Tip of the Tongue
Friday, October 1, 2010 
Ever had that really annoying feeling that you knew what you wanted to say but somehow had forgotten the word to use? That feeling referred to as "tip of the tongue syndrome" is the partial definition to the title of our featured game: Anomia
An idea turned prototype
The inventor of the game, Andrew Innes, did not consider himself to be much of a game player when he was a kid. He was partial to juggling and slight hand, and later to music. But he did enjoy card games and the idea for Anomia had been on his mind for over a decade.
In 2004, Andrew decided to get serious and start working on prototypes. In 2009, after many versions and hours and hours of testing, he finally released the game.
Symbols and matches
Simple to play, but fast and engaging, Anomia requires you to be ready with a word at a seconds notice. Each card in the two decks has a symbol on it and a category. The categories range from pizza toppings to Olympic sports to human emotions.
Players take turns drawing a card from the deck in the center of the table, placing the card face up in front of them. Once two cards with the same symbol are showing, those two players have to say a word from their opponents category before their opponent is able to name one from their category.
Expanding through independence
In January, Andrew had the game in 3 stores and now it is carried in over 250 locations. Going from boxing and shipping every order with his family to having help warehousing has helped deal with the ever growing demand.
Andrew and his family are big supporters of independent businesses. It's through an extensive network of independent retailers that Andrew is able to grow the distribution of Anomia; aMuse is proud to be part of that network.
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