What is Dominion?

[Grimmjow]

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Rio-Grande-Games-RGG370-Dominion/dp/B001JQY6K4/ref=sr_1_1?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1352407464&sr=1-1&keywords=dominion"]Dominion[/ame] is a game that my co-workers have been playing for a while now (they no longer play now though because the guy who had all the games moved). From what i hear it is a real fun game.

Now im thinking about getting it. What are somethings i need in order to make it fun or is just the original good enough (to start ).
Also what are the goals of the game and how hard is it to learn and teach?

 

[Crothian]

I really like the game. You don't need anything other then the main game. It is made so that there are many different card combinations as you don't use every card each time you play. It has a standard array of cards to use for one's first game that I think works very well for people new to the game. It is the type of game that is easy to learn while you play but sounds difficult if someone is just explaining it to you.

 

[Nytmare]

If you're familiar with Magic, Dominion is a non-collectible card game that is built around card drafting as a mechanic.

If you're not familiar with Magic, Dominion is a game where everyone starts the game with an identical deck of cards and spends each turn buying a new card from a random assortment of 16(ish) different cards to add to their deck. Each of the cards you're buying is either a money card, a victory point card, or some kind of action card that temporarily modifies the rules in some way.

It's a really popular mechanic at the moment that you can find in a lot of the games that have come out in the last handful of years. Thunderstone, Quarriors, Puzzle Strike, Mage Knight, Nightfall, Eminent Domain...

[EDIT] The game is extremely easy to learn, there are just 3 basic rules. Play 1 card, buy 1 card, discard and draw back up to 5. The complexity comes from the action cards you and your opponents play that modify those 3 rules. In the end, the goal of the game is to have more victory points than your opponents. Strategies are somewhat limited with just the base set, but the more sets you add, the more other successful strategies emerge.

 

[Jan van Leyden]

Now im thinking about getting it. What are somethings i need in order to make it fun or is just the original good enough (to start ).

The first basic game allows for hundreds of different games by selecting different card sets. Most of these different setups demand or at least favor a separate strategy, which the players need to develop on their own.

Later sets and extensions partly change the flow of the game. Not every player sees every expansion as a good contribution to the game. You best start with the first set and play some hundred games with it.

Also what are the goals of the game ...

... to score the most victory points. VPs come as cards which you can buy like all the other cards (action cards, money). The go into your deck, where they are dead weight, though. Dominion is a balancing act where you have to find the sweet spot between buying cards for a powerful and efficient deck and buying victory points for your score.

Technically, Dominion is a deck-building game. Each player starts with the same cards, of which you draw five for your turn. With these five cards you can start actions (Play one card) and buy one new card.

It starts getting interesting when you can play card combos for great effect: Start with a Village (Draw one additional card, play two more cards), play a second Village, followed by some Mines (Upgrade one coin card to the next highest type) would be an extremely simple example.

This thing (drawing five cards, playing one and buying one) proceeds until either three stacks of cards or the stack with the most valuable VP card is depleted. Now each player counts the VPs in his complete deck.

... and how hard is it to learn and teach?

When four players withou any previous Dominion experience learn the game together, the first one or two games might be a bit bumpy because of the unusual concept. After that it plays extremeley smooth and teaching it becomes easy. Just make sure that newcomers aren't shredded to pieces in their first game.

Probably the only kind of gamers who won't like Dominion so much are those who demand heavy interactions between players during the game. This isn't one of Dominion's fortes.

 

[Jhaelen]

Probably the only kind of gamers who won't like Dominion so much are those who demand heavy interactions between players during the game. This isn't one of Dominion's fortes.

Isn't this somewhat alleviated in Dominion:Intrigue?

I was first introduced to Dominion by a friend telling me how stupid the game was. His wife liked the game though, so I wanted to form my own opinion. So we played once, twice, three times, and finally the whole evening, after which even my friend admitted that it wasn't all bad - if you didn't just add random cards from any expansion, at least

What I find most enjoyable about it is that it's very easy to learn but (somewhat) hard to master. Discovering new strategies that work with a particular set of cards is great fun and when playing with the same set twice in a row, the second game typically develops in a completely different way because now everyone's aware of the previous winning strategy!

 

[Nytmare]

The first basic game allows for hundreds of different games by selecting different card sets. Most of these different setups demand or at least favor a separate strategy, which the players need to develop on their own.

The strategies with only the base game tend to be "buy only money and victory points unless you want to buy one copy of one or two really good action cards."

Isn't this somewhat alleviated in Dominion:Intrigue?

Because the interactions/attacks are either "every opponent" or "the player to your left" your strategic plays are limited. The game doesn't handle a concerted "That guy is winning, everyone gang up on them!" choice.

...after which even my friend admitted that it wasn't all bad - if you didn't just add random cards from any expansion, at least

I'm a big fan of the random assemblage of cards. I like a playing field where being the first to spot the hidden gem gives me an advantage.

Also, for those who haven't already found it, there's a Droid version of the game called Androminon and an online java version that include every set up to and including Hinterlands.

 

[Jan van Leyden]

The strategies with only the base game tend to be "buy only money and victory points unless you want to buy one copy of one or two really good action cards."

Have you never been chapelled? While money buying is indeed a fast way to victory, there are several lean decks which can beat it. Even serveral puny milita cards in you opponents's hands can reign you in pretty good.

And after discovering this strategy and winning with it more often than not, it gets boring. Time to develop something new!

 

[Nytmare]

Have you never been chapelled? While money buying is indeed a fast way to victory, there are several lean decks which can beat it. Even serveral puny milita cards in you opponents's hands can reign you in pretty good.

And after discovering this strategy and winning with it more often than not, it gets boring. Time to develop something new!

A chapel would be one of those "buy one copy of" cards I was talking about.

It's doesn't matter whether or not it's boring, it's the dominant base set strategy and it's why the game gets better when you start folding in expansions.

 

[Agamon]

Dominion is "beatable" with just the basic set, or even just the basic + Intrigue. Here's how: pretty much ignore all cards except silver, gold and provinces. Doesn't work every time, but more often than not.

I had a pretty low opinion of Dominion until I tried it with some of the newer expansions. They fixed the above problem and now it is quite an enjoyable game where your card choice actually matters.

 

[VictorC]

Quick question, then back to the thread at hand.

If you fans of the game could pick just one expansion to add to the core set, what would it be, and why?

I'm starting to assume from the discussion up to this point my mild dislike of the game could stem from what a few of you seem to think is a problem inherent in the base set.

That, potentially, being the case... what expansion would be the solution?