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I recently acquired Dominion: Prosperity (yay Christmas) and came across the Platinum and Colony Cards which are designed to be new Basic Cards (like Estate, Copper, etc...).

My question is, should I (or do you) always play with Platinum and Colony even when you're not using Prosperity kingdom cards? Or do you only play with them if you're doing a Prosperity only game? Or do you use them whenever some (or certain) Prosperity cards are chosen as kingdom cards but otherwise you leave the Platinum and Colony to the side?

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  • FYI: I use Dominion Shuffle on android to select kingdom cards, and it will sometimes add Platinum and Colony to the list depending on the kingdom cards it selected, so it handles this ruling when it shuffles.
    – Pithlit
    Commented Oct 15, 2011 at 20:43

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From the Prosperity rulebook:

If only Kingdom cards from Prosperity are being used this game, then the Platinum and Colony piles are added to the Basic cards in the Supply for the game. If a mix of Kingdom cards from Prosperity and other sets are being used, then the inclusion of Platinum and Colony in the Supply should be determined randomly, based on the proportion of Prosperity and non-Prosperity cards in use. For example, choose a random Kingdom card being used - such as the first card dealt out from the Randomizer deck - and if it is from Prosperity, add Platinum and Colony to the Supply. Platinum and Colony are not Kingdom cards; when those are included, there are 10 Kingdom cards, plus Copper, Silver, Gold, Platinum, Estate, Duchy, Province, Colony, and Curse, in the Supply. Use 8 Colonies for a 2-player game, or 12 Colonies for a game with 3 or more players.

Seems like there isn't much I can add to that!

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    @Thesun - darn you for being so fast! Good job :D
    – LittleBobbyTables - Au Revoir
    Commented Jan 7, 2011 at 20:35
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    @Thesun has it right, I'll note that my group often discards this rule and plays with the Platinum and Colony with any set. We enjoy seeing how the play differs, especially since we played a lot (>130 games) of Dominion prior to Prosperity.
    – Matt Blackmon
    Commented Jan 7, 2011 at 20:55
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    To me it makes a lot more sense to shuffle the kingdom cards you're going to use, then pick one at random, rather than take the first card out of the randomizer deck. Assuming you have every card out so far, this changes your odds from 5/23 (just better than 1/5) to n/10, where n is the number of Prosperity kingdom cards in play.
    – Andrew Vandever
    Commented Jan 7, 2011 at 22:19
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    In my group we count the number of Prosperity cards, and roll a d10. If it's <= we play w/ C&P. So the more Prosperity cards, the likelier we are to have 'em.
    – aslum
    Commented Feb 7, 2011 at 8:20
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    @Andrew-Vandever Note: Taking the first card out of the randomiser deck is equivalent to shuffling them and taking one of your ten. If you think about shuffling the randomiser deck and drawing the top 10 cards, the top card has a n/10 chance of being from prosperity where n is the number of cards from prosperity in the top 10. The difference is only in when you decide which one of the 10 is the "top" card.
    – Nick
    Commented Jul 9, 2012 at 13:11
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Yes, there is what the rulebook says for choosing randomly.

But there are two primary effects of these cards and honestly I think the bigger issue is which effect matters more for you.

Platinum and Colony extend the depth of strategy you can put into a build up. They tend to make for longer games, but games in which you could take things further. This is a popular enough option that Androminion on Android has always including these as one of its settings. Personally, I really like this effect and we usually include them in any setup.

On the other hand there are various cards in Dominion that seem to have been written on the tacit assumption that Gold is your final treasure goal. Sure, they can be used regardless, but they are just less likely to be bought when platinum is in play. If that is something you want to avoid, then leave them out. (Other cards, like Mine, become more powerful, but not overwhelmingly so).

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  • It is interesting when Gold-goal cards make quickly ending a Colony-game on Provinces viable.
    – Gregor Thomas
    Commented Feb 21, 2014 at 17:59
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The Second Edition of Prosperity actually made an update to the rules regarding Platinum and Colony usage. What was previously declared as "the rule" is now just a suggestion on how to randomize if you wish. The official "rule" now is that you can include them whenever you want to.

Prosperity includes two new base cards, Platinum and Colony. You can include them whenever you want to; they are always used together. If you want to determine when to use them randomly, choose a random Kingdom card being used, and if it is from Prosperity, use Platinum and Colony.

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