Anomia causes Brain-Freeze

According to the game designers, the definitions for Anomia are: “1) A problem with word finding or recall. 2) Chaos. 3) The game where common knowledge becomes uncommonly fun!”

After playing Anomia a number of times, I think you could add to those definitions, “4) The party game where people jump out of their chairs, point frantically, stutter in loud outbursts, and experience brain-freeze.”

That’s because we have yet to play a game of Anomia (with various groups of people) where players could remain seated the whole game. The frantic nature of trying to shout out a word that fits the needed category inevitably leads to players jumping out of their chairs in an unconscious effort to kick their brains into gear.

While we don’t have any live-action video of this phenomenon in our video review of Anomia, we do give you a quick overview of what this party game is all about.

Can the whole family enjoy Anomia?

Anomia wasn’t made for the youngster crowd. The recommended ages for Anomia are 10+ and we think that’s pretty accurate. Even at that, there will be some categories that will be hard for 10 years olds to come up with items in the category. So Anomia is definitely more fun for older kids and adults.

Just my looking at the game, it’s also obvious that it involves reading (at a frantic pace I might add). Sure young kids could be quick to spot matching shapes on the cards. But once spotted, players have to quickly read the category on the card and think of something that fits before their opponent.

Not to mention there’s a lot of screaming in the game as players try to spew out some answer. And if a youngster’s on the other end of that adult frantically pointing their way shouting out crazy stuff, it can be pretty intimidating.

Don’t tie me to a chair

One of the things that I’ve gotten a kick out of with Anomia is that players have a hard time staying seated. I’ve already mentioned it, but we have yet to play a game where players stay calmly seated. Sure some players are more prone to this than others, but it happens with every group we’ve played with.

When your brain freezes and you just can’t think of an answer that quick, the energy and need to say something quickly, just seems to bring you to your feet.

And when mom rates a game a 5, you can bet it’s a game that will have a nice spot on the game shelf.

How does Anomia score on the “Let’s Play Again Game Meter”?

Anomia has been great to play with a number of groups. It’s also easy to grab and take on the road for some fun times during a summer vacation or getaway. The only downside is that each time you play, you’ll go through one of the two decks of cards. So with repeated plays you’ll get familiar with the categories and be quicker on your answers.

However, even with that little downside chances are you won’t be playing it every day for weeks on end, so that may not be a worry at all. Rather, plays of it will be spaced far enough apart that we’ll get to experience that anxious brain-freeze all over again.

You can pick up a copy of Anomia for around $15 – which is a great price for the frantic fun it will bring your family and friends.

Thanks Anomia Press for a fun party game!

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