Designed by: Reiner Knizia
Ingenious (also published as Mensa) is a game of patterns – each player has a rack of coloured tiles that, on their turn, they place anywhere on the board. When their tile matches with other tiles of the same colour, they score points for however many “links” they have created – at the start these will be a few points but they can increase exponentially during the game.
A game of one rule means almost anyone can play – but like many games with simple rules, there is some depth to actual play, especially as the game nears its end and opportunities for scoring start to rapidly decrease: as well as scoring for yourself, you need to keep in mind what opportunities you are potentially leaving open to the other players.
Really simple game that is great for developing strategic thought and planning. There is also a ‘travel’ version available, much smaller, that is for just two players.
Blocking moves do form a part of the game but they're not the main feature.
Ingenious moves quickly.
Although it is a game with depth, it shouldn't take forever to make a decision.
The simpleness of the game and random distribution of pieces mean it's always different.
2-4
Players
6+
Years
30-60
Mins
Sam says
It's one of those games where the rules are so simple it feels - at first - like a child's game. But luck has minimal-to-no involvement here; it's a very tactical game when you get a closer look.