Unvention

Story

Unvention is a weekend long invention competition, where players compete to become the most renowned inventor of the globe. During the three days of the competition, players journal their designs, combine parts into mechanisms in their workshops, and build the most elaborate and complex inventions. Each player is provided with a sheet containing their progress throughout the competition. There is no crafting required, you will just need to provide five normal dice (5D6), and print a single letter or A4 sheet per player.

Game Overview
At its core, Unvention is a polyomino puzzle game, where players build the polyomino shapes themselves. There are three core game systems, all heavily interlocked towards a single goal of creating elaborate inventions:

1. Journals: Mini sudoku puzzles where players try to gather wrenches, the resource required to build mechanisms.
2. Workshops: Players gather parts here, and use wrenches to connect them together and build polyomino-shaped mechanisms.
3. Inventions: The polyomino shapes of mechanisms are used in invention patterns, where players will puzzle them in for scoring, with regards to each invention’s unique scoring criteria.

Game Features

Print-at-home – Player sheets are designed for easy home printing in A4 and letter sizes, whether in full color, black and white, or low-ink formats.

Roll & Group – The game introduces a unique input randomizer using five six-sided dice (D6s). Players roll all five dice and group them into equal and unequal sets, creating dynamic choices each turn.

Roll & Write – After rolling and grouping the dice, all players simultaneously choose groups for journaling and workshopping, ensuring an always-active experience with no downtime.

Mitigating Luck – Tools allow players to manipulate dice results, turning unlucky rolls into elaborate and rewarding combos.

Player-Driven Pace – Scoring phases occur at the end of each in-game day, but players control when the day ends, allowing for strategic pacing.

Intro & Advanced Multiplayer Modes – My First Unvention provides an accessible introduction to the game’s core systems, while Unvention: International Exhibition offers deeper strategy and more player agency.

Variable Setup – Each game begins with randomized parts and scoring criteria, ensuring high replayability and fresh strategic challenges.

Variable Scoring – Players unlock Ideas that shape how inventions score, allowing for unique strategies and dynamic point-building opportunities.

Solo Mini-Campaign – The dedicated solo mode offers a thematic, multi-session experience, simulating an inventor’s journey as they refine and develop their creations over several in-game days.

How to Play

Unvention is played over a weekend-long competition, spanning Friday through Sunday. Each day, players present their inventions, with earlier submissions impressing the judges more. The pace of the game is driven by the players, as the end of each day is triggered when certain milestones are reached.

Each round follows these steps:

• Roll 5 dice and split them into groups.
• Dice are grouped into equals and unequals, forming 1 to 3 groups.
• Each player individually selects a group for journaling and another for workshopping.
• Players may use tools to manipulate dice values.

• Players choose a group of dice and record the numbers in one of their three journals.
• Each journal is a 4×4 grid, where numbers must be placed following Sudoku-like rules: each row, column, and quadrant can only contain a number once.
• Completing a row or column grants players wrenches, which are used to build mechanisms.

• Players choose a second group of dice and circle matching parts in one of their four workshops.
• These parts will later be used to build mechanisms.

• Players can spend two wrenches to connect parts in their workshop and build a mechanism.
• A mechanism consists of two or more connected parts and can take any shape.
• Mechanism type is determined by its workshop: e.g., a hydraulic mechanism comes from the hydraulic workshop.
• If a mechanism encloses a lightbulb symbol, it gains an idea 💡, increasing invention scoring potential.

• The mechanism’s shape is drawn into an invention pattern.
• Each invention scores based on how soon it’s completed and the variety of mechanisms used.
• Additionally, each invention has a unique scoring condition, with a base multiplier of 1, which can increase up to 6 by incorporating ideas 💡.

• Players can unlock tools by building mechanisms in their shape.
• Tools provide passive abilities, such as modifying dice rolls, reducing costs, or manipulating mechanism placement.

Each day ends for all players, when any player completes a certain number of journals:

• Friday: Ends when any player completes one journal.
• Saturday: Ends when any player completes two journals.
• Sunday: Ends when any player completes three journals.

Players must strategically decide when to finish their journals, as ending a day early can block other players from completing their inventions.

Rulebook

Game Modes

Unvention offers two multiplayer modes and a solo mini-campaign, each providing a unique way to experience the game.

My First Invention ⎯ A streamlined multiplayer mode designed for easy learning and quick gameplay, perfect for first-time players.

Unvention: International Exhibition ⎯ The primary multiplayer mode, featuring a variable setup, deeper strategy, and player-driven scoring for a more challenging experience.

Unvention: Solo Project  ⎯ A dedicated solo mini-campaign with progressive gameplay, introducing a new invention sheet that functions like a tech tree. This mode allows players to play across multiple sessions, saving progress between them.

My First Unvention

How is it different?

Unvention's three interlocking puzzles—Journals (mini-Sudokus), Mechanisms (building custom-shaped polyominoes), and Inventions (placing polyominoes for scoring)—offer a deep challenge. My First Unvention simplifies these elements, allowing players to learn how they interact and develop effective strategies at their own pace.

Scoring ideas is presented in a much more straightforward way, the more ideas you get the more points players will get. 

Tools are available to all players for free and using them gives players chances to focus mitigate luck and build their inventions more easily. 

Who is it for?

I strongly recommend new players to start with My First Unvention, especially those who are not familiar with the classic game of Sudoku.

Although My First Unvention was designed as a learning mode, it also serves as a great option for experienced players looking for a more relaxed, low-stress session—perfect for a casual game night.

Unvention: International Exhibition

How is it different?

This mode significantly enhances replayability by introducing a variable setup. Each game starts with a unique combination:

• Certain workshop parts are randomly removed, creating asymmetric weighting between workshops.
• One invention begins with a scoring multiplier, influencing strategic priorities from the start.

Ideas play a crucial role in this mode. Capturing Ideas within mechanisms allows players to increase the scoring multiplier of the invention they are used in. Strategic use of this mechanic can drastically boost an invention’s final score.

Tools introduce another layer of depth. Unlike in My First Unvention, where tools are available by default, players must build specific tool-shaped mechanisms to unlock their passive abilities. When used wisely, these tools can be game-changers, making it easier to achieve high-scoring inventions.

Who is it for?

Unvention: International Exhibition is for players who are already familiar with the game's core gameplay loop, and offers variability and more in-depth play experience. That said, seasoned board gamers may feel comfortable jumping into this mode from the first play.

Unvention: Solo Project

How is it different?

The Solo Project introduces a dedicated invention sheet, a full-page tech tree featuring 20 unique inventions. Each invention is connected to one or two others, forming a branching progression path. At the start, players can only build inventions on the far left side of the sheet. As they complete inventions, they unlock access to the ones they are connected to, creating a natural sense of progression.

Each of the 20 inventions offers distinct effects and abilities, which may include:

• Instant effects that trigger immediately upon building.
• Passive abilities that remain active throughout the game.
• Once-per-turn actions that provide ongoing strategic options.
• Scoring opportunities that activate at the end of each day or at game end.

The invention sheet introduces a deep strategic challenge, requiring players to plan and execute long-term strategies over the course of the three-day competition.

A Unique Daily Structure

In addition to the invention sheet, the way days unfold is a significant difference in Solo Project. Unlike multiplayer modes, where all three days are played on a single sheet, the solo mode uses individual daily sheets for each day. This offers more space to develop mechanisms each day and provides the flexibility to play the game one day at a time.

To support long-term planning, the daily sheets include note-taking sections, allowing players to jot down ability reminders, future strategies, or even spontaneous ideas. In fact, I recommend playing Solo Project one day at a time—taking a break between sessions and revisiting your own notes can enhance the experience, creating a rich and immersive journey through your personal invention process.

Reviews

Testimonials

Why Back Now

Who is likely to enjoy Unvention?

Throughout its three-year development, I’ve found that Unvention resonates with certain types of players more than others. Based on my experience, you’re likely to enjoy Unvention if one or more of the following describes you:

• You enjoy puzzle games with a bit of a challenge, where strong spatial reasoning and thoughtful planning are rewarded—and where missteps can sometimes be punishing.
• You enjoy classic logic puzzles that involve placing numbers in a grid or pattern following specific rules, such as Sudoku, Kakuro, Sujiko, Hashiwokakero.
• You enjoy modern polyomino puzzle games, where you must strategically fit Tetris-like shapes into a pattern. Think  Patchworks, Isle of Cats, Tiny Towns, Spring Meadows, or Project L.
• You enjoy pen-and-paper games, where each player records their progress on an individual sheet. Examples include Voyages, Cartographers, Ganz Schon Clever, Silver and Gold.
• You enjoy games with a strong progression arc, where you build towards powerful combinations and unlock new abilities through a tech tree system, as seen in Beyond The Sun, Gaia Project, Innovations, Era of Tribes.  

Special thanks

Unvention, and my journey as a game designer, would not have been possible without the unwavering support of my partner, Shabboo, the endless encouragement and brilliant ideas of my amazing designer friend, Amir Salamati, and the unmatched support from Sara and Duncan.

I’m also incredibly grateful to everyone who has supported me and this game at Protospiel North, as well as Toronto BoardGamers—Canada’s coolest gaming group.