Timeline: Inventions - Tips & Strategies

At the beginning of the game, hold on to the cards in front of you if you are certain of where they go in the timeline. It is much easier to place the cards you are unsure of at the start because the timeline isn’t too full yet. Save the cards you’re certain about for later in the game.

There aren’t many rules to this game, but there is one that, if missed, will greatly alter how the game plays out. I’ve seen it happen, and it isn’t pretty.

When playing, make sure to note that if you miss with a card, you discard it, instead of leaving it in the timeline.

I’ve seen games where people miss this rule, and leave every card played on the timeline. Not only does the table space fill up quickly, but it becomes harder and harder to end the game, as there are smaller gaps to correctly place a card in. Playing this way becomes an additional penalty, every miss will make it even harder to get a future card right. I’ve heard it expressed as “reliving” history class, where it feels like it will never end.

For all games in the “Timeline” series: Instead of discarding the incorrectly placed cards, we leave them on the table. I realize this can be brutal for many, but it really kicks up the difficulty for repeat plays.

For all games in the “Timeline” series:

A passenger, of course, picks a random card from the deck without looking at the date, each of the occupants states the year they think is correct. The person that is closest wins the card. Play until someone gets 10, the deck is exhausted, or someone has had enough of the game.

Ties go to war: another card is selected, the tied players each state the year, the winner gets both cards.