Innovation

2010

Carl Chudyk's board game takes players on a trip from the stone age to the modern era. Build your civilization with strategic card play, score achievements, and outsmart opponents to win!

60
minutes

2 - 4
player(s)

12+

Medium

About the game

Innovation is an engrossing and strategic board game that takes you on an exciting journey through the ages of human civilization. As a player, you are tasked with leading your civilization from the early ages of stone tools and wheel invention, through to the modern era of the internet and advanced technology. Your mission is to harness the power of innovation and lead your civilization to the pinnacle of human achievement.

Set against the backdrop of human history, the game rewards strategic planning, foresight, and a keen understanding of your civilization’s strengths and weaknesses. The core mechanics of the game revolve around developing your civilization’s technologies and structures, managing resources, and competing against other civilizations for dominance.

Game components Unboxing the fun!

Innovation is an engaging and tactical board game that involves technology development and civilization building. Each game component contributes to the overall gameplay experience. Let’s delve into each component and its role in the game.

1. Deck of 105 Innovation Cards: The core of the game, these cards represent various technologies, ideas, and advancements each player will discover and implement throughout the game. Each card belongs to one of ten different periods (from the prehistoric era to the modern age) and features a unique ability that can give a player an advantage.

2. Five Player Boards: Each player receives a board to keep track of their progress. The board contains five sections: hand, score pile, achievement pile, and two ‘in play’ areas (top and bottom). These sections help organize the cards for each player and track their progress.

3. Deck of 5 Special Achievement Cards: These cards represent significant milestones in civilization, such as ‘World’ or ‘Universe’. Players can claim these achievements if they meet specific conditions, providing another path to victory.

4. Deck of 20 Regular Achievement Cards: These cards are tied to the ten different periods. Players can claim these achievements by reaching a certain score and having a top card from the corresponding period on their board.

5. Card Reference Sheets: These sheets provide a quick reference for players to understand the various icons and card abilities in the game.

Each component interacts with the game in its unique way. The Innovation Cards drive the gameplay, providing players with actions and abilities. The Player Boards organize these cards and track progress. The Achievement Cards provide additional goals for players to strive for, hastening the game’s end when claimed. Finally, the Card Reference Sheets help players understand the game mechanics and make strategic decisions.

Game setup Lay it out, line it up, let’s go

Innovation is a dynamic and strategic card game that takes you through the different ages of human development. Here is a step-by-step guide to setting up the game:

Step 1: Player Roles

Each player in the game is a leader of a civilization, and their goal is to develop their civilization by acquiring and fanning out cards that represent different technological advancements.

Step 2: Card Setup

The game consists of 105 cards, divided into ten different ages or “periods”. Each period contains different numbers of cards. To set up, follow the steps below:

Separate the cards according to their period number (1 to 10). Each period should have its own pile.
Shuffle each pile separately and place them face-down in the center of the table in ascending order (1 on the top).

Step 3: Initial Resources

Every player starts the game with two cards from the first period. These initial cards represent the fundamental technologies of your civilization. Players should fan these cards out in front of them, so all players can see them.

Step 4: Board Placement

There is no physical board in Innovation; instead, the game is played entirely with cards. Each player’s space in front of them is their ‘board’. The cards in their board are divided into five ‘colors’ (or suits), and each color can have multiple cards stacked on top of each other, with only the top card visible (this is known as a ‘pile’).

Step 5: Random Elements

The inherent randomness in Innovation comes from the draw of the cards. Since each period’s pile is shuffled separately, you never know which technology (card) you’re going to draw next.

Also, some cards have a ‘Demand’ symbol, which lets you demand that other players give you a card of a certain color from their hand. The randomness of these demands adds a layer of unpredictability to the game.

Now that you have set up the game, you can begin playing. Remember, the goal of the game is to score achievements, which are earned by meeting specific conditions on the cards. The player with the most achievements at the end of the game wins. Good luck!

Game flow Round and round we go

Innovation is an engrossing card-based strategy game where players guide a civilization from the dawn of prehistory to the future. Each civilization must balance between drawing cards, melding cards, achieving dominance, and launching attacks on other civilizations.

In each round of the game, players take two actions from among four possible choices, in any order. The round ends when both players have taken their two actions. The actions available to players are as follows:

Draw a card: The player draws a card from the deck corresponding to his or her highest top card on the board.
Meld a card: The player takes a card from his or her hand and places it on top of any matching color piles on the board.
Dogma: The player picks one of his or her top cards and executes its dogma effects.
Achieve: If a player has enough score and a top card of a certain age, he or she can claim an achievement, which is a step towards winning the game.

Each phase in Innovation is dictated by the ages of the cards in play. The game begins in the Prehistory Phase (Age 1) and can progress all the way to the Future Phase (Age 10), with each new phase representing a new era of human innovation. The game ends when a player meets one of the three winning conditions.

Winning conditions: A player can win the game in one of three ways:

Achievements: If a player claims a certain number of achievements, based on the number of players, he or she wins the game.
Score: If a player has a score of at least 50 points at the end of his or her turn, he or she wins the game.
Special achievements: Some cards provide special achievements that can also lead to a win.

The game’s structure and pace can shift rapidly, as players leap ahead in technology, suffer setbacks from attacks, or strategically deny resources to their opponents. The key to victory in Innovation lies in carefully managing one’s civilization, adapting to new circumstances, and seizing opportunities as they arise.

Players'turn One turn to rule them all

In the board game Innovation, player’s turns involve numerous actions and strategic choices. These actions and strategic decisions give the game its depth and replayability. Here is a detailed breakdown of what a player may do on their turn in Innovation:

Draw:

In this action, you draw a card from a pile corresponding to your highest top card. If this action is not possible (all piles of that age are empty), you draw from the next available pile. Drawing cards is essential for getting more options in your hand and being able to meld (play) more cards. It can also trigger a special scoring phase called “Achievement”.
Meld:

In this action, you take a card from your hand and place it on top of any matching colored piles in your board area. If there are no piles of that color, you start a new one. Melding allows you to access new abilities and potentially increase your score. Choosing which card to meld requires strategic thinking – you need to consider the abilities you need and how to prevent opponents from gaining an advantage.
Dogma:

In this action, you activate the effects of a top card in one of your piles (based on its color). The effects of a card can be beneficial to you, harmful to your opponents, or both. When deciding to activate a card’s Dogma effects, you need to consider both the immediate and long-term implications of those effects.
Achieve:

In this action, you claim an achievement, provided you meet certain requirements. Achievements are one of the main ways to win the game. Strategic considerations when achieving include when to achieve (since it ends your turn) and which achievements to aim for (since each one requires different conditions).

It’s important to remember that in Innovation, your turn consists of two actions. You may take the same action twice, or two different actions. The order in which you take these actions can also be a strategic consideration. For example, you might want to meld a card before drawing, so that you have a wider range of options when you draw. Or you might want to achieve before melding, to secure an achievement before your opponents can.

In summary, each player’s turn in Innovation is filled with strategic decisions and potential actions. Understanding how these actions interact and affect gameplay is key to mastering the game.

End of the game All good games must come to an end

Innovation is a dynamic board game that can end in multiple ways. It is important to understand how and when the game ends in order to effectively strategize and play. The game of Innovation ends when one of the following conditions are met:

Achievements: If a player claims a sufficient number of achievements, they win the game. The required number depends on the number of players. In a two-player game, a player needs six achievements to win. In a three-player game, the requirement is five, and in a four-player game, it’s four.
Score: If a player has a score of at least 50 points at the end of their action phase, they win the game. However, the game does not end immediately when a player scores 50 points. They must survive until the end of their action phase without another player claiming victory through a different condition.
Special Achievements: Some cards in the game award Special Achievements. If a player meets the conditions on one of these cards at the end of their action phase, they can claim that achievement and immediately win the game.

Before final scoring, players must complete the following actions:

All players must complete their current turn, ensuring that everyone has had an equal number of turns.
Any pending actions or effects must be resolved.
Players count their total points from cards in their score pile. Add these to any points gained from achievements.
If a player has claimed a Special Achievement, they must verify they still meet the conditions of that achievement. If they do not, the achievement is forfeited.

It is important to note that the game does not end immediately when one of the victory conditions is met. Instead, the game concludes at the end of the current player’s action phase. This allows other players a final chance to claim victory through a different condition.

Scoring Did you outsmart your rivals?

Innovation is a dynamic board game where points are awarded based on the development and advancement of technologies. The scoring system can appear complex at first, but it essentially boils down to the accumulation and management of ‘score’ points and ‘achievement’ points. Here, we will break down the whole scoring system.

Score Points:

Score points are generally earned by activating the ‘score’ action on a technology card. The number of points received depends on the specific technology card.
Some technology cards allow players to take score points from the pool or even steal from other players.
Score points can also be lost due to certain actions of opponents or specific technology cards.

Achievement Points:

Achievement points are earned by claiming achievement cards. There are two types of achievement cards: ‘Age Achievements’ and ‘Special Achievements’.
‘Age Achievements’ can be claimed when a player has a score equal to or greater than the number of the age of the achievement and has a top card of the same age or higher on their board.
‘Special Achievements’ have unique conditions described on the cards themselves.
Each achievement card is worth one achievement point.

Winning the Game:

The winner of the game is determined by who has the most achievement points when one of the three end-game conditions is met. These conditions are:

All the ‘Age Achievements’ up to Age 9 have been claimed.
The draw deck is exhausted for a second time.
A player claims the ‘Universe’ special achievement.

Tie-breaking Rules:

In the event of a tie in achievement points, the game employs the following tie-breaking rules:

The player with the most score points wins.
If there is still a tie, the player with the highest top card in their board wins.
If there is still a tie, the player who claimed an achievement card first wins.

Particular Cases and Exceptions Wait… is that legal?

In the board game ‘Innovation’, there are a few special circumstances and rules that can affect the outcome of the game. Understanding these exceptions and rule clarifications can help improve your strategy and gameplay.

Special Achievements

There are special achievements that players can obtain once they meet specific conditions. These include:

The Empire: This achievement can be claimed by a player who has 3 or more active purple cards during their action phase.
The Universe: A player can claim this achievement if they tuck a card of value 10 during their action phase.

Special Rules for the Dogma Action

The Dogma action is a unique action that allows a player to activate the effect of a card in their tableau. However, there are a few special rules regarding the Dogma action:

If a player’s card shares a color with another player’s top card of the same color, the second player also gets to execute the Dogma effect. This is known as a “shared” action.
When a Dogma action is shared, the instigating player performs the action first, followed by the other players in clockwise order.
If a player has more of the card color in their tableau than the player who initiated the Dogma action, they are not required to share the action.

Rule Clarifications

There are a few additional rule clarifications that can greatly affect gameplay:

When splaying your cards, you are allowed to splay in any direction (left, right, or up), but you must always reveal cards in the order they were tucked.
When achieving, the card you use to achieve does not have to come from your hand. It can come from your score pile as well.
The game ends immediately when a player achieves a certain number of achievements, depending on the number of players. The game does not continue until the end of the round.

Tips and tricks Play smarter, not harder!

Advanced Strategies in ‘Innovation’

Understand the game’s pace. ‘Innovation’ moves quickly, and the best strategies often involve adapting to the cards you draw and the actions of your opponents. Be ready to shift tactics as the game progresses.
Pay attention to your opponents’ boards. Look for opportunities to use their top cards to your advantage, or to prevent them from using their cards against you.
Try to keep a balance between the different types of cards in your hand. Each color has its own strengths, and a diverse hand will give you more options.
Take advantage of the ‘splay’ action. Splaying your cards can give you a huge advantage, especially if you can do it before your opponents.

Beginner Tips for ‘Innovation’

Learn the symbols on the cards. The symbols represent different types of innovation, and understanding what they do is key to playing the game well.
Don’t ignore the achievements. While it’s possible to win without them, they provide a stable source of points that can’t be taken away.
Try to keep your hand full. The more cards you have, the more options you have. Don’t hesitate to draw cards if your hand is getting low.
Experiment with different strategies. The best way to learn ‘Innovation’ is to try different approaches and see what works for you.

Common Mistakes to Avoid in ‘Innovation’

Don’t focus too much on one type of card. It’s easy to get caught up in trying to build a powerful combo, but a well-rounded approach is usually more effective.
Avoid neglecting your opponents’ boards. It’s important to keep an eye on what your opponents are doing, as their actions can directly impact your game.
Don’t forget about the achievements. They can be easy to overlook, but they are a crucial part of the game.
Don’t try to learn everything at once. ‘Innovation’ is a complex game, and it’s easy to get overwhelmed. Take it one step at a time, and don’t be afraid to ask for help.

Ways to Optimize Gameplay in ‘Innovation’

Work on your card management. A good hand of cards is crucial in ‘Innovation’. Make sure to keep your hand full and balanced.
Focus on timing. The right action at the right time can swing the game in your favor. Pay attention to the state of the game and try to anticipate your opponents’ moves.
Use the ‘splay’ action wisely. Splaying your cards can give you a massive advantage, but it also makes your cards vulnerable. Use this action at the right time to maximize its benefits and minimize its risks.
Practice regularly. The more you play, the better you’ll get. Practice different strategies, and learn from your mistakes.