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Description
Since the dawn of time, humanity has sought new ideas, forever developing them into still newer concepts. Their genius made them stand out from the other animals. Each invention is a veritable evolutionary step. Humans' use of tools surpasses the efforts of all others, making Homo sapiens technologists since before historical records were invented.
Inventions: Evolution of Ideas follows humanity's most noteworthy innovations and places the power of these technological developments in your hands to evolve your societies over the ages.
In Inventions, cards simulate these new concepts. Cards are the ideas that eventually become inventions. Once they are invented, these technologies can be shared with the world, and everyone involved in the process spreads the exciting news, giving credit where credit is due. Developing these inventions progresses your society, advancing its technology, economy, and culture. You can even share with other societies, boosting the inventions' efficacy even more!
Inventions is a tactical game, but you will do best by building these tactics around a long-term strategy. Each society's progress will be measured in Intellectual Property Points (IPP), and the player who has the most IPP has the strongest society and wins the game.
Year Published
2024
Transcript Analysis
Browse transcript mentions, sentiments, pros/cons, mechanics, topics, quotes, and references.
Total mentions: 3
This page: 3
Sentiment:
pos 2 ·
mix 0 ·
neu 0 ·
neg 1
Showing 1–3 of 3
Video NitC6ukS1GU
The Broken Meeple general_discussion at 21:33 sentiment: negative
video_pk 7507 · mention_pk 22300
Click to watch at 21:33
Overall sentiment (raw)
negative
Pros
- Well-made components
- Good graphic design
- Decent innovation mechanic with chaining system
Cons
- Theme barely exists despite inventions topic
- Does not evolve or develop any of Lacerda's design ideas
- Generic worker placement gameplay
- Anticlimactic actions and rewards
- Clunky multi-step actions
- Requires constant rule-book reference
- Long play time (2.5-3 hours)
- Significant downtime due to action chaining
- Grid placement feels pointless
- Weak incentive system and objective tiles
- Similar to Weather Machine but without its charm
Thematic elements
- Development of inventions through history
- Historical innovation
- Worker placement euro with weak theme integration
Comparison games
- Kanban
- Gallerist
- Vinhos
- Lisboa
- Weather Machine
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- action chaining — Spend tokens to chain actions together
- Card development — Present, invent, and innovate idea cards
- Eras — Game progresses through multiple eras with blocked rows
- grid placement — Place objective tiles on a grid for victory points
- worker placement — Players place pieces on action spaces
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- I really enjoyed it clean you just take the cards you move up the prices
- I didn't really know much about this game because I missed a Kickstarter
- I am hyped for this game hegemony has probably been my best game I've played of the year so far
- You need to temper your expectations a bit for this game
- trade show it's just it's kind of irresponsible really
- I'm getting sick of it
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video 3Mvl6A2gwak
Tabletop Turtle rules teach at 0:00 sentiment: positive
video_pk 5901 · mention_pk 17489
Click to watch at 0:00
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Clear, structured rule explanation embedded in an engaging tutorial
- Strong thematic integration with historical invention and milestones
- Diverse action economy (present, invent, share, innovate, travel) keeps plays varied
Cons
- High complexity and a long setup can be intimidating for new players
- Rulebook is dense; there is significant learning required to maximize efficiency
Thematic elements
- Human ingenuity, invention, and societal progress drive civilization forward through eras and milestones.
- An expansive historical arc spanning multiple eras, exploring how humanity's knowledge and technology accumulate over time.
- A didactic, performative explanation of rules and components delivered with a humorous in-character host and a playful historic figure.
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Chain actions — Certain main actions can be augmented by chain action tokens, enabling multiple effects in a single turn.
- Era track and Chronos/Kronos dynamics — The game progresses through six eras with Chronos driving endgame timing and scoring windows.
- Idea presentation — Players place idea cards on region displays, triggering actions that advance ingenuity and progress.
- Invent and share actions — Inventions are created and shared with others to gain benefits and move toward endgame scoring.
- Milestones and diplomats — Milestones provide prerequisites for advances; diplomats and milestones shape endgame scoring and diplomacy.
- Progress tiles and builds — Building progress tiles provides lasting or situational benefits, often requiring exhaustion of workers.
- Region map and knowledge tiles — Citizens are placed on a region map; knowledge tiles fuel actions and region development.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- you're here to learn inventions
- evolution of ideas
- this game is set up for four players
- you big dumb lazy DaVinci out
- we're gonna go through the set of steps fairly quickly here to get to the good stuff
- let's go over the main board together
- this is the era track the game takes place over six eras
- the four main actions of the game that you'll often be performing the rest is easier I promise
- I bet you think you can have bread without the knowledge of fire silly non-inventor
- oh hi there I'm Leonardo da Vinci maybe you know me I'm uh kind of a big deal
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video Grh7cORrJSU
Unknown Channel unboxing at 0:00 sentiment: positive
video_pk 5629 · mention_pk 16702
Click to watch at 0:00
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Thematic integration of invention and technology progression.
- Milestones becoming public knowledge; shared advancement.
- Clear page-per-action rule illustrations aiding readability.
- Strong production quality: well-designed inserts and player aids.
- Interactive player interaction; limited direct conflict but strong competition for tech.
Cons
- Iconography can appear daunting to new players.
- Rulebook density may present a learning curve.
- Chaining mechanics can be complex and may take time to master.
Thematic elements
- invention, knowledge sharing, and technological progression
- A civilization advancing through inventions from Stone Age to modern era across global regions
- historical progression with global interaction
Comparison games
- Spades (mentioned as a chaining concept reference in other games)
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- action_selection — Players select actions from groups; large pillar and small pillars determine available actions; rounds reveal chained actions
- chain_actions — Performed actions can unlock subsequent actions, allowing a sequence of effects
- end_game_scoring — Secret goals scored at game end; three goal types with two chosen at end (Paul-friendly).
- milestones_and_shared_knowledge — Milestones become public knowledge when their technology gets advanced; players benefit globally
- technologies_present_invent_share_innovate — Three-step process: present, invent, and innovate; technologies can be invented and then improved by others
- tile_and_sleeve_society_board — Players place society tiles and manage specialists on their own board to gain bonuses
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- Milestones represent certain key technological improvements... once that technology goes over to this side of the board... everybody can do them
- one action per page
- the core mechanism of the game is chaining of actions
- end game scoring is Paul-friendly
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Transcript Navigation
Showing 1–3 of 3