INNOVATION: THIRD EDITION

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The player aids are enough to ensure that there isn’t too much confusion though so we’re not talking Netrunner levels of obscurity. But really obscure terminology is something publishers should be avoiding in their games now. I miss my artwork ex: "Score a blue card from you hand. If you do, draw a card of value one higher than the card you scored." Each expansion has 105 additional unique cards, split into 10 ages, just like the base set. Each set is kept in separate supply piles, and has unique rules for how its cards are drawn. Upgrade your buildings to gain valuable resources such as Tools, Scholars, Money, and Power. Build schools to advance in different sciences, and collect books, which you can use to create innovations. Build your palace to gain a powerful new ability, or build workshops, guilds, and universities to complete your culture.

A Relic in your hand acts like any other card, possibly being melded, scored, returned, etc. While in your hand, on your board, or in your score pile, it cannot be seized. A returned relic is returned to the available Relics area, where it may be seized again. A relic in your hand, on your board, or in your score pile is affected by all the rules and effects that apply to those cards. Execute the effects ... as if they were on this card— execute the effects printed on the targeted card as if they were printed on this card, meaning the featured icon will be the one on this card, which may affect who shares them or is vulnerable to them. References to "other" cards could affect the targeted card. However, if you start your turn with an Artifact already on display, you get a free special action at the start of your turn, before your normal actions. With this action, you choose one of three options: The game ends immediately (even during a dogma effect) when any player attempts to draw a card higher than a 10, for any reason.

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ex: "Choose a card set and draw two 2s." You choose "Artifacts". There are cards in the Artifacts age 2 supply pile, but the base age 2 supply pile is empty. There are cards in the base age 3 supply pile, so you draw two cards from the Artifacts age 3 supply pile, skipping over age 2, as it is treated as "empty".) (Original printings of some cards referred to a card's "type", which is the same as card set. The wording of all the cards on BGA have been changed to "card set" to reduce confusion.)

Experienced players will notice they changed the names of resources, to make them a bit more in accordance with the “innovation” theme. Priests are now scholars, workers are tools, mines are workshops, favor tiles are competent tiles, and so on. While this is in no way detrimental, it can be slightly confusing. RulebookEssentially the more players you have, the more chaos that may ensue from dogma effects. This is quite fun to witness however so I don’t mind a three player game for that reason, but Innovation is always at its best with two players or two teams. If you think that four players is all you’ll do, then you won’t get the best out of this game. Balancing Chaos Being cleaner however does mean it’s a little easier to teach. . . mostly. The rule book is pretty clear on all the key rules, with very good pictorial examples of the dogma effects and what it means to splay cards left, right and up. A Relic in your achievements pile counts as a claimed achievement as long as it stays there (remember that Relics can be seized from achievement piles). You’ll be surprised how many important decisions you’ll make over the course of one game and the game will differ depending on what cards come out and when.

In a 2 player game with just the base set, 6 achievements are required. For each extra player, subtract one from the requirement. For each expansion added, add one to the requirement.

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Draw [and ...] when a dogma effect tells you to draw a card, it will always specify what value to draw. Use this value, even if it is different from what a Draw Action would have you draw. If the effect tells you to get that value from another card, and no such card exists (e.g., "Draw a card equal to the value of your top purple", but you have no purples on your board), then the value is 0. As there are no 0 supply piles ever in the game, you skip up to 1 (and further if necessary). If you are are told to Draw and [ something else], you do the [ something else] with the card that you just drew. "Draw and meld a 6" means you draw from the age 6 supply pile (or age 7 if age 6 is empty, and so on), and then meld that card. You cannot choose to meld a different card from your hand, or any other card. Drawing a Cities card is automatically triggered in these cases, it is not optional and does not use an action. In either case, if victory is awarded, the game is ended immediately. In a team game, this grants victory to that player's teammate, as well. Playing with Expansions