Select A Duration

Before you start, agree on the number of Base Votes you will allot to HappyCOM-9. This, in large part, will determine the length of your game of Inevitable.

In the Short Game, HappyCOM-9 begins the game with 2,000 Base Votes; this produces a game that lasts about two hours, a little longer if you’re new to the game. You can also play what we call the Epic Game by increasing this number to 3,000, which will yield a game of around three hours, or possibly longer.

There are other factors that contribute to the length of a game as well, including the number of players and their relative level of familiarity with the game. For this reason, we strongly suggest that you play the Short Game if you are playing with five or more players, or if you are new to the game.

The “Election Day” Variant

If you only have a specific window of time available,¹ you may prefer playing an optional variant we call “Election Day.” When this rule is in effect, you and your play group simply agree upon a specific point in time at which the game will end. In this variant, the Inevitable endgame (“the Election”) triggers at the deadline. You will still need to assign HappyCOM-9 a certain number of Base Votes in order for the Election to occur. For more on how the Election works, you can jump ahead to the section on “How to Win the Game,” on page 21.

You may also activate the Election Day rules at any point in the Short or Epic Game if all players (including those who are temporarily out of play) unanimously agree to do so. (A few more details on the Election Day variant can be found under “ Notes on Variants,” beginning on page 23.)

Footnote 1: If you are tight enough on time that you have less than an hour or two for the game, you should probably play Inevitable another time. See, even in the “Election Day” variant we still recommend assigning at least 2,000 Base Votes to HappyCOM-9, and even the most fleet-footed players will have difficulty defeating HappyCOM-9 in under an hour. We eagerly await the speedrun videos that will prove us wrong.