Anagramania indeed

Anagramania is probably the only board game designed for people who like to play with anagrams. What kind of people are these? you ask. Probably the very same people who like to play with words.

What is an anagram? you also ask. With the kind assistance of the Anagramaniacs, I exemplify:

"You'll find this arm joint a few inches below the shoulder."

See, the letters in the word in bold can be rearranged to spell another word, which is an answer, so to speak, to the clue. The word in question: elbow.

The above is classified by the aforementioned as a "junior anagram." Let us try an advanced:

"I expect to find trickery in each cry that is made."

Not advanced enough? Here's an anagram for experts: " He tried once to understand the clue, but it was too abstruse. (9) " The (9) lets you know how many letters are in the word or words to be rearranged. The lack of boldness to indicate which word or words you are looking to rearrange is what makes this anagram so expertworthy. Give up? You'll find the anagram, and others, along with their answers, here.

The Anagramania game comes with 24 different sets of anagram puzzles. Each set contains 20 anagrams. There are enough sets for up to six players. Perhaps one of the more ingenious aspects of the mechanics of the game is the use of ballot-like envelopes to house each sheet of anagrams. During each round of play, players pull the clue sheet from the envelope so they reveal only the next anagram, while the remaining anagrams stay hidden.

Perhaps even more ingenious is the game itself. The timer doesn't start until one player announces that he or she can solve the anagram. The rest of the players then have one minute to find the solution. This works brilliantly to keep everyone in play.

For those of you seeking immediate anagramatic, though significantly less gamelike, satisfaction, check out the I Rearrangement Service (a.k.a. Internet Anagram Server).