Review Details

Ingenious

Product Rating:

Product Review (submitted on December 9, 2008):

I was very happy to recently acquire this game at a used board game sale. I already owned Blokus, which is a game somewhat similar to Ingenious, so I was hesitant to pay the full price for the game, but given the opportunity to acquire it for half the normal price, I deigned.

Ingenious is a tile laying game, very much like Dominos. Players first draw six tiles blind from a bag. Each tile has two symbols on it and are shaped like two hexagons placed side by side. Play then goes around the table as each player places one piece. They score points for every symbol they line up in a row. There are six symbols and each player score track has the players keeping track of their score for each symbol. The only score that matters to the player is the lowest one on their own track, as that is their score at the end of the game. However, if the player is able to move the score for a symbol to the end on their track, then they can shout "Ingenious!" and play another piece.

The scoring is a bit tricky to figure out at first. However, the rules (which is just a single double-sided page) has plenty of excellent examples that cover every possible scoring outcome. The game is especially notable for its multi-player rules. The playing area on the board itself varies depending on the number of players, which makes the game exciting no matter how many people are playing. As well, there is a solitaire variant of the rules for people who like to hone their skills.

Like all Fantasy Flight games, the components of Ingenious are excellent. The pieces come with a black pull-string bag that can be used for shuffling and blind draws. The board is well-made and strong and the pieces themselves are made of very durable plastic. The score tracks are thick cardboard and small wooden cubes are used to keep score, which can be annoying if people bump the table often. I would have preferred a slide-track instead. There are racks that are included with the game for players to keep their pieces on, like in Scrabble. However, the rack is just barely large enough to keep the hand of six and you'll often find that the pieces will fall off, especially if there are table bumpers in your group. I would suggest ignoring the racks and keeping your pieces face-down in front of you instead.

Overall, the game is really fun. I always like bringing it out for new people. It is very easy to learn and play and there is enough strategy involved to keep the game interesting for a long time without making it daunting for new players. Highly recommended.