
- BGG rating
- 6.8
Great Scott!: Commissions
- 3–4 players
- 20–45 min
- 2016

2016
Rules assistance for Great Scott!
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
For 3 players

What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Great Scott! is a board game released in 2016 for 3–5 players, 20–45 minutes per game, and ages 11 and up. It was designed by David J. Clarke and its main mechanics are Set Collection, Storytelling, and Open Drafting.
Great Scott! - The Game of Mad Invention is a Victorian themed card game of rival mad inventors. In Great Scott!, the whimsical 19th century parlour game that never was, 3-5 players build five card inventions with an eye to victory in the inventor’s contest at the Great Exhibition. Combine Animal, Mineral, and Vegetable assets with Destructive, Productive, and Transportive concepts to create one of the greatest inventions not known to mankind! In a game of Great Scott!, players draft cards & add components to their invention. Matching sets of asset & concept cards give bonus points, but the biggest prizes are awarded for alliteration. Then, when your invention is finished, explain what it does and how it works to get extra points from the other inventors. Great Scott! is easy to learn, fast to play, and is guaranteed to amuse! Will your Bedazzling Bat Borne Brass Balloon outdo your rival’s Diabolical Dynamite Driven Duck Dispatcher? Perhaps, if you play your cards right… Consider carefully; clever card combinations and amusing alliterative amalgamations bring bountiful bonuses! For Her Majesty, and for science!
Great Scott! supports 3–5 players according to the catalogue. This range comes from the publisher’s listed player count, so the game can be set up for any group size within it. Some setups, rules and scoring details may still vary by player count, so check your edition’s rulebook for the exact configuration.
The listed playing time for Great Scott! is 20–45 minutes. This is the publisher’s estimate for a full game. The actual duration depends on the group, the player count and familiarity with the rules: first sessions usually run longer, while experienced groups often finish faster. Setup and teaching time are not included in this estimate.
The catalogue lists Great Scott! for ages 11 and up. This is the publisher’s recommendation and reflects reading demands, rule complexity and small components rather than theme alone. Younger players can often join with help from an adult, so check the age guidance on your edition and consider your group’s experience with board games.
Great Scott! has a complexity rating of 1.0 out of 5 from BoardGameGeek players, which makes it a light game. The rating reflects how much rules knowledge, planning and decision-making a typical game demands. Expect a longer first teach for heavier games, and use a preparation guide before game night.
Great Scott! belongs to these categories: Card Game, Humor, and Industry / Manufacturing. Its main mechanics are Set Collection, Storytelling, and Open Drafting. Categories describe the theme and setting of a game, while mechanics describe what players actually do on their turns. Each mechanic links to a catalogue hub with similar games, which helps when you want something comparable.
The credited designers of Great Scott! are: David J. Clarke. These credits come from the published game data and name the people responsible for the game’s design, not its illustrators or publishers. Designer pages on MeepleRules collect other titles by the same designers, which helps when you enjoy a game and want to find similar ones.
The catalogue lists Great Scott! as a base game. It can be played on its own with the components in the box and does not require any other title. Expansions, if any exist, add new content or rules on top of it and are listed separately in the catalogue with a link back to this base game.