• Dominion
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(Web published)

Dominion

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$67.00
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Dominion is the genre-defining deck-building card game in which 2–4 players start with identical decks and buy from a shared market of cards, racing to claim the most victory points in about 30 minutes. Medium-light in complexity and recommended for ages 13+, it offers immense replay variety through its variable Kingdom card setup.

Players
2 players
Play time
Up to 1 hr
Age
All ages
Complexity
Medium

About the Game

Every game of Dominion begins the same way: a humble deck of seven Coppers and three Estates, and a shared market of Kingdom cards waiting to be bought. Turn by turn you purchase actions, treasures and lands, watching your deck grow, then tune it into a smooth engine that can claim Provinces before your rivals. For 2–4 players, a typical game runs about 30 minutes. Complexity is medium-light: turns are simple — play, buy, clean up — but timing the shift from building to buying victory points rewards experience. Recommended for ages 13+. Notable mechanics include deck building, hand management and variable setup, with 10 of 25 Kingdom card types chosen each game for enormous variety. Designed by Donald X. Vaccarino and published by Rio Grande Games in 2008, Dominion popularised the deck-building genre and won the 2009 Spiel des Jahres. This is the standalone base game; expansions such as Dominion: Prosperity add further cards.

History

Designed by Donald X. Vaccarino and first published by Rio Grande Games in 2008, Dominion introduced and popularised the deck-building mechanic that has since become a genre of its own. It won the prestigious Spiel des Jahres award in 2009.

This release is the standalone base game. Numerous expansions, including Dominion: Prosperity, add new Kingdom cards and options for groups already enjoying the core set.

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Shipping details

Dominion

$67.00

Watch: How to play

Rules of Dominion

  • Setup: Each player starts with a deck of seven Coppers and three Estates. Place out the basic treasure and victory piles, then choose 10 of the 25 Kingdom card types to form the shared market.
  • Shuffle your deck and draw a hand of five cards to begin.
  • Action phase: Play one action card from your hand. Cards granting +Actions or +Cards let you chain further plays.
  • Buy phase: Play treasure cards for coins, then buy one card from any supply pile, adding it to your discard pile. Some cards grant extra buys.
  • Clean-up: Discard everything played and left in hand, then draw five new cards, reshuffling your discard pile when the deck runs out.
  • Objective: Grow and tune your deck so it can afford victory cards, especially Provinces. The most victory points wins.
  • Game end: Play ends when the Province pile is empty or any three supply piles are exhausted; count the victory points in your deck.

Strategy

  • Early on, focus buys on better treasures such as Silver and Gold so you can afford stronger cards sooner.
  • A lean deck cycles faster, so thinning weak starting cards (for example with Chapel, if available) is often worthwhile.
  • Avoid buying too many different action cards; a few that work well together beat a scattered collection.
  • Balance terminal actions (those without +Actions) against cards that grant extra actions, or they will clog your hand.
  • Watch your deck's coin output and shift toward buying Provinces once you can reliably afford them rather than building forever.
  • Keep an eye on pile depletion late in the game, since a third empty pile can end things before your engine peaks.
  • Each game's 10 chosen Kingdom cards change what works, so read the table and adapt rather than forcing a favourite plan.