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Ingenious
2004
Rules assistance for Ingenious
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
- 1–4 players
- 30–45 min
- 8+
- Complexity 1.9/5
For 1 player
Rules assistant for Ingenious
What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Ingenious is a board game released in 2004 for 1–4 players, 30–45 minutes per game, and ages 8 and up. It was designed by Reiner Knizia and its main mechanics are Hand Management, Tile Placement, and Hexagon Grid.
Expansions
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About the game
In Ingenious, a.k.a. Einfach Genial, players take turns placing colored domino-style tiles on a game board, scoring for each line of colored symbols that they enlarge. The trick, however, is that a player's score is equal to their worst-scoring color, not their best, so they need to score for all colors instead of specializing in only one or two. In more detail, the game includes 120 domino-style tiles, each consisting of two conjoined hexes; each hex has one of six colors in it, with most tiles having different-colored hexes. Each player has a rack with six tiles on it, and on a turn a player places one tile from their rack onto two hexes of the game board. For each hex on this tile, they score one point in that color for each hex of the same color that lies adjacent to it and each hex in a straight line from it. If a player brings the score of a color to 18, they immediately take another turn. At the end of their turn, they refill their rack to six tiles. (Before refilling their rack, if they have no tiles on it that contain hexes in their lowest-scoring color, they can discard all of their tiles, then draw six new tiles from the bag.) When no more tiles can be placed on the game board or when one player scores 18 in each color, the game ends. Players then compare their lowest scores, and whoever has the highest low score wins. Ingenious includes rules for solitaire and team play; in the latter case, two teams of two play, with each player not being able to see their partner's tiles and teams keeping a combined score that maxes out at 36 instead of 18.
Categories
Mechanics
Designers
Publishers
- Devir
- Edge Entertainment
- Kaissa Chess & Games
- Broadway Toys LTD
- Hobby World
- Hobby Japan
- Tilsit
- N.W. Damm & Søn (Damm)
- Korea Boardgames
- Kärnan
- Fantasy Flight Games
- Nexus Editrice
- Galakta
- Giochi Uniti
- Ghenos Games
- KOSMOS
- 999 Games
- MINDOK
- Laser plus
- Litor
- Kirjalito
- Esdevium
- Stupor Mundi
- Filosofia Éditions
- White Goblin Games
- Brain Games
- IELLO
- Bard Centrum Gier
- Egmont Litas
- Ideal Board Games
- Sophisticated Games
- Mass Games
- Green Board Game Co.
- Piatnik Distribution
Questions and answers
Ingenious supports 1–4 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 Ingenious is 30–45 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 Ingenious for ages 8 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.
Ingenious has a complexity rating of 1.9 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.
Ingenious belongs to these categories: Abstract Strategy. Its main mechanics are Hand Management, Tile Placement, and Hexagon Grid. 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 Ingenious are: Reiner Knizia. 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 Ingenious 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.