, um!" The deck also holds "Wild Cards" with two different symbols and no category, so if two players have the symbols on that card, they have to scramble for an unexpected face-off. And obviously when a card is taken, the one underneath is revealed, so you will often have a quick series that gets many players involved one after another.

I think one of the reasons I'm not always a big fan of party games is that a lot of them seem to promote laughing at your friends' stupidity. Don't get me wrong, that's undoubtedly fun, but A) it does get old a little quick if it's the main conceit of an activity, and B) my group can do that just fine without the aid of a party game - often it happens in more serious board games anyway. Anomia has this, but I feel like it's built even more around laughing at your own stupidity. Why couldn't I think of a last name? I have a last name! I'm the biggest nerd here, why couldn't I name a video game?!

Feeling dumb in games is just never pleasant. Even in something unserious like Wavelength, if I have a couple of rounds in a row where I know I've given bad clues, it bothers me a little. But in Anomia, those moments are great, especially when they cascade. So many times, I'll lose a face-off and be too busy chuckling at the absurd mental blank I just drew to notice that another face-off was immediately triggered that I proceed to also lose. I love the "Wait, did Brian just try to name Frodo as a fairy tale character?" moments as much as anyone, but it's good to break those up with some good ol' self-owns, too. Anomia crafting its whole identity around the amusement of utter failure creates an atmosphere I haven't seen replicated anywhere else.

This glowing review so far probably makes it sound like I'm dropping this too early, but Anomia has kind of a critical flaw for a party card game in that it's not really very fun to play multiple rounds back-to-back. Since you go through the whole deck for each play, there aren't really any surprises on a runback. The luster doesn't wear off entirely - people will still struggle plenty - but it's definitely less funny to watch your friends try desperately to name an astronaut the second time around in one night.

For that reason, I think it probably works better as a warm-up game before the main game or activity of the night than as something that's being counted on to carry the fun for an hour or two at a party. The problem with that is that if you're pulling this out with, say, your regular board game group, there's a higher chance that you'll have just three or four people, and Anomia does lose a bit of its shine at those counts.

In general, though, I'd wholeheartedly recommend it for both cases. It's inexpensive and sets a lovely mood for either occasion even if it's not perfect in either regard.

Collection Status and Future Outlook: Owned by a couple of different friends and certain to be played fairly often in the future. Not going to rise or fall much, though, because it's not like this is a game that's really going to show anything more on its twentieth play than its second. I will say that I wouldn't mind picking up Anomia X at some point for cheap if the opportunity presents, because the nature of the game kind of seems to lend itself to a dirtier version that doesn't suck. It'd probably be funny to see the prudish couple on the periphery of our friend group having to suddenly name a fetish in a panic, for example.