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Play Anticipation (Europe edition · English) Online
Anticipation
Play Anticipation online, Rare's NES picture-guessing board game for up to four players, and race to identify drawings and collect every required color.
Browser play
Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) / Famicom — EmulatorJS controls
Default Player 1 keyboard mapping. Change keys in Controller Settings.
| Console button | Keyboard |
|---|---|
| ↑ / ↓ / ← / → | ↑ / ↓ / ← / → |
| A / B | Z / X |
| START / SELECT | Enter / V |
Open Controller Settings to configure your keyboard or gamepad. Touch controls are available on mobile.
How to Play Anticipation
Quick start
Press Start, choose the number of human players, computer difficulty, and board level, then begin. Watch both the sketch and the die: buzzing early leaves more time but may move you by a less useful color or number. When you recognize the picture, press your assigned input, move the letter cursor left or right, and press A or B to enter each letter. A single spelling mistake ends that answer attempt, so use the displayed blanks as a length clue.
Controls
Start begins the game and pauses or resumes board play; pause is unavailable during a puzzle. Select is unused. During a puzzle, each player buzzes with the D-pad or A/B assignment shown for that player and player count. When answering, Left/Right moves the letter-entry cursor and A or B enters the highlighted letter; Down submits the completed answer. The controller assignment table changes for 1–4 players, so follow the marker display.
Anticipation — About this game
Anticipation is an NES party game that combines picture guessing with a color-coded board race. A video pencil gradually draws one of hundreds of objects from sixteen categories while a die counts down. The first player to buzz in receives a short chance to spell the answer; a correct guess moves that player's marker by the current die value and can earn a needed color. Collecting the required colors advances the marker to progressively harder boards, where fewer dots, concealed letter spaces, feature squares, and drop-out spaces make recognition more demanding. One to four people can play, with computer opponents filling open roles.
Cheats
No cheats have been added for this edition.
Player verification and sources
Browser play was reviewed before this edition was published in the catalogue. The date below is the catalogue publication date, not the game’s original release date.
- Browser test and catalogue publication date
- Browsers and devices
- PC: Chrome, Edge and Firefox. Mobile: Chrome on Android and Safari on iPhone and iPad.
- Player engine and core
- EmulatorJS 4.3.0-pre · nes
- Tested by
- rwEmulator
Sources and editorial basis
rwEmulator reviews edition metadata, release information, game manuals and first-hand browser-play notes. Available manuals are linked below; the editorial policy explains how facts are checked and corrections are handled.