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Play Anticipation (US edition · English) Online
Anticipation
Recognize a picture as the pencil draws it, buzz in and spell its English name to collect colors and climb a stack of game boards.
Browser play
Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) / Famicom — EmulatorJS controls
Default Player 1 keyboard mapping. Change keys in Controllers Setting.
| Console button | Keyboard |
|---|---|
| ↑ / ↓ / ← / → | ↑ / ↓ / ← / → |
| A / B | Z / X |
| START / SELECT | Enter / V |
Open Controllers Setting to configure your keyboard or gamepad. Touch controls are available on mobile.
How to Play Anticipation
Quick start
Press START, then use Left/Right and A to choose human players, computer opponents and difficulty. Try one human against one computer on EASY. Watch the picture and press your assigned buzzer when you recognize it. Move along the alphabet with Left/Right and enter each letter with A or B; the answer must use the game’s English spelling.
Controls
Left/Right and A set up the game. During a picture, Down or your assigned A/B buttons buzz in; then Left/Right chooses letters and A or B enters them. Four-player buzzers: controller 1 D-pad=Shoes, A/B=Trumpet; controller 2 D-pad=Teddy, A/B=Ice Cream. START begins and pauses/resumes outside puzzles; puzzles cannot be paused. SELECT is unused.
Anticipation — About this game
Every puzzle begins with an unfinished drawing. The first contestant to buzz in gets a timed chance to enter its name, one letter at a time. One wrong letter is allowed; another mistake or an expired timer gives rivals a chance to solve it. A correct answer earns the puzzle’s color and moves the winner’s marker by the number currently showing on the countdown die. Waiting for a useful number can help reach a missing color, but another player may answer first. Collect all four colors on a board to rise to the next level, then complete the remaining boards to win. Sixteen subject categories supply pictures of everyday objects and more unusual ideas. Harder settings gradually remove guide dots and letter-count clues, while advanced boards introduce moving Feature Squares and gaps that drop a marker down a level. One to four people can compete, with computer opponents filling spare places up to four total. Three or four people share two controllers for buzzing in.
Cheats
No cheats have been added for this edition.