Inferred

Mechanics

Induction • Pattern Recognition • Pattern Building

Game Overview

Core Concept:

Inferred is a 2–6 player competitive logic game of deduction and deception. Each player secretly selects a hidden rule built from multiple categories, creates patterns that follow their rule, and challenges opponents to uncover it – all while trying to crack their opponents’ code first.

Key Systems:

  • Hidden Rule Construction:
    • Each player receives a pattern card divided into 3 sets, each with 3 options.
    • Players secretly select one option from each set, forming a unique 3-part rule combo.
    • This becomes the “inferred pattern” others must discover.
  • Pattern Creation:
    • Players display 3 starting examples that follow their combo rule, giving clues to their logic.
    • Each round, players add one more example to further reinforce or obfuscate their rule.
  • Deduction Phase:
    • In secret, each player may attempt to guess one or more opponents’ rules each round.
    • After everyone submits guesses, all are revealed. The targeted players respond with a simple “yes” or “no.”

Design Principles:

  • Layered Deduction: Players aren’t just solving a single puzzle – they must track logic across multiple opponents at once.
  • Creative Constraints: The pattern-building phase rewards inventive thinking, red herrings, and clever examples that both clarify and mislead.
  • Simultaneous Pressure: Everyone is racing to be the first to break each others’ codes – but each correct guess helps your opponent.

Endgame Structure:

  • Trigger: The game ends when the majority of players successfully deduce any one player’s rule.
  • Victory Condition: Players earn points for correct guesses and for maintaining the secrecy of their own pattern.
  • Tiebreaker: The player with the most successful guesses, or who withstood the most incorrect guesses, wins.

Future Expansion Ideas:

  • Advanced Pattern Sets: Include more abstract logic categories such as symmetry, spatial reflection, or ordering constraints.
  • Team Play Variant: Introduce a mode with cooperative deduction or shared knowledge tracking.
  • Decoy Mechanics: Allow players to insert false pattern examples to further mislead others.