We're just back from Toy Fair where we launched the much anticipated Anomia Party Edition!  

Ever since we first published Anomia back in November of 2009 we've gotten an endless stream of requests for more cards.  More, More, More!

Well, finally, we are happy to oblige these requests with six all-new Anomia decks that will bewilder, befuddle, and bemuse in the manner to which you are accustomed.

You can look forward to over 425 all-new category cards, plus customizable blank cards in each deck so you can create your own categories.

Play the Party Edition decks on their own or mix them with the original decks for hours of mad fun! 

We hope you have as much fun playing the Party Edition as we had making it!

 - Andrew

Duple will be featured in a game night at the historic Loring-Greenough House in Jamaica Plain tonight!

"The history of the Loring-Greenough House begins in 1760 when Joshua Loring, a commodore in the English Colonial naval forces constructed the large four-square frame residence in the historic center of Jamaica Plain.  An outstanding example of Georgian Colonial architecture, the House was the hub of a large and actively developed farm that was Loring’s chief interest following his retirement from military service."

I'll be teaching folks how to play Duple, and maybe a little Anomia as well.  I'll also be talking a bit about my experiences developing games and working in the toy/game industry.  Come spend some time with us in this beautiful and historic setting!

Loring-Greenough House
12 South Street
Jamaica Plain, MA 02130
7-9pm
$4 donation (goes to the Loring-Greenough House)

Thanks,
Andrew

Some very exciting news for our newest game Duple.  First off, we're really excited to announce that Duple is the recipient of the Major Fun Award. To win this award your game must meet the following criteria :
   * clear and comprehensive rules that can be read in 5-15 minutes
   * played in under an hour
   * fun enough to play over and over again
   * suitable for a wide audience
   * easy to store
   * made to last
   * uniquely fun
   * tends to make people laugh
   * deep enough to withstand a lot of changes

Bernie DeKoven, the man behind the Major Fun award, gave Duple a lovely review noting  ..."the joyous intensity ..., the constant engagement, the challenge, the, perhaps, yelling..." inherent in any round of Duple.  Thanks Bernie, we are truly honored that Duple is the recipient of the Major Fun Award!

Duple was also just reviewed on Wired Magazine's Geek Dad blog.  Game reviewer, and self-proclaimed Geek, Jenny Williams calls Duple  "a challenging variation on Anomia" and notes that it is "great fun for groups of people who like to think quickly and laugh readily."  

We're excited to see Duple making it's way out into the world this fall and doubly excited to see it receiving such great attention from some wonderful game reviewers.

Cheers!
Andrew

Though it's only been on the market for a couple of months, reports of Duple sightings are coming in from around the globe!  Anomia Press fan Ken Gagne sent us this photo recently with a note saying, "I love Duple so much, I took it with me on a recent trip to Macchu Picchu, Peru!"  (Wonder what the llama is making of it all....)

We've gotten more and more inquiries about our games from international fans, and we're excited to report that numerous foreign-language versions of Anomia are currently in the works!  More on that soon......

Do you have a photo of Anomia or Duple in a faraway land?  Send us your sightings at info@anomiapress.com and we'll share them here!

Approximately 1 billion people, in 111 countries and 43 languages, have played Monopoly since Parker Brothers published it in 1935.  The traditional story goes that Charles Darrow, an unemployed radiator repairman, invented the game and populated it with property names from Atlantic City where he had summered as a child.

There is, however, an earlier chapter in the story that most people don't know about.  Namely that Monopoly was actually based on "The Landlord's Game" released in 1906 by an actress from Maryland named Lizzie Magie.  

The October issue of Harper's has a great feature article on the true, and somewhat surprising, origins of the Monopoly.  You can check it out here. 

Special thanks to Trent Howell  from The Board Game Family for the awesome review of Anomia on BoardGameGeek.com.  The Board Game Family is a family of 6 that reviews a different board game each week.  They've been at it since 2009 !  Thanks guys! - Andrew

Quite a while ago (last fall?) I supported a project on Kickstarter called "Obos."  The project was aiming to create a set of paper-based characters with interchangeable arms, legs, eyes, & tongues.  I really liked the designs (somewhat reminiscent of Yo Gabba Gabba, in a good way!) and also the fact that everything was paper-based.  I also loved that all the parts are interchangeable, so you can create your own monsters from the planet Obo.

Happily, the Kickstarter campaign surpassed its goal and we finally got our set a couple of days ago. I busted them out and my kids made short work of creating a bunch of monsters to play with.  Check them out!  You can get a set, or just a single Obo, from PlanetObo.com

In honor of Halloween here's a great (and pretty easy to make) paper skeleton from German artist Markus Fisher.   You can download the PDF for the plans right from his website.  

I'm planning on making a few of these with my kids over the next few days, will post some pics with the results!

 - Andrew

What do you do when you forget your favorite game at home while vacationing abroad?  

Make your own version, of course! Brent Bushnell tweeted me over the weekend and linked to a blog post detailing his experiences creating his very own custom-made Anomia deck!  I have to say I am completely blown away and even a little touched by his efforts! 

I'm also excited to take a look at the Google doc he created listing all the categories they came up with.  Take a look at Brent's blog post here.  

Thanks so much Brent!