Innovation

Innovation's setup begins by separating cards into age piles numbered 1 through 11. One card from ages 1 through 10 is placed face down in a circle at the center of the table, while the age 11 cards form their own separate deck. Five domain cards and a discard deck are placed nearby. Each player receives a reference card, a designated area for influence and domination cards, and two cards drawn from the age 1 pile. Players simultaneously review their starting cards, play one face up, and the player with the alphabetically first card in their title goes first. This layout prepares the table for a dynamic game of civilization-building where players will stack cards by color, manage their hand, and compete for influence and historical achievements.

The main objective of Innovation is to claim a specific number of achievement cards based on the player count. Players achieve this by accumulating influence, meeting specific card conditions, or fulfilling special victory criteria listed on domain and dogma cards. As players advance through historical ages, they must carefully balance expanding their tableau, managing card colors, and leveraging powerful dogma effects to outmaneuver their opponents and secure historical dominance.

During a player's turn, they perform two actions chosen from four main options: drawing a card from the appropriate age pile, playing a card from their hand onto their tableau matching its color, dominating a central age stack by meeting influence requirements, or activating the dogma of a visible card in their tableau. Dogma effects can be cooperative or competitive, often triggering chain reactions that affect all players based on symbol majorities. Turn order moves clockwise, and the game progresses through these tactical choices until victory conditions are met.

Scoring and victory in Innovation do not rely on traditional points, but rather on collecting achievement cards. Players gain achievements by meeting influence thresholds relative to card ages, satisfying specific board states, or triggering special card conditions. Influence is calculated by summing the values of cards in a player's influence pile, while domination cards represent successfully claimed central age stacks, moving players closer to winning the game.

The game can end in several ways: a player successfully claims the required number of achievements to win instantly, a player is forced to draw from an empty age 11 deck, a player is eliminated by card effects leaving only one standing, or a card's dogma triggers an immediate win condition. These varied end-game triggers keep players on edge and reward adaptable, forward-thinking strategies.