Dominion

by Rio Grande Games

Product Features

• For 2-4 players
• Tactical card game
• Takes about 30 minutes to play
• Lots of expansions available to add depth and complexity
• Quick to learn, many ways to win

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 11.8 x 11.8 x 2.9 inches ; 1 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B001JQY6K4
• Item model number: RGG370
• Manufacturer recommended age: 13 - 17 years
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #41 in Toys & Games (See Top 100 in Toys & Games)
  • #6 in Toys & Games > Games > Board Games
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (262 customer reviews)

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

You are a monarch, like your parents before you, a ruler of a small pleasant kingdom of rivers and evergreens. Unlike your parents, however, you have hopes and dreams. You want a bigger and more pleasant kingdom, with more rivers and a wider variety of trees. You want a Dominion. In all directions lie fiefs, freeholds, and feodums. All are small bits of land, controlled by petty lords and verging on anarchy. You will bring civilization to these people, uniting them under your banner. But wait. It must be something in the air, several other monarchs have had the exact same idea. You must race to get as much of the unclaimed land as possible, fending them off along the way. To do this you will hire minions, construct buildings, spruce up your castle, and fill the coffers of your treasury. Your parents wouldn’t be proud, but your grandparents, would be delighted.

Product Description

In Dominion, each player starts with an identical, very small deck of cards. In the center of the table is a selection of other cards the players can "buy" as they can afford them. Through their selection of cards to buy, and how they play their hands as they draw them, the players construct their deck on the fly, striving for the most efficient path to the precious victory points by game end. You are a monarch, like your parents before you, a ruler of a small pleasant kingdom of rivers and evergreens. Unlike your parents, however, you have hopes and dreams! You want a bigger and more pleasant kingdom, with more rivers and a wider variety of trees. You want a Dominion! In all directions lie fiefs, freeholds, and feodums. All are small bits of land, controlled by petty lords and verging on anarchy. You will bring civilization to these people, uniting them under your banner. But wait! It must be something in the air; several other monarchs have had the exact same idea. You must race to get as much of the unclaimed land as possible, fending them off along the way. To do this you will hire minions, construct buildings, spruce up your castle, and fill the coffers of your treasury. Your parents wouldn

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

317 of 319 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best uncollectible collectable card game I've ever played, January 7, 2009

By 

M. Nixon (Baltimore Maryland) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

= Durability:3.0 out of 5 stars  = Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars  = Educational:5.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Dominion (Toy)

Dominion is a deceptively simple appearing game which encompasses endless variation and fun. The basic game contains the following major components:

1. 25 groups of cards with additional money cards to supplement the game play (in total over 250 cards.)
2. Card storage and organizer designed specifically for organizing the components of the game.
3. The Rules.

Game Play:
A game starts with each player holding an identical small (10 cards) deck which contains the basic resources for starting play. As the game begins a group of 10 cards are selected from the 25 categories of cards in the box (the rules outline specific card selections for scenario play or people can design their own through customization. There is no banker or moderator; all players start entirely equal with the exact same cards.
During each player's turn they have the chance to take actions by playing cards from their hand and purchase new cards from the central decks (which are accessible to all players.) Each player has to balance the need to buy new cards and money, with the purchase of victory points (which remain in the player's deck but don't help them during the game itself until they are tallied up to determine the winner.)

I have to be honest, when I first heard about the game and had it described to me I didn't understand why my wife and several of our friends were so worked up over the thing. It sounded terribly dry and repetitive, particularly to a person like myself who has played collectable card games like magic the gathering for many years now

Nothing could have been farther from the truth.
Dominion has something for everyone, from the collectable card game nut, to the poker player, to the family looking for an alternative to trivial pursuit on Sunday nights. Since everyone starts out with access to the same selection of cards and the same resources for advancement, everyone has an equal chance of victory (which isn't the case in many games where the players construct their decks in advance of play.) Because there are 10 different categories of action cards (each category having at least 10 cards in its pile) to choose from there is plenty of room for strategy (particularly as the game progresses and certain resources are bought up to the point of extinction.)
The game is set up in such a way so that you can play cut throat games with lots of player-vs-player actions or less interactive games where the victory is determined who fields the most effective resource acquisition strategy. Those familiar with CCG drafting from sealed packs will feel right at home in this environment, while those with no card based gaming experience won't be at a disadvantage compared to those who have played card games extensively.

My only criticism of dominion (as has been said on several other forums) is that while the game is entirely self contained and doesn't require purchase of booster boxes and the like, I can easily see the cards (which are essential in exactly the numbers provided) wearing out or being lost. Because there are so many of them I recommend using card sleeves (available at most hobby stores from companies like rook and ultra pro.)

I started out one night thoroughly expecting to dislike this game and found myself 3 hours later having played several games and wondering where the evening had gone. This game is completely addictive and doesn't loose its fun factor after the player has played multiple scenarios in one sitting.

Simply put, this is the best interactive casual game I've played in 32 years.

93 of 93 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Unbelieveably Addicting Game, March 3, 2009

By 

T. Gilbert (Lehi, UT, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

= Durability:5.0 out of 5 stars  = Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars  = Educational:5.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Dominion (Toy)

Ok, I have to start this review off by saying I had my reservations about this game. I absolutely love Euro strategy games like Puerto Rico, Agricola, Power Grid, Caylus, etc, but I'm not into card games. In fact, I pretty much hate card games.

This game was getting a lot of publicity on BoardGameGeek and everyone was raving about it so I decided that I should buy it to give it a shot. I'm glad I did.

The whole point of the game is to build your deck of cards and build up a collection of victory points. The reason this game shines is because it is a quick game that only takes about 30-40 minutes to play. It is also very fun because as you are building your deck of cards you aren't usually getting rid of the cards. If you spend some gold to buy a card that gold goes back into your discard pile and will eventually be shuffled for you to use again in another turn.

There are over 500 cards in this game with around 25 different action cards available so you can vary the game a lot depending on what cards are currently on the table. The only downside is that someone that has played the game a lot and knows a base strategy can usually beat a new player easily.

Overall this game is very addicting and short, which is a good thing. You can play multiple rounds of this game in an evening as opposed to one game of another typical Euro.

82 of 84 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Renewed family connection, June 1, 2009

By 

Scott Federer (Michigan) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

= Durability:5.0 out of 5 stars  = Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Dominion (Toy)

In the days of technology and scheduled events we struggle to find times to connect with our children. Dominion has helped us renew that connection. My wife and I plus both our sons (age 17 & 11) LOVE playing this game together. Whether you go in with a fine tuned strategy or just "make it up as you go along" the opportunity to enjoy the game and win is presented. We love that the entire game play lasts about 30-40 minutes, we don't always have an entire day to devote to a game, but we have a half hour after dinner to enjoy the company of our kids. they will be moving out soon enough and beginning their own families. Dominion is a game that everyone wants to set aside what they are doing and play together. When was the last time your kids begged to play a game with Mom and Dad?