HIGHLIGHTS AMONG GAMES
Dominion
In the Dark Middle Ages
Dear reader! With „Dominion“ Donald X Vaccarino has created a new, fascinating game universe after two years of innumerable test games (so he says). Coming out of nowhere the “backwards” collection of cards – until Dominion appeared a game was started with a complete deck, á la Magic – has become a veritable passion for nearly all kinds of gamers. The market has adapted itself to this new craze and on the heels a veritable deluge of awards (Spiel des Jahres, Deutscher Spielepreis etc.) has put out an equally impressive deluge of expansions (Seaside, Alchemist, Prosperity, Cornucopia, Hinterlands), all chockablock full of new ideas and new adventures. Even a second core game (Intrigue) turned out to be a bestseller a few months after the first core game appeared. The box cover of this first core game was re-designed after a very short time, and given the sub-title of “What a world!”. When has something like this happened before? So make your way to the Austrian Games Museum at Leopoldsdorf and immerse yourself in this wonderfully gloomy medieval games universe. www.spielen.at
The light of my lamp this time is insufficient to light up all of the 500 cards, oh, excuse, 2500 cards, because that’s the amount so far! To mention it immediately, each card comes tenfold, and no card is superfluous. It is an incredible lot of fun to immerse yourself into this other world, and the medieval realm can offer provocative challenges again and again. A few examples of location or character cards are meant to whet your appetite for „Dominion“: Thief, Woodcutter, Chancellor, Witch, Laboratory (All from the Core game); Ironworks, Harem, Minion (Intrigue); Navigator, Ghost Ship, Bazaar (Seaside); Apothecary, Golem, Potion (Alchemist); Bishop, Loan, Mountebank (Prosperity); Jester, Tournament, Fortune Teller (Cornucopia); Cartographer, Mandarin, Oasis (Hinterlands). My well-meant recommendation: Take a closer look at all of them and click on to www.dominionblog.de/strategie/. As a short overview for curious readers I will drop a few words on the basic concept: You as a player represent a young nobleman who wants to build up a small inheritance (7x copper, 3x dwelling in the guise of cards) into a dominant empire. For this purpose ten stacks with action cards, three stacks of different money cards (copper, silver, gold) and a stack of curse cards are provided. Yes, curses existed in the dark Middle Ages. The expansions add a few tins, but do not change the basic ingenious mechanism. Some of your buys you will want to shed later, the garbage dump is provided, too. In your turn you can: Play one Action card, do one Buy and clear up. That’s it. The tricky fact is that you have 5 cards on hand, not more, no less. And cleaning up means that you discard all cards on an open discard pile, event the hand cards you did not use. Then you draw another hand of five cards and the turn passes to your left neighbor. When your draw pile is empty you shuffle your discard pile and recycle all cards back into the game. This trick of re-using every single card is the ingenious game concept of “Dominion”. Nothing is bought in vain, nothing is spent – this first game by Donald X. Vaccarino mirrors the circle of life.
Comments to: hugo.kastner@chello.at
Homepage: www.hugo-kastner.at
RECOMMENDATION # 72 DOMINION
Players: 2-4
Age: 8+
Time: 45+
Designer: Donald X. Vaccarino
Art: Matthias Catrein
Price: 30 Euro
Year: 2008
Publisher: Hans im Glück
Tactic: 4 von 9
Info±: 2 von 9
Chance: 3 von 9
Strategic thinking is necessary for the general formation of a deck; tactical experience is in demand for the switch from collecting action and money cards to acquiring victory point cards. The information head start of the active player is extremely limited as very few cards are strongly interactive. And, yes, the chance element is not unimportant, even in case of the most constructive planning of your deck, because not every shuffling of the deck yields the amount of money currently needed.
Hugo’s EXPERT TIP
Mix the cards from all expansions just to your liking, because „Dominion“is one of the games where everything fits together seamlessly, in the truest sense of the word. And try a game head-to-head, because one single opponent offers even more tactical depth than a full complement of players.
Hugo’s FLASHLIGHT
The life and soul of „Dominion“ are the innumerable reciprocal effects of the cards, which turn each new game into a new experience. One even very nearly does not mind to lose, because all that happens is that you want a re-match even more. Enjoy ruling your realm, as unrestrained as the dark times allow!
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AGRICOLA
Farm husbandry in the 17th century