# Age of Innovation

Age of Innovation is a board game for 1–5 players. It plays in 40–200 minutes and is meant for ages 14 and up. Ludoya players call it best with 4. It is rated 8.2 out of 10 by 51 Ludoya reviewers. The cheapest copy in stock is $79.96 (United States).

- **Players:** 1–5 (best with 4)
- **Playing time:** 40–200 minutes
- **Minimum age:** 14+
- **Complexity:** 4.3 out of 5
- **Year published:** 2023
- **Categories:** Fantasy, Economic, Territory Building, Civilization
- **Mechanics:** Tech Trees / Tech Tracks, Network and Route Building, Income, Victory Points as a Resource, End Game Bonuses, Variable Player Powers, Contracts, Hexagon Grid, Variable Set-up, Modular Board, Turn Order: Pass Order
- **Ludoya rating:** 8.2 out of 10, from 51 reviews
- **Owned by:** 95 Ludoya players
- **Plays logged on Ludoya:** 222
- **Unique players:** 318

**Designers:** Helge Ostertag

**Artists:** Lukas Siegmon, Álvaro Calvo Escudero

**Publishers:** Capstone Games, Feuerland Spiele

## Where to buy in United States

| Shop | Price | Link |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Cardhaus Games | 79.96 $ | https://www.cardhaus.com/age-of-innovation/ |
| Mathom | 70.4 € | https://mathom.es/es/otros-juegos-de-tablero/58210-la-era-de-la-innovacion-8436578817306.html |
| Juegos de la Mesa Redonda | 67.96 € | https://juegosdelamesaredonda.com/15880-la-era-de-la-innovacion-8436578817306.html |
| Magia de Tinta | 69.95 € | https://www.magiadetinta.com/es/juegos/7414-la-era-de-la-innovacion-8436578817306.html |
| Spelexperten | 799 kr | https://www.spelexperten.com/sallskapsspel/strategispel/age-of-innovation.html |
| Ludifolie | 75.9 € | https://www.ludifolie.com/17278-age-of-innovation.html |
| Spielezar | 72.9 Fr. | https://www.spielezar.ch/brettspiele/age-of-innovation-de |
| World of Board Games | 895 kr | https://www.worldofboardgames.com/age-of-innovation |
| Philibert | 80.95 € | https://philibertnet.com/fr/super-meeple/129787-age-of-innovation-3770023051514.html |
| Nordisk Spil | 699 kr | https://nordiskspil.dk/products/age-of-innovation |
| Spilforsyningen | 699.95 kr | https://spilforsyningen.dk/products/age-of-innovation-eng |
| Fantasiapelit | 96.6 € | https://www.fantasiapelit.com/index.php?main=ai&kat=single&mista=indeksi&etsittava=_227712 |
| Game Ninja | 1099 kr | https://www.gameninja.no/produkt/age-of-innovation/ |
| Nexus | 14995 kr | https://nexus.is/vara/age-of-innovation/ |

## Expansions

- [Age of Innovation: Future & Past](https://www.ludoya.com/games/age-of-innovation-future-and-past)

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## Rules questions

### How does the Power cycle work — where do I gain power and from which bowl can I spend it?

Power tokens cycle clockwise through your three Power Bowls: gaining power moves tokens from Bowl I→II, or from II→III if I is empty, and you can only spend tokens that are in Bowl III, which are then cycled back to Bowl I when spent (see p. 7).

### If another player builds next to my buildings, do I automatically gain power and what does it cost me?

Other Factions may gain power equal to the total Power values of their buildings adjacent to the newly built/ upgraded building, but they may choose whether to take that full amount or not; gaining power costs points according to the scale (1/2/3/4 power costs 0/1/2/3 points respectively), you cannot take a partial amount, and you can’t drop below 0 points (see p. 8).

### I got Spades as a Science Bonus in Phase III — can I use them immediately to terraform and build in the same round?

No: Spades gained as a Science Bonus are awarded outside Phase II and therefore cannot be used to terraform-and-build until Phase II of the next round (see p. 12).

### When I terraform with multiple Spades can I use extra Spades on other hexes and still build where I want?

If you gain multiple Spades at once you must use them before building: any extra Spades may be applied to other reachable hexes (even up to 2 or 3 hexes), but you must complete the terraforming to your Native terrain on the primary hex first and you may only build one Workshop as part of that action (see p. 11–12).

### Does upgrading a building trigger adjacency power for other players, and what happens to the old building piece?

An upgrade counts as the build of the new building and can trigger adjacency power for other Factions (they calculate power from their adjacent buildings and may opt to gain it), and you must exchange the old building by returning it to the rightmost empty space on its track on your Planning display before placing the new building (see p. 13 and p. 8).

### If I send Scholars to the Science display, can I ever get them back to use again?

Scholars you place on the Science display are generally not recovered, though you may return 1 Scholar to the supply to advance 1 Level in a Discipline as an alternative; note you have a limited pool of 7 Scholars, so placement is permanent unless you use that return option (see p. 15).

## Links

- [This page](https://www.ludoya.com/games/age-of-innovation)
- [Age of Innovation in the Ludoya app](https://app.ludoya.com/g/age-of-innovation)
- [BoardGameGeek entry](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/383179)

_Data from Ludoya, updated 2026-09-26. Ratings, ownership and play counts are Ludoya's own._