Ingenious FAQ
27 questions players ask · Updated Nov 12, 2026 · Full rulebook
Object of the Game
Setup (Standard Game for 2–4 Players)
The Game Board
Play
- When in your turn can you swap your tiles?
- Can you swap your tiles a second time in the same turn?
- If several colours are tied for your lowest score, can you swap when your rack holds one of them?
- When scoring a tile, do you count the symbols on the tile you just placed?
- How do you count the points for a placed tile?
- How do you score a double tile placed at the end of a line of matching symbols?
- Must a placed tile touch or match the tiles already on the board?
- Must you play a tile of your lowest-scoring colour?
- Can you pass your turn if none of your tiles would score?
- Where must each player's first tile go on the first turn?
Bonus Placement
- If you earn a bonus placement and also qualify to swap, which comes first?
- If one placed tile takes two colours to 18, do you get two bonus placements?
- Does a colour that already reached 18 earn another bonus when it scores again?
- After one player reaches 18 in a colour, can the other players still score that colour?
- Must you place the bonus tile after calling Ingenious?
- Do points beyond 18 on a colour's track count?