Innovation and How Unbalanced Gameplay Can Be Brilliant
Travel through history and find ways to make the greatest discoveries and inventions for a civilization in Innovation.
There are plenty of unique games out there, yet Innovation Deluxe has always held its own. In many ways, it defies a lot of the principles that make a good game for me. Effectively, it features unique cards with different abilities that can interact for an unbalanced experience. Unfair? Maybe, yet when I found a solo variant, I jumped at the chance to play!
Game Overview
Game Name: Innovation Deluxe
Publication Year: 2017
Designer: Carl Chudyk
Artists: Alanna Cervenak and Cara Judd
Publisher: Asmadi Games
Solo Mode: Unofficial Solo Variant
From the early dawn of prehistory, cards provide all sorts of inventions to move through the ages. Each unique ability offers a different combination in tandem with a tableau, leading to unexpectedly exciting turns! It may not feature much artwork, yet the possibilities are beautiful.
First Play
February 5, 2022
Complexity
3
Latest Play
February 5, 2022
Expansions
0
Setup Time
5 Minutes
Lifetime Plays
2
Play Time
20 Minutes
High Score
39
Game Area
36" x 28"
Low Score
33
Practice Makes Perfect
With this solo variant, I had some work to do during setup in order to create a special deck for the solo opponent.
All of the “I Demand” cards weren’t available to me. The process of shuffling and counting per age, only to discard a few cards, was a little time-consuming to begin with.
Yet it didn’t take long for me to jump right back in! Suffice to say that I’ve played this a lot multiplayer. I may not win all the time, but I usually find a clever combination!
Sailing offered me a way to get ahead initially, while being able to tuck a card underneath the splayed stack helped.
The Little Engine
I did very well after my civilization invented the Steam Engine. It wasn’t long before I scored this card to lose its ability, but it was worth it to grab a few achievements.
Essentially, there is a tableau of abilities that might be activated, along with a scoring pile. Achievements require a certain age in the tableau, along with a minimum score.
Such a fun experience! Although the solo opponent was different than a human player, gameplay still stayed true.
Understanding which symbols I couldn’t win on also helped me prepare for future turns just a little bit!
All Function?
This is such a unique game that I come back to many times just to analyze. It’s not particularly beautiful and definitely takes function over form in every respect!
At the same time, it’s an inherently broken sort of system. Get the right card at the right time, and it can actually reset the game almost back to the beginning. Really!
So what’s to like? I initially disliked it and couldn’t see what the point of it all was. Random cards… Sure?
With time, this remains an intriguing game. There are cards I’ve never used. Combinations I’ve never seen!
The Necessity of Balance in Different Games
For the most part, I tend to prefer a balanced board game. Yet what does that mean? It’s a game where there isn’t any odd component or combination that gives a sudden, unfair advantage. I might have many different paths to take and choices to make, yet there isn’t a single option that suddenly puts me way ahead or far behind. It’s… Balanced!
In this case, balance is tossed aside. There are ways to exploit certain cards under the right circumstances. Get lucky at the right moment, and suddenly a score pile has more than enough to claim a bunch of achievements over a few turns!
This situation is one that normally wouldn’t work for me. I would simply point out the flaw in the system, figure that a few cards would make or break a play, and move on. But no… I keep coming back for more! As unbalanced as it is, there are all sorts of other combinations that might feel even more unbalanced. It’s all about discovering them over time.
Multiplayer, no play is ever the same. I might even lose based on someone else getting extra lucky. Yet there’s a big distinction here: In solo, I’m the only one really focused on those neat combinations. In essence, it’s like learning more about the game without the threat of losing everything. Most of the time, that is. The solo opponent can be tricky!
Perhaps this game will always be the odd one out, and I appreciate it for what it is! It doesn’t try to get a perfect balance between the cards. Rather, it encourages sudden swings that are exciting and not always the route to a quick victory.
Evolving Ways
In many ways, I found the solo opponent far too easy to stay ahead of. However, that’s coming from someone who plays pretty regularly and can spot some great cards!
Evolution catapulted me ahead during this play. I was quite proud of all the splayed cards, too, which helped to add up symbols. Splaying abilities are always awesome!
There are likely many ways to increase the difficulty level, yet I still felt challenged by the card choices.
Except for Canning… I had an advanced civilization that was almost embarrassed about that invention. Ha ha!
Session Overview
Play Number: 1 and 2
Solo Mode: Unofficial Solo Variant
Outcome: 33-12 and 39-12 (2 Wins)
I handily picked up 6 achievements both times, only giving up a single one along the way! There were lots of times when I had to transfer cards from my tableau or score pile, yet I stayed ahead. The solo variant is still quite new as of right now, so I have high hopes that it will be refined over time to add more of a challenge. I thoroughly enjoyed finding some new combinations, though, and taking my little civilization through all the ages!
%
1 Play
Affordability
Price & Value
8
Functionality
Challenges & Mechanics
8
Originality
Design & Theme
7
Quality
Components & Rules
9
Reusability
Achievement & Enjoyment
7
Variability
Distinctness & Randomness
7
+ Pros (Positives)
- With so many unique cards, even a slightly different draw order can vastly change the available options.
- Although building a tableau forms the main play area, adding to and manipulating a score pile is just as central.
- Gameplay is mostly quick with very little downtime needed to figure out how to handle the solo opponent.
- Only some of the cards are used with each play, so there are almost always new combinations to discover.
- Balance concerns actually lead to exciting situations of discovery and experimentation through the various ages.
- The text-heavy, simplistic card design is quite endearing in a charming way that focuses on functionality.
– Cons (Negatives)
- There is a lot of setup for this solo mode that requires a lot of deck splitting, shuffling, counting, and discarding.
- For those familiar with gameplay, the current solo opponent doesn’t offer too much of a challenge.
- Keeping the play area organized can be a struggle when cards splay in different directions or expand rapidly.
- Cleanup can also be a tedious process as cards need to be sorted by their card backs and types for the solo mode.
Victory Conditions
Claim 6 Achievements
- Overall Goal Progress 100%
Goals and Milestones
Score at least 35 points.
Win at least 1 game.
Continue the Conversation
Have you ever played Innovation Deluxe, either solo or multiplayer? What are some of the most interesting aspects of gameplay? I don’t know if there are any other games I would classify as almost deliberately unbalanced that I like… This one remains in a category all its own! With the chance to play it solo now, I’m excited to find more card combinations!
That’s really interesting – I haven’t played this myself but it’s a favourite among people I know who are generally very down on randomness in games…
It’s quite fascinating to see how a set of mechanics that doesn’t seem to work is a lot of fun! Multiplayer can be a bit cutthroat if someone is a lot more experienced, but I always find some interesting combinations. All about knowing what to do with the cards while accepting that someone is going to ruin your tableau at some point. Ha ha!