Ada's Dream 2025

In Ada's Dream, work with Ada Lovelace to help build the first computer, fulfilling her dream in this alternate history Euro Game.

In the summer of 1843, Ada Lovelace wrote to her friend Charles Babbage asking him to let her take control of the development of his new invention: the analytical engine. Babbage had created blueprints for an amazing, steam-powered machine capable of performing complex mathematical calculations. However, his inability to manage the project left it at a standstill.

Ada Lovelace understood how the machine worked and even wrote explanatory notes suggesting uses beyond arithmetic functions. Ada’s original approach was to turn a mechanical calculator into the first ever computing machine. Although Babbage did not accept her proposal, extraordinary as she was, our game draws on the imagination to tell the story of a world in which Ada’s Dream could be fulfilled.

Players take on the role of assistants to Ada and will compete to construct the most effective prototype section of the great machine. Ada provides you with the blueprints (your player board), the contacts (Partner cards), and guidelines (Objectives) to help you get started. The game is then played over a number of turns (typically 18 for each player) where each player either take a Workshop Turn (drafting dice from the Workshop Rondel and getting a resource), or an Action Turn (placing a drafted die into the Mill area of the player board and taking the color-coded action that matches that die's color). Actions Turns consist of Giving Lectures, Traveling the UK, Meeting Partners, and visiting Ada's Study, and allow you to gather resources, gain bonuses, and earn Prestige points (VP). Once a player has placed a 9th die in their Mill, the end of the game is triggered and Prestige points are counted. The player with the most prestige wins!