Pocket Workshop prototype
File № ME-115 · Pocket Workshop
A Tabletop Engine-Builder · 2–4 Players

Micro-Engine· Pocket Workshop

A compact engine-builder of ingenuity and invention — pocket-sized contraptions, twenty-minute industrial revolutions.

2–4Players 20–30Minutes 12 − NRounds
§ 01

A workshop of four moves

Card · Types
⚙

Parts

Extend your chain

The primary source of victory points. Every Part attaches to the end of your chain, matching the previous Output to its Input.

▣

Upgrades

Boost efficiency

Tuck under a Part or Core. Reduce costs, grant extra actions, or unlock cross-type flexibility — without extending the chain.

⚡

Calibrations

One-shot bursts

Announce, resolve, discard — and gain an extra action. Use them to punch through a stuck turn or set up a chain reaction.

⌬

Patents

Public objectives

Open-table goals worth a modest VP boost. A race: the first to meet one claims it, and the runner-up can still earn a License.

§ 02

Four connections, tuned by rarity

Material · Index
⚙️
Mechanical
Very common

Gears, cams, belts. The reliable chainers — almost any contraption rests on them.

Deck share~ 40%
⚡
Electricity
Common

Coils, relays, regulators. Tempo and trigger play — feed loops and chain reactions.

Deck share~ 30%
♨️
Steam
Uncommon

Boilers, exchangers. Conversion and burst power — the lever for big swing turns.

Deck share~ 20%
🧲
Magnetic
Rare

Bearings, clutches, separators. Precision and control — quiet, decisive, hard to find.

Deck share~ 10%
§ 03

If you've liked these

Family · Tree
Faraway
Complexity · Time

Same tight footprint. Same "one good move can salvage the whole game" feeling.

Wingspan
Engine · Interaction

Engine-building DNA — but lighter, sharper, no birds. Just chains that keep clicking.

Splendor
Resources · Objectives

Public Patents play like Splendor's nobles — visible goals that bend everyone's plans.

Build the most impressive contraption — in twenty minutes flat.