About Anomia Press
I started Anomia Press LLC in May of 2009. However, a lot happened before that.
In a nutshell, I came up with an idea for a game in 1998. Mostly the concept just rattled around in my head, nagging at me for about six years.
Sometime in 2004 I decided to actually try and make a prototype.
Five prototypes and many, many play-testing sessions later (not to mention a full-time job, a wedding, a baby, a move from Brooklyn to Boston, and another baby!) I realized my game, Anomia, was finally done.
What to do next? For a while, I thought about trying to license Anomia to an established game company. I may still try to do that in the future, though for now I have decided to publish it myself.
Why? Well, on one hand, why not? On the other hand, during tough times, I think people can really use an inexpensive form of entertainment that brings them together with their friends & family. Especially when said form of entertainment makes people shout random things at one another and laugh out loud!
In the spring of 2009 I started Anomia Press and set out to raise enough money to pay for the first printing of Anomia. I used Facebook, Twitter, email, and this website to appeal to the hundreds of people who had attended play-test sessions over the years. I asked everyone to pre-purchase copies of Anomia to help subsidize the first printing.
By the end of July 2009 I had pre-sold over 500 copies of Anomia and had succeeded in raising just about all the money I needed to go into production. The games arrived in mid-November and I shipped out all 500+ copies just in time for everyone to bring them home for the Thanksgiving holidays. Word spread quickly and I sold an additional 400+ copies between Thanksgiving and Christmas! This is small potatoes when compared to the number of games established toy/game companies sell, but I think it's a great start.
So what's next? I'm working on building relationships with retailers, wholesale distributors, and other businesses in the toy/game industry who can help me get the word out. Down the road I see great potential for Anomia expansion packs, as well as foreign language & education editions. I'm also looking for other ideas/products/games to help grow Anomia Press into a multi-product company.
This game has been a funny thing for me. I never set out to be a game designer, I'm not even much of a frequent game player. Sometimes it feels as if Anomia has a life of its own. I had this idea, and then the idea had me. It's been like that for a long time now.
I hope you will take a look around the website, read what people are saying, and consider purchasing a limited, first-edition copy of Anomia.
Thanks!
Sincerely,
Andrew Innes
Anomia Press LLC