# 20: Dominion
56 Points (On 3 of 14 lists)
Highest Vote: (#1 by Asbestos Bill)
Publication Date: 2008
Number of Players: 2-4
Designed by: Donald X. Vaccarino
Publisher: Rio Grande Games
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.
From the back of the box: "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, on your mother's side, would be delighted."
Hey, How Do I Win This? The game ends under two conditions: when the stack of Province cards (the highest-value Victory card in the base game) has been exhausted, or when any three other stacks have been exhausted. At that time, the players count the number of Victory Points in their complete decks, and the player with the highest score is the winner. When playing with the expansions, other victory conditions may be introduced, but generally based on when a certain type of card is exhausted.
Fun Gaming Facts:Every turn can be labeled as "A,B,C" You get an action phase, a buy phase and a clean-up phase.
In the 4 years since release, Dominion has had 7 expansions published.
Dice:None.
Purple and Orange?:No. Just cards.
Awards & Stuff:2010 Årets Familiespill (Norway), Winner, Family Game of the Year
2009 I Mensa HungarIQa Társasjátékverseny, Legjobb Stratégiai kártyajáték - I Mensa HungarIQa Boardgame competition, Best Strategy cardgame
2009 Japan Boardgame Prize, Game of the Year, Winner
2009 Spiel der Herzen, Game of the Year
2009 BoardGamer.ru Card Game of the Year.
2009 BoardGameGeek Golden Geek, Winner, Game of The Year and Card Game
2009 Deutscher Spiele Preis, Game of the Year, Winner
2009 Diana Jones Award for Excellence in Gaming winner
2009 Dice Tower Gaming Awards, Best Game of the Year, Winner
2009 Games 100, Best Family Strategy Game, Winner
2009 Guldbrikken, Årets Jurypris (Special Jury Prize), Winner
2009 FAIRPLAY Magazine, A la carte, Card Game of the Year, Winner
2009 Hra Roku (Czech Republic), Game of the Year, Winner
2009 J.U.G. Winner
2009 JoTa - Card-Game Winner (Critics / Audience)
2009 Lucca Games Best of Show (Italy), Winner, Best Card Game
2009 Ludoteca Ideale, Games of the Year
2009 Mensa Select, Winner
2009 Origins Awards, Winner, Best Card Game
2009 Spiel des Jahres Winner
2009 Vuoden aikuistenpeli Adult Game of the Year, Winner
2008 Meeples Choice Awards
2010 Nominated for the Juego del Año Tico.
Related Games that Received Votes:Related Games that Didn't Receive Votes:There's been a huge boom in constructed deck games in recent years, mostly inspired by Dominion. Warhammer: Invasion, for example.
Hey! It's an Amazon link with the price! $31.46Next Turn:#19-11! Memory games, more RPGs, word games, head games (It's you and me baby and I can't take it any more. Head games. Don't wanna play no head games.) And I fumble around with the rules of still more card games! All this and more next time!