Tips inventors

For the rules of inventors, see GameHelpInventors

3+ players

General

What rewards to take

• In the early rounds, focus on taking the number tokens to increase your knowledge, especially on your inventors with the big (6 and 9) point bonuses.
  • You want to do this as much as possible in the first age especially because as you add knowledge to build toward those big bonuses, you also get to play extra cubes when using those inventors.
  • The earlier you add that knowledge, the more you will get to use those extra cubes.
• Plan your contributions to inventions based on which tokens you need for the first two ages.
  • These should be dedicated to finishing the inventors with the big bonuses and snatching up an occasional 2 or 3 point ribbon. In the third age, you want to focus on taking inventions because the inventions make you gain a number of points equal to the age.
• Usually try to not use the effect of your tokens, and not use a star.
  • If you can use them as a '1' and not have anything leftover at the end of the game, you would be on a good spot to win.

Refreshing inventors

• A lot of new players are afraid to refresh inventors before using all four. Don't be.
• Refreshing inventors with one or even two left can serve several strategic purposes:
  1. It allows you to more frequently use inventors with 4/5/6 units of knowledge instead of doing the best you can with the inventors with only 2
  2. It can allow you to play consecutive/nearly consecutive turns when other players need to refresh their inventors at the same time.
  3. Especially at the end of the second age and later on, refreshing your inventors can save the most knowledgeable inventors for when they can be most beneficially used.
  • Ideally, you want your most helpful inventors available at the beginning of the third age, when they will be most efficiently used.

Using knowledge effectively

1. If you want a specific reward, you can try to incite the player after you to play on it too:
   • Either by making it the only player which can play on it.
     • In this case, pay attention if they could play somewhere else and make that invention the last one of the age.
   • Or either if the second reward is still fine, if your next player got nothing else to do, they would want to goes on it.

• Always keep in mind that second player can play on it twice and lose one turn to get the reward they want (usually the case with tokens 2/few useful, but I personally don't advise it in most cases).

1. At age 2, cards aren't bad. They are not the best reward, but do not hesitate to take lot of them if you have the opportunity too
   • More info in the 2 players part
2. At age 3, if you are missing one number left, see which players absolutely need it too, which players can be fine with it, and which player don't want it at all.
   • Once it's done, if it seem you will get one of them easily, do not play on this invention first, but play on other ones.
   • Usually you will only need the second reward on this invention to take this number (and in worst case, you still get a card then).

2 players

General

Count their points

Often, you can finish your game and not know why you lose or win. Here is how you can calculate the difference of points between both players:

• -1 point per card taken at age 2 (-2 per card taken at age 1, you should never do that)
• +X points par the series of cards (-3 if you use one star, -6 with two stars)
• +3 per invention finished alone
• -3 if you have finish 3 inventors, +3 if you have finish 1 (-6 for 4 inventors | +6 for 0)
• -3 per token used/keep at the end of the game/use 'for nothing' on a inventor
• -1 per token '2vp' kept, -2 per token '1vp' kept

• And you get the difference of points between both players.
• Note: it's better to take -1 by taking a card during age 2, instead of taking -3 by having an useless token at the end.
• And a card taken during age 2 which is part of a series at the end of the game will make you lose no point overall.

Finish an invention alone

• It's the goal at 2 players to finish an invention alone.
  • Doing that without the opponent be able to do the same will make you gain +3 (while if you take a 3vp token you will gain 3vp, but the opponent will get a reward which usually value at least 2vp).
• Always keep an eye on the invention the other player can finish in 2 (or 3) inventors for being able to not let him do it.
• With top players, the goal is to put pressure on inventions.
  • Per example, on an invention 1/3/0/1, if with the green against the purple, you put a 0/2/0/0 on it, there will be a 1/1/0/1 left on this invention.
  • Since your opponent play purple, they got no inventor to put two cube on it.
  • Furthermore, since you are playing green, you can be able to play a 1/1/0/0 or a 1/0/0/1 on it, the first one force that purple player to keep an inventor which can play in maths (0/0/0/1), the second one force that purple player to keep an inventor which can play in chimie (0/1/0/0).
  • If they don't keep one of those you will be able to finish an invention alone, so gain +3 points directly.
  • Which means, they have two inventors locked: they can either play one their 'not locked' inventors, OR use one inventor on your invention (and lose the initiative)(remember they only put one cube on it) to unlock their second inventor OR try to put pressure too on trying to finish an invention alone if the green do this (which is impossible if it's second turn of the game and green started).
  • So with that single move, there is a good chance green will get two inventions they want in age 1. Which is how you can regularly use the strength of green and yellow colour against blue and purple.

Using the tokens effects

• Contrary to 3+ players, you can use them a lot.
  • To do that, you need to finish an invention alone with it.
  • You will lose the initiative on most inventions, but be able to remove one useless token from your bank.
• Instead of doing it, you can use it as a '1', which is identical.
• You can use it as a place 'not much useful' too (like a 2 on Einstein).
• If you finally do Einstein, you will gain +3 extra. If you finally don't do it, it will be neutral.

Which invention to play on?

In the early of each age, the goal is to play:

• on an invention where both players want the same reward (at age 1, usually a 2 (or a 3) or a 3vp token) ;
• on an invention where one player want a specific reward (at age 1, sometimes a 4)
• on an invention where a reward is slightly better than another for both players (at age 1, where there is a 2vp token and a 3vp token one)

• During age 3, again, do not commit on a number token the opponent absolutely need without thinking.
• If you let him take this token (and play one cube on it), you will be able to get a card from free.
• If you get two others majority, you will get 3 cards and one token which are usually enough to win.
• If you take that majority, be ready on some cases to get 3 tokens during that age.

Objectives/Taking cards during age 2

This is a pretty important part. Your goal is to play on a way to maximise your chance of winning:

• If you have taken advantage of +1 invention finished, you usually have a lot of tokens remaining.
  • So try to take 1 or 2 cards during age 2, which will still give you an edge of +2 or +1 if both games are 'perfect'.
• Try to never be on a spot where you need to finish 3 inventors, or you have place for no useless token left in age 3.
• Try to force the opponent to take a specific number during age 3, or to make him have no place for an useless token at the start of age 3.
• Don't let the opponent goes away with a chance to finish a single inventor at the end of the game.
• You really need to adapt to what the opponent do, and, at least at lower level, try to find a way to get any +3. That's really not hard.

Others

1. During age 2, the card with a number low are really not bad.
   • They give 2 victory point and can make you gain bonus points or use a star efficiently.
2. It's not always useful to finish their inventor which only have value of '6vp' if you only put one token on it.
   • If you finish your '9vp' one and nothing else happen, it will be neutral.
3. Finish an invention early can force the opponent to do a choice more early.
   • Warning to not being able to finish one of your invention if you do that though.

Advanced

Which inventors to do?

• Like the 'Count their points' said, the goal is not to try to finish our inventors which has value of 9 and 6 vp, but to finish the minimum amount of inventors possible (without wasting tokens).
  • That means a player which are doing their 6vp+9vp inventors, will have the same amount of points of a player which has done their 3vp+9vp, and has left a 3vp token.
  • And they have the same points than someone which has done 9vp inventors, got an useless token at the end, and got two cards (5&5) at age 3.
• From that, your goal it to force the opponent to not finish only one inventor.
  • So you need, if they try to finish only their 9vp's one to force him to get any no 2vp/3vp token with it, which will in all cases give him a -3 points.
  • Forcing it to take a second token will not do much.
  • Usually, they will be able to do any 3vp inventor with it.
  • But if they can't do anything with the two tokens it's -6vp, so it's great.
• On top of that, don't do your inventors asap. You have sometimes (especially with the green) the possibility to commit into one specific inventor when you can:
  • finish an invention alone,
  • take the majority on an important invention, or
  • just gain a slight advantage somewhere else.
• Choosing which inventors to do at the start of an age is really good: it let you adapt to which inventions and reward there is on this age.
  • Like if there is three inventions with a '3', you are sure to get one of them. So you can commit on an inventor which need a '3'.
• Keeping all tokens until the end of the game is sometimes not bad neither.
  • It let you sometimes, per example with the green and 2/2/3 tokens, letting the opponent take an invention with a '4', and be fine with two different rewards on it: the '4' or the card.
  • At the cost of having more difficulties to get majorities on that age because you are missing a full inventor.

Colours specificities

• Blue need lots of 2 to do their 9vp.
• Purple need one 3 to do most of their inventors.
• Red need a single 3 to do 3vp+6vp, and if possible a 3vp token to cancel the fact they will got too many useless tokens.
• Yellow and Green need lots of 2.
• From that, you can decide of the priority of some numbers.
  • Per example, with the red or against the red, the 3vp token has way more value.
• As Purple vs Green, Green will want 2s. Purple will want a 3.
  • So going first for a 3vp token isn't bad, since both colours will put priority into different numbers.
    • Of course, they can still use the other token, but they risk to have too many of them if they try to take all of them and let you none.
• Green and Yellow specifically can be played without committing to any inventor (or just one).
• Green with 2/2/3 can do their 9vp or their 6vp and get a '4' or a card in age 3 which is the same.
• Yellow can have 2/3 and still have many liberties.
• Yellow and Purple have no way to fill a 0/1/1/0 gap