When the symbols on two players' cards match, they must Face-Off with one another. This is the heart of the game. A Face-Off consists of giving a correct example of the person, place, or thing on your opponent's card, before they can do the same for your card. Anomia is a super easy game to play and understand. So, if you have 2-5 people with you (plus yourself of course), ready to get their board gaming hats on, this game is perfect for you all! Anomia is clever in the fact that it knows that our minds are always thinking about something. What are you thinking about right now? I bet you're thinking about nothing now that I've made you ACTUALLY question yourself. But that's the thing, you are still thinking of something, even if not subconsciously. I know. The brain is a powerful thing. The group may determine whether the 'no repeat' rule is in effect for a round. It's fun to play either way, but it's harder when you are not allowed to repeat answers that have already been used. A recent study presented pictures and cues to people with aphasia in a way that closely resembled the methods used by Naming Therapy (van Hees, 2013).

Linebaugh, C. W., Shisler, R. J., & Lehner, L. (2005). CAC classics: Cueing hierarchies and word retrieval: A therapy program. Aphasiology, 19(1), 77–92.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!” This continues until two symbols match, with players continuing to add to their pile so only the top card is currently visible. Often, introducing an app does not change the nature of the therapy. Rather than showing pictures on a card, the therapist shows pictures on a screen. What matters is what the therapist does with those pictures. What is the therapy technique? Abel, S., Schultz, A., Radermacher, I., Willmes, K., & Huber, W. (2005). Decreasing and increasing cues in naming therapy for aphasia. Aphasiology, 19(9), 831–848. I think I might prefer Anomia Party Edition because it has so many more cards, but I wouldn’t mind mixing some of the Pop Culture in for some really funny moments. That sounds good.

But if two symbols around the table do match, or they match through a wild card, it’s time for a face-off! Anomia Face-OffCollect your opponent's card if you answer first and correctly. If you blurt out a correct example of the person, place or thing on your opponent's card before they come up with one for yours, you win the "face off."