I can’t stop making people play Dominion. I bought it for my parents, and there’s a good chance that anyone who comes into my apartment will walk out of it knowing how to play. Like my very accommodating out-of-town friends I was recently hosting for a bachelorette party. In short, it’s my latest favorite table top game. My boyfriend and I promptly bought it after learning how to play it at the 2009 Gen Con last year, the biggest board game convention in North America.
Dominion is a card deck-building game. You start with ten cards and pad your deck with goodies throughout the game. The three general categories of cards are treasure cards, victory point cards, and action cards. There are a few other subcategories, but you get the idea. The objective is to be the player with the most victory points at the end of the game. The catch is that you can only play with 5 random cards from your deck at any given time. So if you start buying up victory point cards at the beginning of the game, there’s a good chance your 5 cards will be filled with victory point cards you can’t do anything with.
Each game of Dominion can be drastically different depending on what set of 10 types of Kingdom cards you choose to play with. You can choose from 25 types if you have the base game, and more if you get expansion packs and promo decks. What I love about Dominion is the delicate balance of strategies. I find I have to adjust my playing style frequently based on what cards are available to buy and what other players are doing.
Another selling point is that it’s a relatively light game. A gamer’s game perhaps, but it’s easy to learn and pick up, and it plays through quickly. It’s made for two to four players, though I enjoy it most with four. I like the added challenge of trying to keep track of how many victory points three opponents have purchased. That’s just too easy with only one opponent.
There are two things about the game that I’m not so hot on. First, the logo art, especially on that turquoise color on the back of the cards. It’s just hard to read and ugly, especially compared to the beautiful art on the other side.
Second, there’s a lot of shuffling. I don’t mind so much, but it gets tiring, and the turns go so fast that often everyone is frantically shuffling their cards so they can get their next 5. Especially in the beginning when everyone’s decks are still skimpy. One way to get around this? Homemade chipsets. You still need to mix up the chips, but that’s done quickly with a grab bag.
Released: 2008
Publisher: Several, but mine is from Rio Grande Games.
Number of players: It’s listed as 2-4. I’m curious if anyone’s tried it with 5, as I don’t see why it wouldn’t be possible.
Playing time: About 30-40 minutes.
This game sounds really interesting, I will definitely have to look it up. One game i really cant recommend enough, especially at parties with lots of people, is Ricochet Robots (also published by Rio Grande Games). Its weird in that any number of people can play it, as all the moves you do, you have to do in your head. I can’t really explain it well.
But there is nothing better than watching 4-5 people stand around a board, just staring at it, suddenly someone yelling out a number, and watching everyone frantically try to beat that number before the timer runs out. It looks so random till you learn it. 8D
Long time reader, first time commenting. Dominion is amazing enough to bring me out of the woodwork…
Anyways, I played it at our board game club and immediately decided that I had to buy a personal copy of the game and both expansions. I highly recommend them both, they make the game much more intricate. They add a few new card types and split card types that can do more than one thing (for a cost). Very shiny.
Anyways, so far as 5 players go, it works perfectly well with the basic rules. The Intrigue rules suggest that you add 4 of each victory card per player and don’t end until you’ve cleared four stacks (or the Provinces). Generally, we’ll clear four stacks but not add the extra Victory cards. Or you can find another player or two and split into two smaller games (with Intrigue)…
Anyways, there’s my 2 cents worth.
I love this game!
Bought it at Arcon (the largest gaming-convention in scandinavia) last spring and never regretted a second of it. It’s easy to explain, highly customizable to suit several gaming styles, and just an all-around fun game.
I really want the expansions, but there’s just TOO many games I want so they’ve been prioritized down, unfortunately. :-/
As for Ricochet Robots…
I’ve read the rules of it but never actually PLAYED it. I’ve love to give it a try though.
And if you’re looking for one more good game to add to your collection, go check out Shadows over Camelot (article by yours truly).
I’ve played Dominion in a 6 way game. Honestly, the main things to keep in mind is A: you want at least one expansion, so you can beef up the selection/estates deck. Also, if one major strategy is rushed for by everyone, you can end the game really early, with people winning with a total of 6 points, because they did +1 buy, and got a duchy and something else that ended the game.