35
votes
Accepted
Should I use all actions before buying anything?
From the rules:
"The player must complete all of his Actions before
he moves on to the Buy phase of his turn."
- 11k
33
votes
Accepted
Can I buy a card without any treasure cards on my hand?
Short answer: yes, its possible and it has been officially acknowledged that the German rules are wrong.
Long answer: as you have already quoted from the base game rules (emphasis mine)
The cost of a ...
- 3,712
28
votes
Dominion - bold and regular type: which action comes first?
You do exactly what the card says in order, how bold the type is doesn't matter. The +2 Actions isn't an instruction to play (up to) 2 action cards at that time, it means that later in the Action ...
- 20.1k
26
votes
Accepted
Is not buying money the worst strategy in Dominion?
I don't know about the biggest - you could buy curses instead - but yes, this is definitely a big mistake and one of the most common.
Buying only silver and gold (aka "big money") is actually a ...
- 26.7k
22
votes
Dominion remodel card -can I trash a card already played?
No, you cannot do this. Your "hand" always refers to cards that you physically keep in your hand. Cards that you have played this turn are in a different place, the "in-play" area.
On page 6 of the ...
- 69.8k
20
votes
Accepted
Can Band of Misfits be played as a reaction card?
No, you can't play it as a reaction card. Only cards labeled "Reaction" on the bottom can be played as reactions. Band of Misfits just says Action, so it may only be played during your turn.
When you ...
- 26.7k
20
votes
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Are there other sources of suggested sets?
One great resource is Dominion Deck Builder, a website that allows users to design and save kingdoms. They can be voted on, discussed, etc.
This is also a frequently-discussed topic at the Dominion ...
- 69.8k
20
votes
How important is game theory in Dominion?
One of the clearest examples of game theory in Dominion shows up quite frequently in 2 player endgames, and it's called the Penultimate Province Rule (PPR). Basically, you should avoid buying the ...
- 3,161
17
votes
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How many Dominion sets are there?
As of 2022, there are 15 sets and 11 promo cards1.
In release order:
Dominion (Base game)
Intrigue
Seaside
Alchemy
Prosperity
Cornucopia
Hinterlands
Dark Ages
Guilds
Adventures
Empires
Nocturne
...
- 69.8k
16
votes
How can I beat "Big Money" in Dominion?
I taught myself how to beat Treasure Bot (our name for this effect, to distinguish from the wait-for-platinum strategy Prosperity introduces) by having simple rules which -- while not on their own ...
- 261
16
votes
Accepted
When to discard with Oasis
You do everything on the card in the order it says:
Draw one card.
Add one to the number of remaining actions you have for the turn.
Add one coin to the amount you have to spend this turn.
Discard a ...
- 26.7k
16
votes
Accepted
When Using Throne room on a Throne room do you need two more action cards already in hand?
In Dominion, the general rule is that you have to do everything on a card in order before you can play another card.
This affects Throne Room in an odd way, because it means you have to do everything ...
- 3,916
15
votes
Accepted
Can you trash fortress indefinitely with donate?
No, because you trash all cards simultaneously.
From the Dark Ages rulebook:
When two or more cards are trashed at the same time, such as due to Count, first trash them all, then pick an order to ...
- 69.8k
14
votes
Accepted
How does Swindler interact with Spoils (or other cards not in supply)?
The cost of Spoils is 0. When you 'gain(s)' a card, unless it specifically names a card not in the supply, you can only choose for cards from the supply.
Copper, Curse, and Ruins (when playing with ...
- 5,896
14
votes
Accepted
What is a good modification of rules to make a game of Dominion slower?
Things that require no actual house rules:
1. Get and use the Prosperity expansion (or the Dominion Base Cards set), and play more games with Colonies/Platinum.
Games with Colonies usually last ...
- 69.8k
14
votes
Accepted
Is the Chancellor + Harbinger combo a viable Dominion strategy?
This doesn't work as you are thinking:
Harbinger has you draw a card before you look through your discard pile. This means that when you play Harbinger, the first thing you do is draw a card, which ...
- 69.8k
14
votes
Accepted
What Dominion cards have artwork featuring different versions of the same object?
The vast majority of the cards feature unique artwork, which is great. However, there are some cards that indeed include other cards' artwork, like:
Scrying Pool (from Dominion: Alchemy) depicts the ...
- 3,712
13
votes
Optimal Dominion strategy with only the Mine action card
Using the Dominiate Online Simulator I simulated a few Mine and money strategies in two player games against Big Money. The best strategy I could find was to play Big Money, but buy a Mine in ...
- 9,233
13
votes
Accepted
What makes King’s Court-King’s Court-Goons-Goons-Masquerade so powerful?
The combo is what is known as a "pin", although the biggest problem with it has been somewhat fixed in the 2nd version of Intrigue, which changed how Masquerade works.
For reference, the three cards ...
- 10.3k
13
votes
Accepted
Can I play multiple Idols one at a time and receive the effects each time?
Yes, you play them one at a time, and therefore you get the alternating boon and curse effect.
Note that this mandatory, not merely an option: You always play (and resolve) your treasures one at a ...
- 10.1k
12
votes
Accepted
How do I organise my cards in the Dominion big box insert?
There is a standard way to store those cards in the big box. Your big box should've come with a couple of large bookmark-shaped cards. One side has a bunch of card names upon decorative scrolls, like ...
- 24k
12
votes
How can we avoid big money in casual games?
For my suggestion of a house rule to use, please see the section of this answer titled "Embargo Counters".
If I understand correctly, you were learning the game naturally by playing it - it's just ...
- 411
12
votes
Accepted
How do I use the Dominion & Dominion Intrigue Update Packs?
The update pack serves two purposes:
Replace 6 old cards with 7 newer ones
Provide a new card strip; base cards are missing from the new strip.
Replacing older cards
The following 12 cards have ...
- 3,712
12
votes
When buying and playing a Villa in Dominion do you in a sense get 3 buys for that turn?
You don't get a new free Buy, sorry. Nice thinking though.
The base game rules do say that when you enter a Buy phase you get one default Buy, but the card-specific notes for the Villa in the Empires ...
- 24k
12
votes
Accepted
Donate at end of game
The game designer intends that "after this turn" effects do not happen when the game ends. The game ends at the end of your turn, so any other effects set up after that can't happen: nothing ...
- 352
11
votes
Accepted
Can I play Dominion: Hinterlands by itself?
Unfortunately, the clerk was mistaken. From Rio Grande Games' website:
Dominion: Hinterlands is an expansion, and cannot be played by itself; to play with it, you need Dominion, or a standalone ...
- 8,540
11
votes
Accepted
Village/Smithy strategy
"If you have 5 or more Smithies" means if you have 5 total Smithies in your deck (your deck being all cards you have; between your draw pile, discard pile, hand, in play, etc).
"If there are 3 or ...
- 69.8k
11
votes
Dominion Nocturne: Why is Raider not better than Gold
There are 3 main factors at play which make it so that a Gold may the right choice over Raider sometimes.
Duration cards are inherently weaker than non-duration cards for 2 reasons:
First off, ...
- 69.8k
10
votes
Do you replace tokens moved to the Trade Route mat?
You do not replace the coin tokens. So with Colonies in the game, and no other extra victory cards, yes, four is the maximum number of coins on the mat. Remember that there potentially are other ...
- 26.7k
10
votes
Can you shuffle your discard pile?
edit: The OP was not clear whether it meant "shuffle the discard pile and put it back in the draw pile" or just "shuffle the discard pile". Now that's clear, I'm adding the following:
True, as the ...
- 3,712
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