Editing Dominion Online (ShuffleIt)

[[Image:DominionOnlineLogo.jpg|thumb|right|450px|The current Dominion Online logo.]]

'''Dominion Online''' is an official online implementation of [[Dominion]].  It is currently run by Shuffle iT at [http://dominion.games this website].

== Gameplay ==

[[File:shuffle_it_screenshot.jpg|450px|thumb|right|Playing a game of Dominion Online]]

=== Features ===
In Dominion Online, you can play games of Dominion against either a human opponent or a bot. A human opponent can be found automatically via a matchmaking system based on rating, or can be invited by creating your own Dominion table. By creating your own table, you can also customize your kingdom (that is, the cards with which you are playing). Automatch games do not allow specific customization of the kingdom, but do allow players to choose the [[card pools]] they are comfortable with; these are a mechanism by which inexperienced Dominion players can gradually introduce more complex gameplay mechanics as they get more familiar with the principles of the game. Players can also ban up to five cards from appearing in their automatch games, and "dislike" an additional five to reduce their likelihood of appearance.

Almost all Dominion cards from all existing expansions can be found in Dominion Online; the only exceptions are the 12 [[removed cards]] from the first editions of [[Base]] Dominion and [[Intrigue]], as well as {{Card|Stash}}, due to technical difficulties with its implementation. The removed cards from other expansions remain available under the heading "deprecated", but do not appear in automatch games.

Some features are still missing from the Dominion Online system, including campaigns and multi-platform support. These and other features are all mentioned in the priority list on the official [http://forum.shuffleit.nl/index.php?topic=512.0 Shuffle iT forums].

Dominion Online is available in Chinese, English, French, German, Japanese, and Russian, with more languages to be added in the future.

== Cost ==
* The base set is free for the public to play with.
* In addition to having free access to the base set, users are able to play with other expansions provided that the person hosting the game owns the expansions. This is comparable to someone owning a physical copy of the game inviting friends over to play with their expansion.
* Everyone who owned one or more expansions on the previous Dominion Online system, by [[Making Fun]], could play with these expansions for free throughout 2017.
* All other expansions, including newly published ones, must be paid for. Unlike earlier Dominion Online systems, the Shuffle iT system requires a monthly payment. If you did own part but not all of the expansions, you can subscribe for a reduced fee.
** The Core plan gives access to [[card pools]] 1–5 and costs €2.05 per month (as of March 2022).
** The Complete plan gives you full access to all Dominion sets and costs €4.10 per month (as of March 2022)

To these costs, you have to add the VAT (if buying from inside the EU) and a transaction fee of 0.35€. When buying a subscription for 3 months or more, there is a discount ranging from 2% to 15% depending on the time span purchased.

== Ratings ==
Dominion Online uses the Glicko-2 rating scheme, and has separate leaderboards for 2-player and 3+ player games.

== Praises and Criticism ==
The current online implementation is often considered to be the best official one to date.

=== Praise ===
* Immediate implementation of the newest expansions, including the ability to play with previewed cards
* A payment plan that helps with users having a smooth transition between Making Fun and Shuffle iT
* Being available in a browser without the need to download any program
* A better matchmaking system than before
* Interface cleanliness
* Ability to undo
* Supports reconnecting to games when Internet connection is dropped.
* Ability to spectate in progress games

=== Criticism ===
* Cost - There are objections to the pricing structure, preferring the 'lifetime subscription' from [[Goko]] and early [[Making Fun]]. 
* Confusing interface - The interface of the system outside of games gets critiqued for not being intuitive. Matching in particular often causes new players confusion with both automatch and creating tables being possibilities.
* Poor bot play - The bot, of which there is only one, plays very simple strategies and misuses some cards to the point of not being able to win even if the human player does nothing.
* Lack of offline play.
* Incompleteness - {{Card|Stash}} is not implemented.

== History ==
=== Speculation ===
Speculation about the eventual existence of an 'official' online version of Dominion began years ago, likely before the existence of the blog and [[Dominion Strategy Forum|forum]]. Unfortunately, for a very long time little was known beyond that. Individuals would try to piece together information from comments by [[Jay Tummelson|Jay]] and Donald X. but nothing was known for sure. Speculation was wide ranging and rampant, and led to the creation of "[[rrenaud's Law]]", an observance of how much Dominion discussion inevitably descended into speculation about the eventual online version. [[Isotropic]] creator [[dougz]] was informally approached about taking the job of creating the official online version but he turned down the offer.<ref>[[dougz]], [http://www.reddit.com/r/dominion/comments/sf5y1/i_wrote_and_run_the_isotropic_dominion_server_ama/c4djxbx "dougz Reddit AMA"], Reddit</ref><ref>[[Donald X.]], [http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=175.msg2283#msg2283 "All previous turns occasionally visible in Isotropic games"], [[Dominion Strategy Forum]]</ref>

=== FunSockets and Beta Testing ===
Putting an end to some speculation, [[Jay Tummelson]] leaked some information in May 2012 about the official online Dominion platform in a BGG thread discussing the Origins Convention. He revealed that the name of the company working on the game was Funsockets, adding that there would be playable versions of the game on display at the convention.<ref>[[Jay Tummelson]], [http://boardgamegeek.com/article/9102653#9102653 "IOS Version"], BGG Dominion Forum</ref> The first images of the game leaked<ref>[http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=2768.msg45228#msg45228 "Live Report From Origins"], [[Dominion Strategy Forum]]</ref> during the convention, prompting further discussion. Though Jay reported that the platform was near its release point, there was no further word on that front for a few weeks.

In late May 2012, it was noted that there was a change on the FunSockets website.<ref>[http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=2700.0 "ZOMGZ The Dominion Online website is doing something!"], [[Dominion Strategy Forum]]</ref> The site offered a form to sign up for further information when it became available and offered a contact address for questions. A week or two later rumors sprang up<ref>[http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=2700.msg47687#msg47687 "ZOMGZ The Dominion Online website is doing something!"], [[Dominion Strategy Forum]]</ref> about BGG having access to some Beta test accounts. [[Dominion Strategy Forum]] members were immediately interested in taking part in the testing, prompting the creation of an unofficial list of interested individuals.<ref>[http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=2890.0 "Unofficial Interested in beta list"], [[Dominion Strategy Forum]]</ref> Just days later, theory announced that Beta tester signups would occur on the blog, with preference being given to individuals who wrote articles for the blog followed by a mix of first come first serve and active Forum members.<ref>theory, [http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=2937.0 "Dominion Strategy FunSockets Beta Signup "], [[Dominion Strategy Forum]]</ref>

Beta testing was slowly rolled out to the Dominion community starting in late June<ref>[http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=2937.msg54862#msg54862 "Dominion Strategy FunSockets Beta Signup "], [[Dominion Strategy Forum]]</ref> and continued through the eventual release in mid-August 2012. Beta testing was attractive to many Dominion fans as it allowed them the chance to be among the first to use the new Dominion platform. Later in the Beta testing cycle, interest was renewed when it was revealed that Dark Ages cards were available to the Beta testers.

=== Failed Release ===
The official online version was expected to finally launch to the public on August 16, 2012.<ref>[http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=3945.0 "Official Version Launching 8/16?"], [[Dominion Strategy Forum]]</ref> This date was chosen to coincide with the release of [[Dark Ages]] at Gencon, and [[Goko|Goko's]] press release found its way to the front page of blogs and news outlets such as The Wall Street Journal, Kotaku, and Mashable.<ref>Russ Garland, [http://blogs.wsj.com/venturecapital/2012/08/16/the-daily-start-up-goko-emerges-from-stealth-to-launch-html5-gaming-platform/ "Goko Emerges From Stealth to Launch HTML5 Gaming Platform"], WSJ Blogs: Venture Capital Dispatch</ref><ref>Mike Fahey, [http://www.kotaku.com.au/2012/08/the-age-of-true-platform-free-gaming-begins-with-goko/ "The Age Of True Platform-Free Gaming Begins With Goko"], Kotaku: Australia</ref><ref>Chelsea Stark, [http://mashable.com/2012/08/16/board-games-online/ "Board Game Classics ‘Settlers of Catan’, ‘Dominion’ Invade Your Social Networks"], Mashable</ref> However, there were a host of issues at the time of release, including security issues,<ref>[http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=4096.msg89794#msg89794 "Do we know when exactly it's going up?"], [[Dominion Strategy Forum]]</ref> server load troubles,<ref>[http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=4096.msg89736#msg89736 "Do we know when exactly it's going up?"], [[Dominion Strategy Forum]]</ref> failure of the game to load,<ref>[http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=4096.msg89726#msg89726 "Do we know when exactly it's going up?"], [[Dominion Strategy Forum]]</ref> and inability to register.<ref>[http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=4177.0 "Can't Register"], [[Dominion Strategy Forum]]</ref> 

Goko attempted to keep the site running but had difficulty doing so, working through the night and emailing users to apologize for the issues with their service.<ref>[http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=4180.0 "Goko email update"], [[Dominion Strategy Forum]]</ref>  After realizing that they could not keep up with the maintenance of the site, they eventually decided to bring the release back into beta status.<ref>[http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=4188.0 "Back into Beta?"], [[Dominion Strategy Forum]]</ref>  There are a number of blog posts/articles and forum threads  related to the failed release and return to beta status.<ref>Owen Faraday, [http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2012-08/20/goko-launch-problems "Launch of Zynga competitor Goko marred by technical problems"], Wired UK</ref> <ref>Owen Faraday, [http://pockettactics.com/2012/08/18/dominion-online-makers-goko-un-launch-retreat-back-into-beta/ "Dominion Online makers Goko un-launch, retreat back into beta"], Pocket Tactics</ref><ref>[http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=4096.0 "Do we know when exactly it's going up?"], [[Dominion Strategy Forum]]</ref> 
<ref>[http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=4188.0 "Back into Beta?"], [[Dominion Strategy Forum]]</ref> 
<ref>[http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=4191.0 "Bonfire"], [[Dominion Strategy Forum]]</ref> 
<ref>[http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=4245.0 "Interesting article on Goko launch"], [[Dominion Strategy Forum]]</ref> 
<ref>[http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=4287.0 "Another article on Goko Launch Problems"], [[Dominion Strategy Forum]]</ref>

=== Public Beta Status and New Release Date ===
On September 21, 2012, Goko quietly released their Dominion product in a public Beta.<ref>Trisha Brooke, [http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=4738.msg110578#msg110578 "so this is out?"], [[Dominion Strategy Forum]]</ref> At this point, there are still a number of bugs, and updates are still coming regularly as the problems are solved. They are at a point where they are accepting money for the purchase of expansions, with the prices significantly reduced (from ~{{USD|6}} to ~{{USD|4}} per half set) from the previous release.<ref>Trisha Brooke, [http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=4738.msg110614#msg110614 "so this is out?"], [[Dominion Strategy Forum]]</ref>

Goko had at this point not released a date for an official full release. The continuing uncertainty had led to forum members (prior to the beta release) making a guessing game of when the product will fully release.<ref>[http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=4705.0 "The Goko Dominion Release Prediction Contest!"], [[Dominion Strategy Forum]]</ref>

=== Goko Interaction ===
Much to the dismay of many on these forums, there had been little information flow from Goko about their product, a problem which dates back to the first hints of an official implementation. Fortunately, the volume of interaction increased in 2013. There have been two separate completed Q&A sessions so far with a third upcoming, both exclusively catering to members of this forum. 

* Q&A #1 - [http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=4080.msg95195#msg95195 Submitted Questions], [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LxdnHp5_2B4 Video Response], [http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=4321.msg95643#msg95643 Transcript]

* Q&A #2 - [http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=4735.0 Submitted Questions], [http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=4895.0 Answers]

* Q&A #3 - [http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=6540.0 Thread] [http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=6707.0 Answers]

At this point, Dominion Online is the only authorized place to play the game on the internet. Unofficial implementations such as Isotropic have been shut down.

=== Making Fun and Steam Greenlight ===
In 2014, Goko was quietly acquired by Making Fun, whose logo began to appear on the Dominion Online loading screen.  They promised to completely overhaul the existing code for the game from the ground up, implementing many of the features added by the Salvager plugin.  In February 2015, Dominion appeared on Steam Greenlight, in anticipation of release to Steam, as well as to mobile devices.  It was expected to release in Spring or Summer 2015, but never ended up releasing on Steam.

Dominion was made available on both iTunes and Google Play on November 30, 2015.

An update adding the [[Adventures]] expansion was added on May 2, 2016.<ref>Making Fun, [http://forum.makingfun.com/showthread.php?10154-Release-Notes-v-2-1-with-Adventures "Release Notes v.2.1 with Adventures"], Dominion Online Release Notes Forum</ref>

=== Shuffle iT ===
In 2016 it was announced that Making Fun, after taking over a year to implement {{Set|Adventures}}, would be losing its license.  In its place, members of the Dominion Strategy Forum, [http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?action=profile;u=1091 -Stef-] and [http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?action=profile;u=1561 SCSN], were contracted to create a new platform, to debut on January 1st, 2017.  Their newly founded company, [http://shuffleit.nl Shuffle iT], began development on their version of Dominion Online in early 2016, and entered into a semi-open beta in December of that year.  It released with all currently published cards, including those from {{Set|Empires}} and the new [[second edition]]s of {{Set|Base}} and {{Set|Intrigue}}, except for {{Event|Inheritance}} and {{Card|Stash}}.  It returned to a browser-based implementation, though a separate offline version has been discussed since 2017.

On January 18th, 2017, Shuffle iT added Russian language support, providing translations for all available cards, despite only the first editions of Base and Intrigue being published previously in Russian.  This makes it the first Dominion Online implementation to provide support in a language other than English.  German language support was added on March 20th. On March 31st, a leaderboard was added and Inheritance was implemented. On July 10th, Japanese language support was added. On November 16th, {{Set|Nocturne}} was released, autoplay functionality was introduced, and icons were added to the resource tracker indicating which long-term effects (from [[Duration]]s and [[State]]s) the current player is affected by. The previewed cards from Nocturne were playable online as they were revealed during the previews week.

On January 19th, 2018, French and Traditional Chinese language support was added. On September 24th, the {{Set|Guilds}} cards were updated to their second edition [[Coffers]] wordings and Coffers and [[Villager]]s icons matching their [[mat]]s were introduced, along with [http://forum.shuffleit.nl/index.php?topic=3217.msg14266#msg14266 several other updates]. In anticipation of {{Set|Renaissance}}'s release, the previewed cards were playable as they were for Nocturne, before releasing the entire set in November.

On August 1st, 2019, {{Card|Captain}} and {{Card|Church}} were added. On October 15th, the [[2019 Errata]] was implemented.

On March 18th, 2020, after a period of previews, {{Set|Menagerie}} was fully released. On June 29th, development of more translations were announced, specifically Czech, Spanish, and Esperanto.

== References ==
{{reflist|2}}

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