Anticipation

Anticipation is one of the more unusual games in the NES library. Rather than putting you behind the wheel of a car or sending you into another platforming adventure, Rare turns the console into a fast-paced guessing game inspired by classic board games. Released by Nintendo in 1988, Anticipation can be played alone against computer opponents or with up to four players, making it especially interesting as a couch multiplayer game.

The basic idea is simple: watch a picture being drawn on the screen and figure out what it is before everyone else. A pencil gradually reveals the image while a die counts down, creating a little pressure to make your guess at the right moment. Guessing early can be risky if the drawing is still difficult to recognize, but waiting too long means giving up valuable spaces on the game board. Once you buzz in, you have to enter your answer using the controller, so knowing the answer is only part of the challenge.

The board is divided into four colored categories, and players need to solve puzzles from each color to progress. Across the game there are hundreds of puzzles covering 16 different categories, giving Anticipation considerably more variety than its simple presentation might suggest. Higher difficulty levels remove some of the helpful clues, making the later rounds much more demanding.

What makes Anticipation memorable is how well its simple idea works with friends. It feels less like a traditional NES game and more like a digital party game where quick thinking matters more than reflexes. The basic graphics are modest, but the guessing mechanic remains fun, especially when several players are competing and everyone thinks they know the answer first.