Era of Inventions

About this board game

Era of Inventions is an industrial-era strategy game for 3–5 players, played in about 90 minutes. Across 8, 9, or 10 rounds, players compete to become the most influential force in an age of groundbreaking discoveries.

Step into the world of Alexander Graham Bell, Karl Benz, the Wright brothers, and other pioneers of invention. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, famous inventions appeared in a certain order; here, you determine that order as you create, patent, and introduce inventions to markets and the world.

Each round, your supply of action tokens limits what you can accomplish. You must choose carefully among important opportunities, balancing your money, goods, development points, and available actions to make the most of the time available.

• Build factories to expand your industrial capabilities.
• Buy or produce goods to support your progress.
• Make and produce new inventions.
• Register patents to protect your influence in the industry.

The inventions include the cash register, sewing machine, typewriter, telephone, gramophone, photographic camera, car, steam engine, and plane. You may race competitors to invent as much as possible or push quickly through the production process, but ignoring patents can cost you influence.

In Era of Inventions, success comes from using your actions, money, goods, and development points wisely. When the final round ends, the player who has earned the most influence wins the game.