- [Brian] Welcome to Overboard, Polygon's card and board game show. This episode, we're still
focusing on small games, ones you can easily learn and
play in under half an hour. We're playing two games in this episode: Anomia and Skull. First up, Anomia, a
game about thinking fast and yelling things. To win, you simply need to end up with the most cards. Here's how it's played. Players take turns drawing cards and placing them face up so
everyone can see the symbol and the words. These words represent a category of thing. Mountain range, rock
musician, edible plant. Everyone will end up with
a card in front of them. Once a card is in play,
everyone quickly checks if the symbol matches
their own face up card. If not, the next person
will draw a new face up card for their pile. Players will only ever have
one card showing at a time. If the new card's symbol matches one that's already out, then
you've got a face-off. The two matching players
need to yell out something from their opponent's
category, not their own, and the fastest yeller wins. But that's not all. The winner of the face-off
takes the loser's card to keep track of their points. This will reveal whatever
card is underneath, and if that card also
matches another player's, those people immediately face off, too. And yes, this could set
off a chain reaction of face-off after face-off after face-off. In this game, paying attention pays off. Players might also draw wild cards, which make it so that
two different symbols have to face off. Players who draw a wild card on their turn place these in the center of the table, and after any face-offs have resolved, draw until they get a non-wild card. Anomia may sound simple
and even a little boring, but you'll be shocked by how funny it is. It isn't really a trivia game, it's a test of your hindbrain, asking you to yell out
a Star Wars character before you're even
conscious of the question. So let's get to the yelling. - Ready? - Let's see it. - Okay, I just gotta
remember all these things. - Ruby. - Yeah, oh no. Panic. (laughing) - I don't know. Beard style? - You don't have to say it. - That's true. - A hut.
- Minute. Hot damn. Oh no. I used up all my good-at-games energy. - Bread. (laughter) Yes. - What am I doing? - [Simone] Yeah, take a moment. Also, don't cover it up with your thumb, so that I can't see it. Hold on one second. (baby noise) - Siamese! (laughing) - What the fuck? - You're going to let that go? - Does that work? - I mean he said, what was- - Baby sound! Baby sound! - That was a baby sound. - That's a baby sound.
- Yeah, that was a baby sound. - I mean...
(baby crying) - Okay. - Oh, Ottawa! Or Alberta! (laughing) It still was Willy because I don't know
any Canadian provinces. - Confidence seems to be...
- Yeah. - It's also a lying game!
- It's important, yeah. Oh no! - Confidence and a habitual flare. - This is the worst thing. (laughing) - Plus sign! - No!
- No! - Chow mein! (clapping and cheering) - Dang, okay. - Holy shit! - Women have been winning,
that's what that was. - Thank you, all of you. (screaming) - COPS! - Police? (clapping and laughing) - Take it! Take it! Take it! - The plus sign.
- Femur! - I think femur beat it by a hair. - Yeah. - This is a nightmare. Plus sign. - Goddammit! - Dime! - Oh, shit! - Dang. (laughing) - Thank you, Pat. - It's okay. - Okay. - I walked so you could run. - Sugar! - Yes. - Sorry, Simone. - It's okay. - For a moment I thought
that said street wear, and I was like, what? (laughing) Oops. - Oh, Jesus. - FBI! - Shit. (walrus noise) - Necklace! - Shit. (accordion music) - Jenna! (laughing and cheering) - Now that's women helping women. - Thank you, mom! (laughing) - Violin.
- Albert Einstein. - Violin. - Violin.
- Violin. - By a little bit. - Celine Dion! - That's who I was thinking of! - But it's your card! - I know! (laughing) - It's me still. Oh, shit. Muttonchops!
- What's that word? - Shit! Okay, yeah. - Yeah. - That's how that works. - [Brian] Okay. - What the hell's a marsupial? - Don't tell him anyone. - Nobody give him an answer. - Oh, shit! - Me! - Yeah, go for it. (laughing)
- You know, that's fair. - That's good.
- Fair. Well-defined.
- And then you draw another one. - Then I draw another one. Okay, gotcha. - [Jenna] It's just you. - Yeah, still just you. - If I said Lois Lane for
reporter, would that be- - That's correct.
- Yeah, go off. - Yeast!
- The Jets! - Are they even a basketball team? - Yeast, I think, wins. - The Jets are not a basketball team. (laughing) I mean, I'm sure there's someone... - Basketball team is
going to be unbeatable. - There's some high school
somewhere called the Jets. - Head's up. Another one that we're just... - Big contender. - This is, at this table, I've gotten the most powerful cards. These two sports cards
will hold on forever. - Harlem Globetrotters!
- Bon Jovi! - No, Jenna got it. - I'll let that happen. - Sydney! (laughing) - Should have looked! - Okay, go for it. - Wiesbaden! - Okay, thank god. - What? - Wiesbaden?
- That's your go to? - That is a good one, yeah. - Not Berlin? Hamburg? (laughing) That's your number one? - There will be such an uptick in Googles for Wiesbaden
after this video goes out. - How about right now? - I want to look it up. - Oh, shoot. Bon Jovi! - Yeah, that's fair. - I will get Bon Jovi! - Bango, vengas, fuck, fuck! (laughing) - Pen, pen, pen, pen! (clapping and laughing) - I absolutely could not. There were so many syllables. - The Vega Boys! - What was I trying to say? - I don't know?
- You were trying for the Vega Boys! - Who was I? - Jango Fett? - Jango Fett, is what I was going for. - We got Vango Bango. - Yeah. Okay, but- - If you go deep in the lore, you can't prove there's
not a Star Wars character called Vango Bango. - Let me Wikipedia that. Can we Star Wars- - If you give 1000
monkeys 1000 typewriters and tell them to write Star Wars novels, one is going to write
one about Vango Bango. (laughing and wheezing) (banging)
- I like that my panic yelling kept you from yelling pen so long! - Ready for? Okay? Just want to make sure we're all.. - Bus! - Lois Lane. - Yes. - [Simone] I'm too frail for this. - Chewbacca! (laughing) - Shape of Water! - Oh, fuck! - Shape of Water, there you go. - Nice.
- Nice. - Oh wait, that's... - Oh yeah. - Kangaroo! - Yeah. - I liked your (mumbles).
(laughing) Oh, they're playing. - Well met, Patrick. - Okay, thank god. I was not prepared to be matching with anybody.
- Just not ready to do a thing right now. - Chokehold!
- Lois Lane! - Lois Lane.
- Lois Lane. - I think the L was coming
out of the mouth first. - Yeah.
- Yeah. - Chokehold!
- Ah! - Chokehold. - Oh, the hilarities. - It's always the pull-off that
I can never remember, okay. All right. Cult film. I have to remember what
a cult film is now. - I'm panicking about edible plants. (laughing) - Salad? Is that the play? I can't... - We have- - Marinara! - I have no fucking idea. Oh, no, wait, yeah, I do know mountains. - This game, single-handedly, makes me think I'm the
dumbest human being. What the hell is a marsupial? - Yeah. - Light bulb.
- Any plant! - Any plant? (screaming and laughing) You just said any plant? Any plant? Karen, you're going to die. You can't go to the forest! - Someone please check in on
Karen when she's at Just Salad. We have to make sure she's
eating the right plants. - [Clayton] What was the category? - Edible plants!
- Edible plants, and Karen said any plant. - I was right though! I'm right. - The standard is not
can it go in your body! If that was the case, fucking rocks and tin
foil would be edible. - But edible, that's why I said any plant. - No. There's a lot of inedible plants! - No, you can eat them, but it- - No! (laughing) - I'm going to look this up right now. - I can eat it, I just won't survive it! - No! - Yes! - Edible is not a word
meaning a challenge. It's not about... - Yeah, I'm sorry, Karen. - It's okay. - It's "fit to be eaten"
is the actual term. - Fit, okay.
- Fit to be eaten. - You can just throw that up
on screen please, Clayton, in edit. - That's the funniest thing in the world. Honestly, though, you're
the bravest person I know. (laughing) What's edible? Fucking anything is
edible if you don't quit! - If you're not a fucking coward! - If you're not a fucking coward. - Say that at my funeral. (laughing) - Who's turn was that? - Mine.
- Your's. Okay, Pat. Let's get back into it. - Lois. (laughing and screaming) - Holy shit. - That rules. (clapping) - Hell yeah, Jenna. - Okay, all right. - Catskills! - Nice! (easy music) - There's only one (mumbles). - That's true. - Arkansas.
- Fog. - What did you say?
- I think. - Arkansas. - Arkansas.
- That works. - That'll do it. - Yeah. I feel like this is like a
Rorschach test for words. - Yeah, it really is.
- It's so bad. - Yeah, it's not good. - All right. - I mean, it's great. - Dick's Sporting Goods! - You got another one!
- Lettuce! (frustration noises) - Mold bad lettuce. - Yeah, yeah. (laughing) - Edible plant. Lettuce. - There's nothing... - Okay, let's start with lettuce, and then we'll slowly
start to incorporate. Let's be on really safe footing. - This man knows his shit. And is full of edible plants. - Dish soap brand? - Okay. - The one I buy at the grocery store. - Yeah, the yellow one. Oh, boy. - I can't see what that is.
- Great Expectations! - That'll do it. - Cat!
- Jen! - Oh, fuck me! (laughing) - I think that's a unisex name? - Wait, did you not say anything? - I said Jen! - Oh, yeah, sure. I just said cat. - Jen.
- Jen? - Yeah, I know a Jen. That's a lie, I don't know any. - I don't think that- - That's a unisex name! Every name is unisex, all right? Fuck you gender norms. - Cougar, give me that. (laughing) Jen is not unisex. - If you sort of slur it
so you think it's Jim. - Here's the thing. Jen is spelled like Jen. - There's an S on the end of Jens. - I don't want to- - Name, unisex name. - To ramp over Karen yelling cat. - Yup. - For big cat. - Cat for big cat. - You're right. Thank you, Jenna. That was important. - That was the best one. - I didn't want us to lose that.
- I missed that. - So far you've yelled two things that are actually the super
category above the card. - You yelled cat for big cat.
- Cat. Cat. - And any plant for edible plant. - It's kind of just been like proof of my reading comprehension, but no further than that. - Is it my turn?
- It's your turn, Simone. - I'm getting light-headed. - Me, too. - Wait, didn't I draw this? - Well, Folgers. - Yeah. - Well, Folgers. - Lady Gaga. - Oh! - I guess, yeah. - Interesting. - Are we doing a hand shake for Lady Gaga? As a star? - No, that's fair. - I don't know.
- Gravity! - Okay, yeah. Here. - Ah, boy. - Oh, boy. It's the worst habit- - Bible! - Yeah. - I don't know where I was going, but I was going to say the Bible, but then that's not a desert. - You're right. Goddammit, it's desert not dessert. (laughing) Reading comprehension. - It is important. - Gobi.
- Timberlines! - Gobi wins, I think. - Gobi took it. - God damn, this is pathetic. - Okay. - Don't worry. - Zeus! - Yeah, sure.
- Dang, go off. - My boots brands still bad. - Plastic. (nonsensical noise) - Plastic. - There you go. - Finally. - Pledge. - Nice. - Norway. - Fuck me. - Three, two, one. Let's jam. - Oh, that's a wild card.
- Wild card. (screaming) - That was a tie.
- Is that like a tie? - Felt like a tie. - Should we draw another one? - Clayton gets to chose. - [Clayton] Huh? - Which one did you- - [Clayton] I mean I don't
know if it's the sound of the room I'm on, but I think I heard Jenna's first. - Okay, that's that. - Thank you, I accept. - Here you go. - [Everyone] No! - Stormy! - Fuck! - Pele! - Fuck! - Pele!
- Pele! My god. - Football players is what you really got. - I draw again though, right? - Yeah.
- Yeah, because it's another wild card. - Okay. - Hastings! - Shit. - Goddamn. - Okay. - Please no. - "You Are My Sunshine?" - Yeah.
- Yeah. - That's a beautiful song. - Yeah, that's a great folk song. - I would name any child Please No. - It's no "Froggie Went a Courtin'" but it... - Gene.
- Khalid! - Gene, did you say? - Yeah. - Yeah, that's it. - Oh, that's true. - That's that. - I built on Jen. - Yes. - Beak! - Wow, look at this bird
part destroyer over here. - This ornithologist over here. (throat clearing) - "Let It Be."
- Terry! - Yeah, "Let It Be." - Patrick draws. - Gross food.
- Gross food! - It could be anything. - Karen, you're right. (laughing) - No such thing! Next category! - Beans!
- Typhoon. Okay. Sure. - Yeah, you got me on beans. - Hiking.
- Johnny. - What did you say? - I said hiking. - No, hiking is... - It's up there now. - Yeah, it's intimidating. - Oh, a wild card! - Typhoon. - Yeah.
- Nice. - I didn't have anything for gross food. I didn't want to sound judgey, so I didn't want to say anything. - All right. - Skiing. - Like a virgin. Okay. That's extreme, I guess. - Yeah, it's pretty extreme. - Yeah, I feel like it's just- - Oh, so skiing is extreme, but hiking's not. (laughing) - Having been skiing with a
number of people in this room. - That's true. - Friends.
- Stephen King. - Shoot, I think that was... - I think that was Friends. - Yeah. - It was shorter so it got out faster. The ultimate. - That's it. Take us home. Nothing. - Oh my god. Thank god.
- That's it. All right, count them up. - Damn. - 18.
- What are you? - 15. (clapping and cheering) - Good one. - Good round. - That was, that's some
fast guns there, guys. - [Brian] Our final small game is Skull. A game about bluffing. Pure, unadulterated bluffing. You only need to win two rounds
to be the ultimate victor, but you're not going to win
without taking a few risks. Here's how it's played. Each player gets a hand of four cards. Three roses and one skull, as well as a base to place them on. A first player is chosen and
play will proceed clockwise around the table. At the start of a round
every player places one card of their choice facedown. After every player has put
down at least one card, they now have two choices on their turn. They could put another card facedown, or they could issue a challenge. If they issue a challenge, they simply guess the number of roses they believe they can reveal
among everyone's cards without flipping over a single skull. The next player still has two choices, which are passing, which
is like folding in poker, or they can raise the challenge,
by saying a higher number. Once every player but one has passed, it's time to put up or shut up. The player who made the final guess must prove that they were right about how many roses they can find. But first they have to reveal all of the cards they put down. So be careful if you are
bluffing about having a skull. You definitely don't
want to be stuck with it. After revealing their own cards, the player must find roses by flipping over their opponents cards. In this case, they don't
have to flip over all of the other players' cards, they pick and choose which to flip over from the
top card of their stack. They can't just take the bottom one. If even a single skull is revealed, the guessing player loses the round and must discard one of
their cards permanently. But if they manage to reveal only roses, they win the round and
flip over their base. This shows that they are
now only one round away from winning the whole game. That's pretty much it. And while I highly recommend the retail game's beautiful art, the next time you and
your buddies are at a bar, you can politely ask a bartender for some extra drink coasters. Draw a couple skulls and
play a round or two yourself. (cards flipping) - Two. - Three, why not. - Four. - Too rich for my blood, pass. - I am also going to pass. - I also pass. - I pass. - If it comes back around, well, if I pass and it
comes back around to you- - It's me.
- Gotta be four. - You can raise to five or you can... - Pass please. - Very well! One. Two. (quiet, mysterious music) - That's probably safe. - Three! - So now, this one goes, you get to- - Oh, right. I have to give up a card. Okay. (cards flipping) - Two. - Three. - Pass. - Pass. - Pass. - Pass. - Oh, I don't like that, now. - Pass. - Three is very doable. It is. - One. (train horn blowing) (clapping and laughing) You don't say. - All right, now I'm
ready to start putting- - You played me like a fiddle, Gilbert! - That was so coquettish. That was so coquettish. (singing) I like you communing with your cards. - Please, tell me what to do. (laughing) - Now I'm playing dumb. - The meta game. He's playing the himbo of the team. - First time I've ever
been described as a himbo. - How does it feel? - It's good, terrible. (cards flipping) - [Simone] This is hard. - Starting to feel our oats here. Whatever that means. (laughing) - Two. - Three. - Pass. - Pass. - Four. - Pass. - Pass. - Five. It goes back to you. - That's pass for me. - Okay, so.
- Too rich for my blood. - One. Two. Three. (train horn) - I should have known that pass was not. (grunting) Okay. That's fine. I got you. (mysterious music) (cards flipping) - Bold. - Okey-dokey. (mysterious music) - Three. - No, thank you. Pass. - Pass.
- Pass. - Pass. - Four. - Fuck. - Five. Seven! (banging) - Pass. Sorry, pass. - How many did I say? - Five.
- Five. - You've got two more. - Oh! (train horn blowing) - Kingslayer. - Oh, wow. - Holy shit. - Death herself over here. - So I need to discard one of my babies. - Yeah.
- Yeah. - This stew is a simmerin'. (cards flipping) - Why do I never decide
before it's my turn? I should know what I'm doing. - Two. - You don't put one down.
- You don't put one down. - Oh, shit. - Do you want to do two? - Two. - Pass. - Yeah, I'll pass. I just think everyone put
out skulls in this round. (laughing) - You only have one, right? - [Simone] Mm-hmm. Pass. - Three. - Four. - Pass. - Simone. - Pass, sorry. I keep forgetting when it
comes back to me after that. (ringing) - Whoa! (clapping) - Cleaning up. - Do I flip that? - Yeah, now he's on he's on his- - He's one away. - One away from win. - Shit. - Well done. - Is it my turn? - Yeah. (mysterious music) - Again. (laughing) No strategy here. - Oh, you put one down? - Yeah, I did. - Yeah, two. - Three. - Pass. - Do it. - Four. - Did I totally get you to convince- - Yeah? - Oh, no.
- She's still passing. - Okay. - Are you saying four or are you passing? - No, I will say four. I'll commit. - I pass.
- Pass. - Pass. - Pass.
- Shit. Fuck me. Can I look at my cards real quick to remember what I put down? Okay. - Pass.
- Yeah? - I pass. - Well... - You have to do yours first. - You have to do your own first. - Fuck me, I'm an idiot. (laughing) - You clown. (mysterious music) (cards flipping) (mysterious music) - I don't like that at all. - One. - Yeah, I think I can do two. - I can get three out of this, yeah. - Four. - Oh, no. Pass. (laughing) - What? It wasn't obvious enough? - I'm also passing. - Sorry, I didn't know if
my body language was... - Definitely pass. - No.
- No. - Five! - Yeah, yeah, yeah! - Pass, pass, pass! - Pass. - Pass. - All right. - One. Two. Got a lot to play with here. I'm just going to go this way. - [Jenna] Three. (train horn blowing) - Oh!
- Oh! - That's rough. - But yet, so close. - Yeah. - So close to winning. - I'll give you a skull
you wouldn't believe. (cards flipping) - I'm an idiot, okay. Almost put that down
without looking at it. (mysterious music) - Three. - Four. - Pass, please. - Pass. - Five. - Pass. - Pass. - Pass. - Okay. - One. Two. - Two? - Did you throw out your skull? This is my question. - Oh! - I can rely on two there. - Good luck, buddy. Three. Four. - Yes. - So close. - Five! (ringing) - That's it. - That's it! (clapping) (sighing) - Two. - Three. - Pass. - No, pass. - Four. - Pass. (mysterious music) - I want to win! - Five! - And you're so close! - Pass. - Yep, pass. - Definitely pass. (screaming) - Brutal! - Loved your energy though,
going into that real strong. Faced death and walked
backwards into hell. (laughing) (cards flipping) - The man wants a win. Alrighty. - Four. - Hell yeah, Karen! Pass. - That's me, I'm passing. - Pass. - Pass. - I said four. - I think you've got this. I just think five is impossible. - Yeah. - Nothing bad can happen. - Safe bet, right there. (ringing) (clapping) - Wow. - We've got two winners on deck. Three winners.
- Three winners. - Yeah, three. - And three cowards! (laughing) - I plan on never winning. - I guess me again, yeah. Maybe I should try a different strategy. - I mean-
- It's interesting. - It's working for somebody. (cards flipping) (mysterious music) - Four. I can count on a few. A few winners over here. - Pass. - Pass. - Pass. - Pass. - Come join us at the
winner's table, Jenna. (laughing) - Five. - Oh! (screaming) Pass. Okay, Jenna. Go for it. - What did I say? - You said five. - Fuck me. - Three. - Just three more. - Just two more. - Oh shit, that's right. (screaming) (train horn blowing) - Yeah, yeah. - Wow. - I thought he was going in
really hard on the ask in. - I started hard, I started high, and I was going to get
screwed over so badly. Thank you, Jenna. - That was a good call. - Can we see total count on? - Two, two, two, three, three, three. - All right. - Lot of interesting plays happening. - Big plays. - Some of them random in some ways. Unguided by logic. Unfettered, shall we say, by logic. - Yeah, unburdened! - Love it, love it. - They're both roses, so. - Wow. - You're playing a Jojo's on me right now. Two. - Three. - Pass. - Four. - Pass. - Pass. - Pass. - Pass. - I think that's a four to Pat. - Well, shit. - Beautiful Love your energy.
- You got this. (laughing) - Yeah, hold them close. (clapping) - This is it. Pat, this is the card you win on. - Ouija board it. - Yeah. - Let the roses tell you. - Which of the three queens
are you going to choose? - No!
- No! (train horn blowing) - Absolutely brutal. You hate to see it, folks. - Oh my god! Oh my god. - The question is, will
Pat just sabotage himself for winning for the rest of it? He can never win, if he
keeps his skull, but- - I mean, that's honestly
what I'm thinking. - I mean, that's the thing is he's getting to the point
where he will have no choice but to bet. Because he has no more cards left. - Yeah, but then he could just win. That's the thing. - It's messing with me right now. - Was I the first to bet on that one? - I think so. That feels statistically... - Gambler. - Two. - Three. - Pass. - Four. - Pass. - Pass. - Five. (screaming) - Yes! - The spicy move. - Yes. - It's you, Pat. - Wait, no. I could still go. - You want to say six? - I am very close to
saying six, right now, that everyone has a rose on the table. - Are you going to fucking do it? - I got three, yeah. I say six, right now. - Holy shit. I can't count. - Three, four, five- (ringing) (screaming) - Oh my god! Do you believe in miracles? - Who do you think you are? (clapping and laughing) (upbeat music)
We do the card elimination so different. If someone flips a skull, they have to lay their cards on the table, face down, and let the person who's skull they flipped eliminate one of their cards. The player who loses a card doesn't know what they lost until they pick their hand back up.
That ending to Skull was amazing!
Brennan is great and only recently did I realize he was the same person who’d been writing Strong Female Protagonist.
Love love love his DMing on dropout, and he’s the best Naddpod guest so far.