Ingenious (board game)
A game in play
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| Designer(s) | Reiner Knizia |
|---|---|
| Publisher(s) |
Fantasy Flight Games Kosmos Sophisticated Games |
| Players | 1-4 |
| Setup time | 1 minute |
| Playing time | 45 minutes |
| Random chance | Medium |
| Skill(s) required | Strategic thought |
Ingenious is the English name for Einfach Genial (Simply Ingenious), a German abstract strategy board game designed by Reiner Knizia under commission from Sophisticated Games and published in 2004 by Kosmos. Across most of Europe it is titled as the local translation of Ingenious or Simply Ingenious, the notable exception being Mensa Connections in the UK.
With the exception of the game box and rule sheet (which require regional translations), identical components are used in each version of the game.
There are six coloured symbols used in the game:
Tiles are in the shape of two conjoined hexagons, with one of the coloured symbols in each hexagon. There are six tiles for each two-colour combination (e.g. red/orange) and five for each double (e.g. blue/blue). The combination of colours and symbols aids visually impaired players.
The game can be played by two, three or four players, with additional rules provided for solo and four-player partnership play. Each player has a rack of six randomly chosen tiles which are concealed from the other players. The board is also made up of a number of hexagons, with the two outermost rings reserved for three- and four-player games respectively. The rules state that the youngest player takes the first turn, although where multiple games are played it is common practice for the first turn to rotate clockwise around the board in subsequent games.
Players take turns placing a tile on the board, scoring points by creating lines of identically colored hexes. On the first turn, each player must place a tile next to a different one of the six printed colored symbols on the board; thereafter players may place tiles on any free space.
Scoring occurs from each of the two symbols on the tile. Counting outwards in a straight line from each of the five available faces of the two hexagons (the symbols on the tile itself are not counted), one point is scored in that tile's color for each identical symbol in an unbroken line. It is therefore possible to score points on two colors by placing a single tile.
Each player's score is public knowledge at all times.
If a player reaches a score of 18 with any colour, they declare 'Ingenious', 'Genial' or 'Mensa' (depending on which language version they are playing) and place a further tile. Achieving a score of 18 on two colours at the same time will earn two bonus plays, and bonus plays may earn further bonus plays by reaching 18 points on another colour. Once a player has used their bonus play for any colour, they will not score additional points or earn further bonus plays on that particular colour. All bonus plays are made from the player's current rack of tiles. Bonus plays must be used immediately.
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Wikipedia