Innovation Deluxe

Hot take is that it reminds me of what I'd expect Chudyk to do with a spatial game (vs GtR/Mott which aren't really location/splay oriented). The almost dizzying options afforded a player with fewer than 10 games played is disorienting for many and enjoyable by others. It has his brand of chaotic explosion and I think Ben Draper had the best commentary on it that I've seen:

[q] Early experience with Innovation is dominated by individual cards. Since you don't yet know the full of range of possible actions, strong cards with non-obvious counters often go the distance. The game is now luck-based.

With more experience, you learn the counters to individual cards. How do you take out The Wheel and Metalworking? Engineering or Gunpowder. How do you take out Mathematics? Machinery or Societies. How do you take out Skyscrapers? Fission or just ending the game. Each card can be neutralized by one or more other cards, and thus the game becomes a scramble for the first "broken" card, and subsequently its counter or a "more broken" card. The game is now tactics-based.

With even more experience, you develop an awareness of game state patterns. You arrive at a certain game state and realize that you've seen it or something similar in a previous game, and you know its various branches. Your focus shifts to control of the game state, and you attempt to manipulate it to a position that will end in your victory. Good play sometimes entails passing up on achievements to establish board position, while other times it entails giving up board position to claim achievements. Either way, these actions are taken with a specific end in mind. It all depends upon the game state and how far ahead you can see. The game is now strategy-based.

In this way, it's a bit like jazz improvisation. Beginners play random notes that fit over the chord structure, with no sense of melodic logic except what feels right. Intermediate improvisers (such as myself) develop melodic patterns, or 'licks', that sound good at particular parts of the chord structure. They don't have a sense of the overall shape and scope of the improvisation, so they string together many of these melodic fragments into a pleasant-sounding, but ultimately meaningless, musical statement. Advanced improvisers have reached the point at which they cease to think about improvisation in terms of melodic patterns, and instead see it as a temporal canvas, where the architecture of the music is constructed at a macro level and descends from there. [/q]

My only two concerns are:

1. The early leader runaway potential. I don't know that it's an issue vs unexperienced play. In my games I've seen the person who got 1&2 achievements win, but some of those games there was a serious comeback mid-game (that ultimately failed) and some there was no comeback and it just toppled over.

2. there are a ton of cards, and because of their uniqueness and countering setups, knowing what cards are in the deck and possible to come out is rewarded. I don't know how much that is rewarded though.

Would expect north of 10 games to see this rise to an 8/10. Much like BattleCon, it's going to reward a lot of repeat play. I don't know that I'm ever going to get a weekly game in for example which might be what's required to really get good at it. That's fine, it earns a spot on the shelf regardless.

Ok so I am genuinely not sure what to make of this. Clearly there's a brilliant game in this chaos but unearthing it will take work that I am not sure I will be able to recruit others for.

Might downgrade to the regular edition as the box is smaller and it is absolutely unique and totally bonkers.

游戏背景： 从石器时代开始，通过选择那些决定人民命运的创新…….从微不足道的轮子和服装开始，到火药、民主和燃烧，一直到卫星和互联网，引领自己的文明走向巅峰！每一个创新都是独一无二的！ 超主观点评： 1、玩了大概有三四把，实在玩不懂，看来是真不适合我。有些牌的功能我始终觉得很鸡肋，比如，拿对手一张牌过来，然后自己又还一张有相同符号的回去。然后符号又很多，我也不懂哪种是强力的，就主打一个乱玩…… 2、和太阳之外一样，几乎没有美术，虽然这个多了一些图标，但看着还是不爽。 3、游戏获胜的方式很多，但是我都不懂这到底是优点还是缺点（有一局我好不容易准备赢的时候，别人摸出两张十级卡牌，获胜条件变成：影响力最低的玩家直接获得胜利，我输得一脸懵逼）。胜利条件有3种： 一是当有玩家获得一定数量的特殊成就时，其获得游戏胜利；二是当第10时代的牌库被摸空，又需要摸牌的时候，游戏也立即结束，分数最高的玩家获得胜利；三是在高时代还有很多会让人突然宣布胜利的卡牌，宣布的条件也多种多样。 玩法： 挺简单的，但还是有一些细节需要看一下才能开始的。玩家的回合有两个行动点，每个行动点可以做的事有：摸一张牌、打一张牌、执行一张已打出卡牌的效果、获得一个成就。

[size=16]❦ [/size] [b]Solo Mode[/b] // [thread=2766272]Unofficial Solo Variant[/thread] [size=16]❦ [/size] [b]Required Play Space[/b] // 36" x 28" [size=16]❦ [/size] [b]Setup Time[/b] // 5 Minutes [size=16]❦ [/size] [b]Play Time[/b] // 20 Minutes

:thumbsup: With so many unique cards, even a slightly different draw order can vastly change the available options. :thumbsup: Although building a tableau forms the main play area, adding to and manipulating a score pile is just as central. :thumbsup: Gameplay is mostly quick with very little downtime needed to figure out how to handle the solo opponent. :thumbsup: Only some of the cards are used with each play, so there are almost always new combinations to discover. :thumbsup: Balance concerns actually lead to exciting situations of discovery and experimentation through the various ages. :thumbsup: The text-heavy, simplistic card design is quite endearing in a charming way that focuses on functionality.

:thumbsdown: There is a lot of setup for this solo mode that requires a lot of deck splitting, shuffling, counting, and discarding. :thumbsdown: For those familiar with gameplay, the current solo opponent doesn’t offer too much of a challenge. :thumbsdown: Keeping the play area organized can be a struggle when cards splay in different directions or expand rapidly. :thumbsdown: Cleanup can also be a tedious process as cards need to be sorted by their card backs and types for the solo mode.

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What a great production! The artwork is still minimalist and attractive. Since all the expansion are contained in this package, the is so much replay ability!!

I like the card splay mechanic here most out of the Carl Chudyk games I have played. Certain card combinations do feel overpowered, but they're usually superseded early enough to balance for it in the long run.