Ingenious – Addicting family fun
Did you ever think placing colored tiles on a board could be addicting?
Well, with Ingenious it sure can be.
When you first see Ingenious you may think it’s just a simple children’s game. Sure it’s a simple tile placement game, and kids will have fun just matching tiles from what they draw, but by throwing in a unique scoring element and game winning condition, you’ll find yourself putting a lot of thought into each move to get the best result.
With his thinking cap tightly on, Jaden’s the perfect person to explain why our family likes Ingenious.
Can the whole family enjoy Ingenious?
Absolutely.
As Jaden mentions in his video – the game says ages 10 and up. But dad will be more generous than Jaden and say that kids of all ages will be able to enjoy it.
Will the younger children be able to think through all the scoring possibilities and implications of their moves? No. But that doesn’t mean that they won’t have fun pulling tiles from the bag, keeping them secret from other players, and making cool color patterns on the board.
As they grow, they’ll work their way into the strategy. But you can also play Ingenious in teams. So an older person could team up with a younger child to even the teams out. It makes for quite the interesting game because without discussing your moves you never know where they might place their tiles.
How many players should you have to play Ingenious?
While you can play this board game with 1 to 4 players, we like playing with 4 the best. With 4 players you never know how the layout of the tiles might change before it gets back to your turn. So you may need to adjust your strategy throughout the game. And because everyone’s score track is out in the open for all to see, you know which color your opponents need to move along. So as you near the end of the game the pressure mounts – making for a good amount of fun.
How does Ingenious score on the “Let’s Play Again” meter?
Do remember the title of this review? Ingenious can be addicting. And as such, it definitely scores high on the “Let’s Play Again” meter. It seems that most of our games are close when it comes to determining the winner. And that’s sure to have someone challenging for a rematch.
Fantasy Flight has put out a great family game in Ingenious!
| The Board Game Family Game Ratings | |
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Caleb |
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Brooke |
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Jaden |
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Trevor |
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Mom |
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Dad |
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Average |
| Pick up a copy! |
Ingeniuos is actually our families favorite – mostly because it’s my wife’s favorite and so easiest to get her to play.
My downfall is usually forgetting to re-fresh/replace my tiles if none of my lowest scoring tile is present. Miss some future opportunities that way.
That and I hate to “aggressively” block scoring.
We enjoy Ingenious. I would agree that players of any age can play. For the youngest it helps them to learn how to take turns and basic rules of play. As they get older, it is a great game to help teach strategy.