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Official Anomia Rules

Anomia is a party game that tests your vocabulary and reflexes under pressure. It's a fun and frantic race to identify matching categories between your card and your opponent's, all while the wild cards keep things unpredictable. Here's a breakdown of how to play:

Objective

Be the first player to collect the most cards by correctly identifying a matching category between your card and your opponent's card before they do.

Setup

Components:

  • Deck of category cards: Each card has a single category (e.g., colors, movie titles) and a colored symbol.

  • Wild cards: These have a unique symbol and can create instant matches with any other card. Only one wild card can be in play at a time.

  • Discard pile: This is where discarded cards go face-down.

Setup:

  1. Shuffle the deck of category cards well and place it face down in the center of the playing area.

  2. Shuffle the wild cards and place them face down in a separate deck next to the category deck.

  3. Deal five category cards face down to each player. These are your personal decks.

  4. Place a discard pile face down next to the draw deck.

Gameplay

  1. Taking Turns: Players take turns in a clockwise direction.

  2. Drawing a Card: On your turn, draw one card from the category deck and add it face down to your hand. You should always maintain five cards in your hand.

  3. Discarding and Revealing:  After drawing your card, discard one card from your hand face-up onto the discard pile.  This revealed card holds the key to the challenge!

  4. Matching Mania: Here's where the race begins:

    • Look at the category on your discarded card.

    • Look at the category on any other player's face-up discarded card (including yours from previous turns).

    • If the categories match (e.g., your card says "Sports Teams" and another player's discarded card says "Athletes"), be the first player to shout out a valid example that fits both categories (e.g., "The Chicago Bulls").

  5. Wild Card Chaos: If a wild card is revealed in the discard pile, it creates an instant match with any other card. The first player to shout out a valid example matching their card's category with the wild card wins the round.

  • Winning the Face-Off: The player who shouts out the correct answer first wins the face-off. They take the discarded card from the winner's opponent (the card that matched their category) and place it face down in their own winning pile.  The winner's discarded card and the wild card (if in play) are shuffled together and placed at the bottom of the discard pile.

  • Ties: If two players shout out a correct answer simultaneously, a tiebreaker is needed. Here's how to handle ties:

    • Another player draws a card from the deck and reveals it. Both tied players race to shout out a valid example that matches their own card's category with the newly revealed card. The first player with the correct answer wins the tie and collects the cards from both originally tied players.

Ending the Round:

  • The round ends when the draw deck is depleted.

Winning the Game

The player with the most cards in their winning pile at the end of the round wins the game!

Notes/Variations

  • Anomia is a fast-paced game, so encourage quick thinking and blurting out answers (but avoid false shouts!).

  • Some versions of Anomia might have slightly different rules or variations.  Always check the included instructions for any specific details.

  • There are also electronic versions of Anomia available that might automate card reveals and scoring.

So, gather your friends, prepare for some wild wordplay, and have a blast playing Anomia!

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