Dominion is a game that has been around for over 10 years and it’s still popular today. It is the best-selling card game in history! Dominion was originally designed by Donald X. Vaccarino, but the company Rio Grande Games has published many expansions to this original design since they took ownership of it about 5 years ago.
| Release | October 3, 2016 |
| Players | 2-4 |
| Playing Time | ~ 30 min |
| Age | 14+ |
| Genre | Tactical game |
| Brand | Rio Grande Games |
Dominion Review: Game Theme
Dominion is a classic strategy game that has variable player powers – each time you play, it’s unique and unpredictable! Dominion takes place in the fictional Kingdom of Halta. Your goal is to build your dominion by gaining as much infamy (points) as possible before any other players; thus becoming the most prestigious leader among them.
There are several types of these cards that award players for having the most or least of a particular type of card; this adds another layer to try to win the game!
Mechanics and Rules
Dominion is a card game with four main types of cards – treasure, victory points, action, and a curse. Treasure can be used to buy other cards but is usually used to get victory points. Action cards can be played during your turn and give you different abilities – some examples are drawing more cards or gaining money.
Dominion’s mechanics revolve around a simple structure of “turning over” several cards from a deck in what we call a “hand.” Players start with an identical hand each round (the only difference being which starting action card they have) and draw five new ‘randomized’ cards into their hands every time it’s their turn.
The next player then takes his/her turn by playing one card from their hand on either themselves or else; this play may result in certain cards or abilities triggering. After this, the player discards any remaining cards left in their hand and draws up to five new ones. Players can choose whether they want to discard all of these cards at once (for a small draw bonus) or keep each card until it’s used before drawing more for that turn.
The game ends when either player runs out of victory points by buying them during play or else; if one player goes over 40 VP then he/she loses! The winner is determined based on who has the most number of VPs after everyone runs out – ties are broken according to whoever had the highest amount first.
Gameplay: Complexity and Replayability
Dominion’s game mechanic is very simple, but it can be played in various ways! There are two main types of gameplay: “sealed” and “open.” In a sealed format, each player starts with the same set of cards. After this phase has been completed, players open their remaining decks to build upon by adding different strategies for future gameplay.
This type of setup also makes Dominion one of the best games for playing with multiple people since you don’t have to worry about having too many or too few cards at each stage compared to another person – everyone will get access to the same number! The second way that Dominion can be played is called an open format where all players start from scratch and pick which ten kingdom card sets they want to play with.
An open-format also allows you to try out new strategies that may not be as effective as others before buying into them – this keeps games interesting since they aren’t always predictable.
Components and Setup
Dominion’s cards are all high-quality and come in a neat durable box that also includes dividers for separating the different decks. This is especially useful since each expansion adds more types of cards to shuffle through! The art on these designs may not be flashy but they give off an air of mystery when you’re looking at them – it’s a nice touch that keeps the player interested.
Dominion is really easy to set up and can usually be done in under five minutes! The rulebook does include two pages of extra content from other players who have commented on their strategies for winning at Dominion – I think this was an awesome idea because it gives you insight into what others are doing to win and may even help you come up with a better strategy for yourself.
Artwork and Component Quality
The cards are high quality and each expansion adds more types of cards. The art is not flashy but it gives the game an air of mystery when you’re looking at them – this keeps players interested in turn-based gameplay. Dominion has definitely been worth my time! It has simple mechanics that anyone can get into, yet complex enough to have different experiences from others. Dominion is a great experience for players of all ages and has become one of my favorite games I own!
Bottom Line
Dominion is a great game that will keep you coming back for more! Players can play it as a group or in teams, making the experience even more enjoyable!
