Customer Reviews

Ingenious

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

After playing and enjoying Lost Cities by game designer Reiner Knizia, I decided to stop by our local game store and check out Ingenious. Last night my wife and I played it for the first time, and as with Lost Cities, we loved it.

Immediately after playing we wanted to play again. There is no doubt in my mind that we will not tire of the game. The common quality that Lost Cities and Ingenious share are the "addiction" factor; both games will have you saying "let's play again" over and over again at the expense of sleep. I don't believe a greater compliment can be said about a game than this.

Ingenious is incredibly easy to learn, and takes less than 1 minute after setting the game up for you to begin playing. Game play consists of playing hexagonal chips of 6 different colors on a board in turn-based play. The chips are like hexagonal dominoes, have 2 hexes connected, and each hex containing a different color. Once no chips can be placed upon the board, the game is over. The player who has the lowest amount of points for any of the 6 colors loses. Game strategy requires that you score points for each color, and this requires concentration and strategy.

Understand that Ingenious is not a strategy game that will leave you frustrated, overwhelmed and weary. No, ingenious is not like that. Ingenious has just enough strategy to have you scampering to win, and just enough random luck to make it unpredictable. And my favorite part of Ingenious? All players know that when the board is full, the game is over. There is an end in sight, and just like Lost Cities, you play against yourself just as much as you play against your opponent. Your strategies can kill you, or leave you the victor. Spend too much time acquiring points for one color, and you might sacrifice your victory.

Try it, you won't regret it. I paid over $35 at my local gaming store, and it was worth every dollar. The game is of sturdy components, as to assure you will be playing it in 10 years. For 1 to 4 players. Yes! You can even play this addictively fun game solo!

I went to a well-attended game night (20+ people) where the majority of people were playing the mainstream games that I love: Scrabble, Taboo, Cranium. However, one one of the attendees, a math professor, brought the game Ingenuous with her. Although the game didn't look that fun, a few of us decided we would give it a try because she really wanted to play. Well, it turns out that it is a fantastic game with a lot of strategy. The endgame, it turns out, is VERY important; strategizing how one will approach the endgame becomes very important about half-way through the game, as one sees how the board is starting to take shape.

I liken it to Pente and Go: the rules are simple, but strategy is key to winning.

The game became a hit at the party with people that loved strategy, and was played in 3- and 4-person format all night long.

I bought it for my 11 yr old nephew and we opened it and read the directions and was playing within 10 minutes. We really liked it. We played three games in a 1/2 hr and he beat me all three times. We wanted to keep playing but had no more time. It is easy to play and the more you understand it the more fun it becomes.

I decided to purchase this board game for my parents who are senior citizens (in their early to mid 70s). I was looking for a new activity that would be fun and could help keep their minds sharp. "Ingenious" definitely fits the bill: it's proving to be both fun and challenging. At first, translating the instructions into actual play was a little tricky. But by the second reading, things started coming together and games were quickly under way. This game challenges your reasoning skills, spatial orientation, and ability to strategize and think ahead. And true to some of the reviews I had read prior to my purchase, it does have a certain addictive quality to it; simply stated, it's fun to play!

The rules are about two sentences long and off you go. Terrific gateway game for people who have played Othello but maybe never played a "euro game". Rules are along the lines of dominoes and the components are quite nice. Lots of room for improvement the more you play, but early plays are equally rewarding. GREAT GREAT game.

We decided to buy "Ingenious" after the Christmas holidays. My sister's family had received Ingenious for Christmas and we played the game everyday during the Holiday week. Everyone from Grandma (82 years old) to our youngest (5 years old) loved playing the game. It keeps everyone thinking, "What position can I place my tile to gain the most points?", through out the entire game.

The only drawback is that the tiles do not stay in place very well. Maybe if there were some indentations on the gameboard to keep the tiles in place, that would make it even more appealing. I know my husband became very impatient because of that and refuses to play. Otherwise the kids love the game. When the neighborhood kids come over for play time outside and the kids are "BORED", I take "Ingenious" outside for them and they have a great time playing in teams. I have found that it is great for them to play, it encourages team work, cooperation, strategy building and brain storming within each team. Like I said, We love this game.

This is a very fun game. Especially for people who like domino type games. It has stratigy involved along with a little luck of the tiles you get. You can advance your own peaces or chose to block others from moving theirs. The hardest part is making sure you count all your points correctly. It is very easy to miss points.

This game is very fun. It takes some thinking in strategy, but you can still play it and chat at the same time. The average game probably takes about half an hour depending on the people. It is very easy to figure out, and even done well for color blind people, because it distinguishes with shapes as well as color. This is a game that kids can play as well as adults and both would enjoy it. It is definitely a good game to have on the shelf.

The principles of the game are easy to grasp, the number of potential players is flexible, the ability to set a time limit is useful and overall the game is not too taxing whilst being great fun.

Though this game has some similarities to dominoes, it is quite different and much more challenging. Despite this challenge, the rules are EXTREMELY simple and easy to learn. The premise, scoring more points than your opponents, is simple simple enough, yet managing to do so is quite difficult. Also, it isn't the highest score that wins. It is the highest score in a player's lowest category that wins the game.

The playing pieces are quite durable and large enough not get misplaced easily. Though I had hoped for a board this pieces would fit into snugly, the board is durable. Just be careful not to bump the board during play.

Also, the strategy of the game changes with the number of people playing.