Imaginarium

Imaginarium, by Bombyx, was dreamed up by designers Bruno Cathala and Florian Sirieix. ‘Dreamed’ being the word, because Imaginarium is a game set in a steampunk factory full of machines that create weird and wonderful dreams!

No surprise then, based in a factory, that Imaginarium is an engine-builder. Players reserve dream machine cards in a worker placement fashion. Machines arrive broken, but if you can fix them they start providing materials for you. The currency here is ‘charcoaleum’, which goes towards resource management. Other materials (wood, copper, and glass) are vital towards fixing broken machines. Or, spend them towards combining machines into super-powerful efficient, upgraded versions!

Players can also do two out of six actions in a circular diagram. In a clever twist, the two actions you pick have to be adjacent to each other (head-scratcher alert). One is a material-converter; another is a machine-fixing opportunity. Players can also pay charcoaleum to hire assistants who provide handy benefits.

In Imaginarium, players can only store four working machines at once, at most. They can store a limitless number of ‘broken’ machines, but of course, they do not provide any materials. The challenge emerges that players can dismantle machines for resources or victory points. There are other ways to earn points, including races to complete public goals.

The game ends once someone decides to announce (and prove!) that they have at least 20 points. Some end-game bonuses are added, and most points wins. If you’re the one announcing the end-game, ensure that you’re confident you’re ahead of your rivals. No one has to announce once they hit 20, they can wait it out! The surreal artwork and superb large busts for player pieces add to the atmosphere. No nightmares here – Imaginarium is one cool, mechanical dream!

Game length: 90 minutes
Player count: 2-5 players
Age range: 14+