How do you play 'Dominion'?

Answer 1

How to Play Dominion:

Dominion is a medieval-themed card game for 2-4 players, that can last from 15 minutes to just under an hour, depending on the players and the specific card set used. The object of the game is to build a deck, which is your kingdom, the various components of which help the players score the most victory points.

It's a great gateway game into the increasingly popular world of euro-style board and card games. It's easy to play and features a bit of luck due to the shuffling of cards. However, winning will require good strategy. Even for experienced gamers, Dominion is a favorite when time is a factor. No one's going to pick up Arkham Horror when they only have an hour to play.

Each game is different due to the randomizing of action cards, so it's very replayable. Even if you decide to play the same game multiple times, there are a variety of strategies you can choose from. In fact, replaying the same game can be even more fun because you'll be immediately familiar with the cards and you can pick and choose elements from strategies you and your opponents have tried out.

The game has been much reviewed already, so here I'll simply outline how to play.

Main Card Types

Treasure - Copper, Silver, and Gold (1, 2, and 3 treasure respectively) cards are used to purchase more cards for your deck. The cost of each card is listed on the bottom left corner. Treasure cards are used to buy any type of card, including other treasure cards.

Actions - Over two dozen cards let you perform an action on your turn, including drawing cards, buying extra cards, or getting undesirable cards out of your hand (or even out of your deck entirely).

Victory - Estate, Duchy, and Province cards (1, 3, and 6 points respectively) determine the winner of the game. The ultimate goal is to get the most victory points. Unfortunately, that is all these cards can do and have no function during the game, thus taking up valuable space in your deck and hand.

Start of Game

Each player starts with 7 Copper and 3 Estate cards. The remaining treasure cards are placed next to each other on the table. Near these are placed 12 of each type of victory card (8 of each for 2 players). Next the 10 action cards are chosen in one of the followingways: choosing a card set from the instructions, which contains 5 themes of action card sets; picking 10 at random using the randomizer decks; or having players decide which cards they would like to play with (in the case of more experienced players). All cards on the table are face-up.

Game Play

At the start of the game, shuffle your deck and draw 5 of your 10 cards. Throughout the game, each player will have a face-down draw pile, a hand of cards, and a face-up discard pile. Play moves clockwise. There are three parts to a turn.

Action - Play an action card from your hand. Lay the card on the table before you and resolve the text printed on the card.

Buy - Lay down treasure cards from your hand and choose a card from the table that costs no more than the amount of treasure you have. Place the card you've bought into the discard pile.

Cleanup - Place all cards you've laid down as well as the rest of your hand into the discard pile so that you have no cards in your hand. Draw 5 new cards from your deck.

When your deck is depleted AND you must draw a card, shuffle your discard pile. This once again becomes your deck, now including more cards that you've acquired. Obviously, for your first two turns you will have no action cards. If there are no action cards in your hand, you move immediately to the buy phase. At some point in the game, you may have no treasure cards in your hand. In this case, you may still make a buy (Copper costs 0).

Sample Turn

Nick has 3 Copper, 1 Estate, and 1 Village[+1 Card, +2 Actions] in his hand. He plays Village and draws 1 card: Smithy[+3 Cards]. He will now play Smithy, since Village gives him extra actions. He draws three cards: 2 Silver and 1 Mine[Trash a Treasure card. Gain a treasure card costing up to 3 more and put it in your hand].

He still has 1 action and plays Mine, trashing one of his Copper cards (trashing removes it from the game instead of discarding it) and gaining a Silver into his hand. Now he has 2 Copper, 1 Estate, and 3 Silver. The Estate is useless in play. Since Silver is worth 2 and Copper worth 1, Nick has 8 treasure.

He buys a Province, putting it into the discard pile. He then puts all the rest of his cards into the discard pile and draws five more. He now has no cards in his draw pile, but must wait until he is forced to draw before shuffling (he may have discarded others that will have to be shuffled in).

Some turns may be simpler (2 Copper, 3 Estate: buy a Chapel[Trash up to 4 cards from your hand], discard all, draw 5), and some may be more complex, with many actions strung together and multiple buys. The game goes on like this, each player slowly building his deck, until the game ending condition is met. Then the points are tallied.Game End

When all Provinces are gone from the pile on the table, the game ends.

OR

When all cards of any three types are gone from their piles on the table, the game ends.

Whoever has the most Victory Points wins.

Strategy Notes

For those who wish to find your own strategy, you don't have to read this section. You're ready to play now.

For the rest:

Early in the game, it's best to build up treasure and action cards, saving the victory points for later in the game. The treasure and action cards can be used to gain victory points later, while victory points are good for nothing early in the game and actually serve to muck up your hand.

Try to streamline your deck for games that you think will be quick. Get rid of Copper in favor of Silver and Gold. Sometimes you may find it worthwhile to get rid of Estates in the beginning of the game. Find a few action cards that work well together and only buy those. Some of the highest scoring decks have less than ten total action cards. Even if the game may run on, have an efficient deck early on can be a great help.

There are so many combinations of card sets that each game will be different. You will have to tailor your strategies to particular cards, groups of cards, or even the absence of some cards. The more you play, the better you'll learn how the cards work together.

Also, if you see that someone else is buying a Province relatively early in the game, don't get nervous: it's probably a fluke due to lucky cards. However, if three or four Provinces have been picked up, it's time to start buying victory points.