How to Play

Innovation

2-5 players 20-60 min 7.3 Board Game Geek Rating

Innovation is a civilization-building card game spanning prehistory to the future. Players construct tableaux using technology cards from different ages, each with unique thematic effects. You can benefit from opponents' innovations by accumulating matching icons, while strategically defending against attacks. Victory comes through claiming achievements by scoring points or meeting specific card requirements.

Published 2010

Innovation

Get Ready

Setup the game with these step-by-step instructions before diving into your turn.

1
Shuffle cards by Period
Separate all 105 Innovation cards by Period (1-10) and shuffle each Period into its own draw pile
2
Arrange draw piles
Place the 10 Period draw piles in the center of the table as illustrated, with Period 1 on one end and Period 10 on the other
3
Create Period domination cards
Draw the first card from Periods 1 through 9 without looking at them and place them face-down in the center to represent Periods to be dominated
4
Place Domain cards
Set the 5 Influence Domain cards to the side of the play area where all players can see them
5
Distribute gaming boards
Give each player one gaming board to organize their Zone, Influence, and Dominations
6
Draw starting cards
Each player draws 2 cards from the Period 1 draw pile
7
Choose initial Innovation
Each player selects one of their two cards to put in play face up in their Zone, keeping the other card hidden in their Hand
8
Determine first player
The player whose Innovation in play comes first alphabetically is the first player
9
Adjust first turn actions
The first player (or the first two players in a four-player game) gets only one action on their first turn instead of two

On Your Turn

What you can do during your turn.

1
Perform two actions
On your turn, carry out two actions which may be different or identical from the following options: Draw, Play, Activate, or Dominate
2
Inform other players
Always let other players know how many cards you have in Hand and what their values are
3
Draw a card
Take a card from the Period draw pile equal to the value of your highest Active card and add it to your Hand
4
Draw from Period 1 if no cards in play
If you have no cards in play, draw from the Period 1 pile
5
Draw from higher Period if empty
If the Period you must draw from is empty, draw from the next higher non-empty Period instead
6
Minimum draw restriction
You cannot draw from a Period lower than your highest Active card's value
7
Play a card from Hand
Choose any card from your Hand and put it in play in your Zone on top of the pile of the same color
8
Start a new pile
If that color is not yet in play in your Zone, the card starts a new pile
9
Maintain splaying
If the pile is already splayed, place the card so as to continue splaying in the same direction
10
Play any value
You can put in play a card of any value, even covering a higher-value card with a lower one
11
Choose an Active card
Select one of your Active cards (visible cards on top of your color piles) to activate its Dogmas
12
Identify the required icon
Each Dogma is tagged with an icon indicating its type and the required icon players must count
13
Count icons for all players
All players add up their icons matching the required icon to determine if they are affected by the Dogma
14
Resolve Supremacy Dogmas
For Dogmas marked with the demand symbol that begin with "I demand," affected players are those with fewer of the required icons than you
15
Resolve Cooperative Dogmas
For Dogmas marked with the cooperation symbol, affected players are those with at least as many of the required icons as you
16
Earn Cooperation Bonus
If at least one other player benefits from your Cooperative Dogma, gain a free Draw action at the end of the card's resolution
17
Complete all effects
All Dogma effects must be fully carried out by every affected player, even if the card is covered or lost during execution
18
Mandatory participation
An affected player cannot decide not to carry out a Dogma unless the text specifies "you may"
19
Activate same card twice
You may use your two actions to activate the same card twice
20
Meet influence requirement
Your total Influence points must be at least five times the value of the Period you wish to dominate
21
Meet Active card requirement
The value of one of your Active cards must be equal to or higher than the Period you wish to dominate
22
Claim the Period
Use the action to take the corresponding Period card from the center and archive it face-down under Dominations to the right of your Gaming Board
23
Permanent domination
You do not spend Influence points and can never lose dominated Periods
24
Active card
The visible card face up on top of any of your color piles
25
Archive a card
Put a card at the bottom of the pile of same color, splaying it if the pile is already splayed; if no pile exists, start a new one
26
Score a card
Slip a card under your board on the left side in your Influence area, leaving its value visible
27
Influence total
The sum of all values of cards in your Influence area
28
Splay a pile
Slide cards in the indicated direction to reveal icons on cards beneath the Active card
29
Transfer cards
Move cards as instructed; if you don't have enough, transfer as many as you can
30
Recycle a card
Place the card face down beneath the draw pile of the corresponding Period
31
Exchange cards
Give a card and receive one; the exchange can occur even if one player has nothing to exchange
32
Discard cards
Remove cards from the game entirely and return them to the box
33
Automatic domination
Domains are dominated immediately and automatically when a player meets the requirements shown on the Domain card, without using actions
34
Check icon requirements
Each Domain requires having at least 3 of specific resource icons to dominate
35
Alternative domination
Each Domain can also be dominated earlier by activating its specific Innovation card's Dogma
36
Tie resolution
If two players meet Domain requirements simultaneously, the Active player gets the Domain, or else the closest player to their left
37
Permanent possession
Like Periods, Domains can never be stolen or lost once dominated

Winning

How to claim victory.

1
Victory through Domination
The game immediately ends when a player dominates a specific number of Periods or Domains based on player count
2
Victory through Influence
The game immediately ends when a player must draw a card from a Period higher than 10
3
Victory through Dogma
The game immediately ends when a player activates a Dogma effect that declares a winner provided certain conditions are met

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FULL rules

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