Questions tagged [dominion]

Dominion (2-4 players, 30-minutes) is a card game where players start with small identical decks. They then transform their deck into victory-point producing machines as efficiently as possible by buying more cards. Each game, 10 kingdom cards (most commonly actions, but sometimes extra treasure and victory cards) are selected to be available for purchase.

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How can I beat "Big Money" in Dominion?

Our group has determined that buying (almost exclusively) money and points is the way to go. Most kingdom cards are ignored, or are bought very sparingly. This has lead to games feeling 'samey' and ...
Joe Zack's user avatar
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63 votes
10 answers
6k views

Should I trash Copper or Silver with Mine?

Assuming I've got both Copper and Silver in my hand, which is better to trash in general and why?
aslum's user avatar
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52 votes
9 answers
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What are mistakes beginners should avoid in Dominion?

I am going to play my first round of Dominion (+ Intrigue Expansion) this weekend with 4 other players who have played Dominion before. I have read the rules and now I want to avoid the typical traps ...
Demento's user avatar
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37 votes
10 answers
11k views

When should I buy copper in Dominion?

Almost every strategy I have ever read on Dominion, although disparate in many ways, unanimously agree that not only is buying copper a bad thing, but that you should do whatever is in your power to ...
goldPseudo's user avatar
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37 votes
2 answers
74k views

Setup for more than 4 players in Dominion?

We have the base Dominion set along with the Alchemy and Prosperity expansions. The rules cover 2-4 players, but elsewhere it implies that up to 6 players are allowed with expansions. Nowhere we could ...
Jim McKeeth's user avatar
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33 votes
4 answers
10k views

What is a safe and accurate technique for shuffling cards?

Especially for games which involve frequent card shuffling by multiple players of decks of uneven sizes is there is a technique for shuffling which is quick and easy for everyone to learn yet also ...
Shannon John Clark's user avatar
32 votes
4 answers
11k views

When you King's Court a King's Court, when must you pick the three target cards?

Bear with me here. In Dominion: Prosperity you can play King's Court and choose another King's Court as the target: The rules are clear on the basics of what happens here: you pick three cards and ...
lilserf's user avatar
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30 votes
5 answers
22k views

How does Intrigue change your general Dominion strategy?

I've seen a lot of discussions about the basic strategies newcomers to Dominion develop: First you buy as many action cards as you can get you hands on. After several games, someone discovers Big ...
keithjgrant's user avatar
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30 votes
4 answers
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I have the Dominion base set only, in what order should I buy the expansions?

I've heard a lot about the different Dominion expansions, but I'm still not really sure which direction to go. In what order would you suggest I buy the expansions? How does each one change the game? ...
Gordon Gustafson's user avatar
30 votes
2 answers
1k views

If I buy a Mint, do I still get to use the coins from the treasures I played that turn to buy a Grand Market?

In the Prosperity rules it says "if you have 11 coppers in play and 2 Buys, you could buy a Mint, trash all of your played Treasures, and then buy a Grand Market." My question is: What are you going ...
Patricia Hoppes King's user avatar
29 votes
5 answers
41k views

How can I play Dominion with 5+ players without expansions?

I am going to get a Dominion expansion (probably intrigue based on its popularity) but in the meantime I'm curious about what I can do with just the basic set. I know it was designed for 2-4, but I ...
Gordon Gustafson's user avatar
27 votes
13 answers
20k views

What are good standard tactics for Dominion? [closed]

Googling reveals several sites listing standard tactics for Dominion. Let's collect ideas here, and discuss and judge them using the voting system. One tactic per post please.
Rasmus's user avatar
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27 votes
17 answers
2k views

Any good way to add a handicap in Dominion?

I play Dominion pretty regularly with one group of friends, but only occasionally with another group. This creates a pretty big experience gap between me and the second group, and I'm afraid they ...
keithjgrant's user avatar
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27 votes
2 answers
1k views

Can I use a reaction card in response to Minion being used for +2 coins?

Can a player reveal a Reaction card, such as "Secret Chamber", in response to the Minion action, even if the player who played the Minion chooses the +2$ option?
idan315's user avatar
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26 votes
7 answers
41k views

What are some fun setups for Dominion for two players?

At present I only own the Dominion Base set and my girlfriend and I have only played the game a few times. I figure we'll stick to the starter layout for a few more games but after that I'm curious ...
Shannon John Clark's user avatar
25 votes
3 answers
11k views

Dominion: When to use Platinum and Colony

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 ...
Pithlit's user avatar
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24 votes
6 answers
4k views

When is the Bureaucrat worth buying?

When I first started playing Dominion, I saw the Bureaucrat and thought, cool, free silver and an attack! I bought one almost every time it was available. The more I played, though, I began to ...
keithjgrant's user avatar
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24 votes
7 answers
17k views

What is a good way to store multiple expansions of Dominion?

At the moment I just have the base set of Dominion and Dominion-Intrigue, each of which are a full set so currently I'm storing each per the in-the-box organizers in their original boxes. But when ...
Shannon John Clark's user avatar
24 votes
9 answers
3k views

How can we avoid big money in casual games?

My girlfriend and I have recently discovered the Big Money strategy in Dominion, and it's killing the game for us. We're not very competitive, so we don't want to spend a lot of time and effort trying ...
Alexander's user avatar
  • 349
23 votes
8 answers
4k views

Playing with less or more than 10 Kingdom card types in Dominion

In Dominion you choose 10 of the 25 Kingdom cards to play with in a given game, generally at random. Is it possible/advisable to play with less or more sets? I've considered playing with less to make ...
Michael Mrozek's user avatar
23 votes
5 answers
66k views

Is there a strategy for consistent winning in the base dominion game with the base setup?

I've just started playing dominion a little while ago, so I'm pretty new. I get the basic tactics (big money, deck thinning, don't buy copper, etc.) and I do ok when the kingdom cards vary. However, ...
javamonkey79's user avatar
23 votes
5 answers
4k views

Can I use sleeve protectors for Dominion cards and still fit them back into the box?

I am considering getting card protectors for my dominion game. Do the cards still fit back into their slots in the box? The ones I was thinking about were the ones advertised in the box with dominion ...
Andrey's user avatar
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23 votes
1 answer
24k views

Are there other sources of suggested sets?

I have all the Dominion sets and really prefer to play the suggested sets of kingdom cards that come with the rules. I find that these sets often are thought out really well and have several ...
Halvard's user avatar
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23 votes
3 answers
4k views

Can you shuffle your discard pile?

Is there any rule or reason why you can't shuffle your discard pile during moments of downtime, in order to get a better shuffle once your deck is fully depleted? My understanding is that the discard ...
user30903's user avatar
  • 1,247
22 votes
6 answers
3k views

When should Curses be used?

Should Curses always be laid out as a supply pile even when no kingdom cards give curses? Or should the only be available when a curse kingdom card is chose? An extension of this question could be ...
Pithlit's user avatar
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22 votes
3 answers
6k views

Dominion: what happens when I play Throne Room on a Feast since Feast gets trashed when played?

Throne Room: "Choose any action in your hand and play it twice" Feast: "Trash this card and gain a card costing up to 5$" So I use the Throne Room and play Feast twice. The first time it gets played ...
Gordon Gustafson's user avatar
22 votes
7 answers
4k views

What are good strategies involving Remodel?

A basic strategy of using Remodel to upgrade Estates to Remodels, Remodels to Gold, and using Gold to buy or upgrade to Provinces is a powerful but slow strategy, so I haven't been able to win with it....
Drew Hoskins's user avatar
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22 votes
2 answers
2k views

Can I buy a card without any treasure cards on my hand?

Our English-speaking friends surprised us in a game of Dominion when buying cards with no treasure cards on their hands. In the German booklet, a treasure card is explicitly required to perform a buy (...
blubb's user avatar
  • 323
22 votes
8 answers
2k views

How can I effectively use the Coppersmith?

I've been playing Dominion with the base + Intrigue sets for a while now, and one of the cards that I have trouble wrapping my mind around is the Coppersmith. In theory, it seems like a great card - ...
idan315's user avatar
  • 979
21 votes
3 answers
10k views

How to use Chapel card to its fullest potential?

I've seen mentioned over and over that Chapel is a phenomenal card. But I have not seen detailed instructions as to how best to use it. As a relatively new Dominion player (<30 games, ~5 with ...
Joe Golton's user avatar
  • 8,864
21 votes
1 answer
2k views

Can you use Throne Room to Mine a Copper to a Gold?

One of the most frequent barely-civil discussions in my group is what is possible when you use Throne Room (repeat an action card), in conjunction with Mine (trash a treasure to gain a treasure with ...
pandorym's user avatar
  • 778
20 votes
13 answers
3k views

What kingdom set would lead to the highest scoring games of Dominion?

Obviously anything that puts curses into circulation would be anathema. I'm not necessarily looking for one player to have the highest score possible, so much as to have games where everyone's scores ...
aslum's user avatar
  • 4,756
20 votes
5 answers
4k views

Is not buying money the worst strategy in Dominion?

From all posts read on Dominion (ie. this), I see a stress on money. I must say that I played only 14 times, but I consistently lose: I try all the times to build a balanced deck , with lot of actions ...
Aubrey's user avatar
  • 361
20 votes
5 answers
11k views

Evaluating a Dominion Kingdom set

How do you analyze a Dominion Kingdom set to determine what your strategy is going to be for the game? In other words, are you looking for specific cards? for abilities (e.g., trashing cards or ...
philosophyguy's user avatar
20 votes
3 answers
2k views

Do you need to buy a card when playing treasures in Dominion?

So I ran into a situation where I had a single treasure, the Loan card. I wanted to play the Loan card but I did not want to buy any cards. So can you play treasure cards and not buy anything? I ...
Chris Persichetti's user avatar
20 votes
5 answers
5k views

What is the best way to keep everything organized and spend less time setting up?

When playing Dominion, how do you go about organizing all of the various cards and sets while maintaining a priority to getting games started quickly?
Pat Ludwig's user avatar
  • 30k
19 votes
5 answers
2k views

When is Loan worth buying?

When would you ever want to buy this instead of just buying a Silver for the same price?
Powerlord's user avatar
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19 votes
2 answers
8k views

In Dominion, how do Duration cards interact with King's Court / Throne Room?

For example, suppose I play a King's Court on a Lighthouse. Do I get +$3 now and +$3 next turn? +$3 now and +$1 next turn?
warbaker's user avatar
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19 votes
1 answer
2k views

What happens when all your cards (the whole deck) are in play?

I am particularly fond of going through my entire deck each turn. However while I like to do this, are there any actual rules for handling cases like "You just played a smithy, but there are only two ...
John Robertson's user avatar
18 votes
7 answers
7k views

What is the Best Random Card Setup Tool? [closed]

In this question I received two different recommendations for iPhone specific apps to assist with Dominion setups. My group uses a third (non iPhone specific). Which is the best, and why? Please, ...
Pat Ludwig's user avatar
  • 30k
18 votes
7 answers
3k views

General advice for maximizing fun playing multiple games of Dominion

My girlfriend and I are a bit late to getting Dominion but so far are really enjoying it - we have the base set and just bought Intrigue. We don't have a lot of time to play (and so far at least have ...
Shannon John Clark's user avatar
18 votes
3 answers
590 views

How do Mine and Watchtower Interact?

When playing Mine while having a Watchtower in hand, can you put the upgraded treasure card on top of your deck instead of in your hand?
Chris Persichetti's user avatar
18 votes
2 answers
820 views

Can you gain a Silver with Trader if the original supply pile was empty?

We had a game with the following relevant cards: Trader and Witch. We're several turns into the game and the Curse pile has emptied. I have a Trader in my hand, and it's Barry's turn. Barry plays ...
phasetwenty's user avatar
18 votes
4 answers
3k views

Is it advantageous to go first in Dominion?

The rulebook says: If the highest scores are tied at the end of the game, the tied player who has had the fewest turns wins the game. What advantages does the first player have over the other ...
user1873's user avatar
  • 39.9k
18 votes
1 answer
4k views

What's a good use for Chancellor?

I'm having a hard time figuring out when Chancellor is useful. Forcing a reshuffle of the deck just seems of little use to me, at least relative to the other actions I could buy with 3 coins. I've ...
BJ Homer's user avatar
  • 796
18 votes
4 answers
3k views

How can I play Dominion by myself (like solitaire)?

Is there any suggested way to modify the rules to play Dominion on your own, like a Dominion Solitaire? It seems possible given that you're mostly just building your own deck and collecting victory ...
dimo414's user avatar
  • 281
17 votes
5 answers
2k views

If I have 8+ coins and no Gold, should I buy a Gold or a Province?

When playing Dominion, I have developed the habit of buying a Gold the first time I can afford one, even if I could afford a Province instead. Is this a good rule of thumb? My reasoning is that if I ...
Stuart Cook's user avatar
  • 1,532
17 votes
2 answers
548 views

Priorities for Memory in Dominion

Considering we all have limited memories (and scratch paper is frowned upon in over-the-board play), what sorts of things are highest priority for keeping track of and committing to memory over the ...
Christopher Berman's user avatar
16 votes
6 answers
2k views

When would you buy the Thief in Dominion?

The Thief card rarely seems to be of much use, even when my opponents have bought a lot of treasure. Rather than stealing treasure, it seems much better to buy treasure to directly get to the high ...
Casebash's user avatar
  • 445
16 votes
2 answers
5k views

Do you need spare actions available to play Throne Room?

The rule book explains Throne Room's effect as follows: You pick another Action card in your hand, play it, and play it again. The second use of the Action card doesn't use up any extra Actions you ...
Steven's user avatar
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