Editing Adventures

{{Infobox Set
|name = Adventures
|type = Large Expansion

|cards = 400
|kingdomcards = 304
|kingdomsets = 30
|randomizers = 30
|othercards=
* 20 [[Event|Events]]
* 5 {{Card|Treasure Hunter|Treasure Hunters}}
* 5 {{Card|Warrior|Warriors}}
* 5 {{Card|Hero|Heroes}}
* 5 {{Card|Champion|Champions}}
* 5 {{Card|Soldier|Soldiers}}
* 5 {{Card|Fugitive|Fugitives}}
* 5 {{Card|Disciple|Disciples}}
* 5 {{Card|Teacher|Teachers}}
|blankcards = 6
|release = April 2015

|mats = 
* 6 Tavern mats
|tokens =
* 60 Tokens

|theme = 
* [[Reserve]] cards
* Additional [[Duration]] cards
* [[Event|Events]]
* [[Adventures tokens|Tokens]]
|coverartist = [[Lorraine Schleter]]
|rulebook = https://www.riograndegames.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Dominion-Rules-Adventures.pdf
}}

'''Adventures''' is the ninth [[Expansions|expansion]] to [[Dominion]], released April 2015.  It is a large expansion, with 400 cards, including 30 sets of new [[Kingdom]] cards.  It adds more of the popular [[Duration]] cards, and introduces [[Event|Events]], as well as [[Reserve]] and [[Traveller]] cards, and a variety of [[Adventures tokens|tokens]] used to track the effects of various card and Event abilities.

== Contents ==
=== Kingdom cards ===
There are 12 copies of {{Card|Port}}.
* {{Cost|2}}: {{Card|Coin of the Realm}}, {{Card|Page}}, {{Card|Peasant}}, {{Card|Ratcatcher}}, {{Card|Raze}}
* {{Cost|3}}: {{Card|Amulet}}, {{Card|Caravan Guard}}, {{Card|Dungeon}}, {{Card|Gear}}, {{Card|Guide}}
* {{Cost|4}}: {{Card|Duplicate}}, {{Card|Magpie}}, {{Card|Messenger}}, {{Card|Miser}}, {{Card|Port}}, {{Card|Ranger}}, {{Card|Transmogrify}}
* {{Cost|5}}: {{Card|Artificer}}, {{Card|Bridge Troll}}, {{Card|Distant Lands}}, {{Card|Giant}}, {{Card|Haunted Woods}}, {{Card|Lost City}}, {{Card|Relic}}, {{Card|Royal Carriage}}, {{Card|Storyteller}}, {{Card|Swamp Hag}}, {{Card|Treasure Trove}}, {{Card|Wine Merchant}}
* {{Cost|6}}: {{Card|Hireling}}
=== Upgrade cards ===
* {{Cost|3*}}: {{Card|Soldier}}, {{Card|Treasure Hunter}}
* {{Cost|4*}}: {{Card|Fugitive}}, {{Card|Warrior}}
* {{Cost|5*}}: {{Card|Disciple}}, {{Card|Hero}}
* {{Cost|6*}}: {{Card|Teacher}}, {{Card|Champion}}

=== Events ===
* {{Cost|0}}: {{Event|Alms}}, {{Event|Borrow}}, {{Event|Quest}}
* {{Cost|1}}: {{Event|Save}}
* {{Cost|2}}: {{Event|Scouting Party}}, {{Event|Travelling Fair}}
* {{Cost|3}}: {{Event|Bonfire}}, {{Event|Expedition}}, {{Event|Ferry}}, {{Event|Plan}}
* {{Cost|4}}: {{Event|Mission}}, {{Event|Pilgrimage}}
* {{Cost|5}}: {{Event|Ball}}, {{Event|Raid}}, {{Event|Seaway}}, {{Event|Trade}}
* {{Cost|6}}: {{Event|Lost Arts}}, {{Event|Training}}
* {{Cost|7}}: {{Event|Inheritance}}
* {{Cost|8}}: {{Event|Pathfinding}}
<p></p>
=== Additional materials ===
'''Mats'''
* 6 <span class="card-popup">[[Reserve|Tavern mats]]<span class="noprint">[[File:Tavern.jpg|360px|link=]]</span></span> in each of the 6 player colors
<p></p>
<p>'''Tokens'''</p>
There is 1 set of 10 [[Adventures tokens|tokens]] in each of the 6 player colors.
* +1 Action token
* +1 Buy token
* +1 Card token
* +{{Cost|1}} token
* –{{Cost|2}} cost token
* Trashing token
* –{{Cost|1}} token
* –1 Card token
* Journey token
* {{Card|Estate}} token

== Flavor text ==
{{Quote|
 |Text=Life is either a daring adventure or nothing. You're not sure which, but at least you've narrowed it down. You are rich with life experiences, but have had trouble trading them for goods and services. It's time to seek your fortune, or anyone's really, whoever's is closest. To the west there's a land of milk and honey, full of giant bees and monstrous cows. To the east, a land of eggs and licorice. To the north, treacherous swamps; to the south, loyal jungles. But all of them have been thoroughly pillaged. You've heard legends though of a fifth direction, as yet unspoiled, with its treasures conveniently gathered into troves. You have your sword and your trail mix, handed down from your father, and his father before him. You've recruited some recruits and hired some hirelings; you've shined your armor and distressed a damsel. You put up a sign saying "Gone Adventuring." Then you put up another sign, saying "Beware of Dog," in case people get any ideas. You're ready. You saddle up your trusty steed, and head forth.
 |Name=[[Donald X. Vaccarino]]
 |Source=[https://www.riograndegames.com/games/dominion-adventures/ Rio Grande Games]
}}
== Cards gallery ==
=== Kingdom cards ===
{{CardImage|Coin_of_the_Realm}}{{CardImage|Page}}{{CardImage|Peasant}}{{CardImage|Ratcatcher}}{{CardImage|Raze}}{{CardImage|Amulet}}{{CardImage|Caravan_Guard}}{{CardImage|Dungeon}}{{CardImage|Gear}}{{CardImage|Guide}}{{CardImage|Duplicate}}{{CardImage|Magpie}}{{CardImage|Messenger}}{{CardImage|Miser}}{{CardImage|Port}}{{CardImage|Ranger}}{{CardImage|Transmogrify}}{{CardImage|Artificer}}{{CardImage|Bridge_Troll}}{{CardImage|Distant_Lands}}{{CardImage|Giant}}{{CardImage|Haunted_Woods}}{{CardImage|Lost_City}}{{CardImage|Relic}}{{CardImage|Royal_Carriage}}{{CardImage|Storyteller}}{{CardImage|Swamp_Hag}}{{CardImage|Treasure_Trove}}{{CardImage|Wine_Merchant}}{{CardImage|Hireling}}
=== Traveller upgrades ===
====[[Page]] progression====
{{CardImage|Treasure_Hunter}}{{CardImage|Warrior}}{{CardImage|Hero}}{{CardImage|Champion}}
====[[Peasant]] progression====
{{CardImage|Soldier}}{{CardImage|Fugitive}}{{CardImage|Disciple}}{{CardImage|Teacher}}

=== Events ===
{{EventImage|Alms}}{{EventImage|Borrow}}{{EventImage|Quest}}{{EventImage|Save}}{{EventImage|Scouting_Party}}{{EventImage|Travelling_Fair}}{{EventImage|Bonfire}}{{EventImage|Expedition}}{{EventImage|Ferry}}{{EventImage|Plan}}{{EventImage|Mission}}{{EventImage|Pilgrimage}}{{EventImage|Ball}}{{EventImage|Raid}}{{EventImage|Seaway}}{{EventImage|Trade}}{{EventImage|Lost_Arts}}{{EventImage|Training}}{{EventImage|Inheritance}}{{EventImage|Pathfinding}}

== Impact ==
Despite having fewer cards total than [[Dark Ages]], Adventures added the most unique cards of any set at that time, due to [[Traveller|Travellers]] and [[Event|Events]].  Though it has some simple cards, its complexity can be quite daunting to newer players, what with [[Reserve|Reserves]], Events, Travellers, and [[Adventures tokens|tokens]].  It has also led to the discovery of some extremely fast combo strategies (such as [[Combo: Royal Carriage and Bridge|Royal Carriage/Bridge]]), as well as a new baseline in fast [[Big Money]] strategies in {{Card|Gear}}.  All in all, the reaction to the set so far has been positive, particularly with the introduction of Events.

Structurally, Adventures was conceived in part as a sequel to [[Seaside]], with its focus on card abilities that affect multiple turns: it reintroduces Duration cards; introduces Reserve cards, a variant on the Duration theme; and tracks long-term effects with a [[Tavern mat|mat]] and [[Adventures tokens|tokens]] as some Seaside cards do. Adventures also introduces cards with unusual combinations of [[type|types]] that could have been used before but never were; these include the first [[Treasure]]–[[Attack]], [[Attack]]–[[Duration]], and [[Duration]]–[[Reaction]] cards.  Following somewhat in [[Dark Ages]]' footsteps, the set also introduced some cards that broke previous written and unwritten rules, including permanent Durations, non-Supply cards with non-zero costs, a Treasure that gives +Action, a card that can be played when it's not your turn, and a card that turns {{Cost}} into another resource.

=== Durations ===
Seaside, serving as the introduction to Durations, for the most part stuck with fairly simple cards of this type, with half of them having solely [[vanilla]] effects.  With Adventures, the boundaries of what can be done with Duration cards are explored.  Some, like {{Card|Amulet}} and {{Card|Dungeon}}, are simply Duration variants of existing cards, while others are more exotic, like {{Card|Bridge Troll}} and {{Card|Haunted Woods}}.  Durations are what most players liked most about Seaside, and Adventures effectively doubles their number, making it twice as likely that orange will be seen in any given Kingdom.

=== Reserves ===
The ability to set a card aside to call upon on any future turn dramatically expands a player's options every turn.  Not only do players have all the cards in their hand to choose from now, but all the cards on their Tavern mat, as well.  While Reserve cards can often be rather slow, and can suffer from the same problem as Durations with missing the [[reshuffle]], they can have quite powerful effects when called, and their slowness allows them to be cheaper than conventional cards with similar effects.

=== Events ===
[[Event|Events]] are the most substantial innovation Adventures introduces, drastically increasing the amount of options players have in a game of Dominion without taking up one of the Kingdom card slots in the supply.  Therefore two games with the same Kingdom can play very differently depending on what Events are available.  Some, like {{Event|Alms}} and {{Event|Borrow}}, can completely change opening turns; others, like {{Event|Lost Arts}} and {{Event|Pathfinding}}, can add tokens to piles to make some truly powerful cards; others still are just plain weird, yet still compelling, such as {{Event|Inheritance}}.

=== Big Money ===
Adventures has a number of cards that facilitate [[Big Money]] strategies:
* {{Card|Treasure Hunter}} and {{Card|Hero}} - both of these {{Card|Page}} line cards can fill your deck with [[Treasure|Treasures]]
* {{Card|Amulet}} - a good source of {{Card|Silver}}
* {{Card|Gear}} - decent [[terminal draw]] that can set aside excess Treasure for next turn
* {{Card|Magpie}} - a [[Lab variant]] specifically for Treasures
* {{Card|Treasure Trove}} - fills your deck with {{Card|Gold}}
* {{Event|Raid}} - can net you a lot of Silvers if you already have a fair few
Other cards may play well with Big Money, but more playtime is needed to judge.

=== Engines ===
Adventures has a number of cards that facilitate [[engine]] strategies:
* {{Card|Coin of the Realm}} - a cheap source of +Action to smooth out your engine
* {{Card|Champion}} - makes an engine possible on almost any board
* {{Card|Fugitive}}, {{Card|Disciple}} and {{Card|Teacher}} - the {{Card|Peasant}} line in general seems well suited to engines
* {{Card|Ratcatcher}}, {{Card|Raze}}, {{Card|Amulet}} - all decent early-game [[trasher|trashers]]
* {{Card|Port}} - a [[Village (card category)|village]] that comes with another village, leaving more buys for draw and [[payload]]
* {{Card|Transmogrify}} - can turn any card in your hand into a missing engine part when needed
* {{Card|Artificer}} - a [[Peddler variant]] that can gain engine parts to the top of your deck
* {{Card|Bridge Troll}} - gives [[+Buy]] and [[cost reduction]]
* {{Card|Giant}}, {{Card|Ranger}}, {{Event|Pilgrimage}} - When used in conjunction with each other, the one you don't need can flip the Journey token to be face up and the next can be used to reap a massive payload.
* {{Card|Haunted Woods}} - +3 Cards is great at the start of your turn, and engines usually don't have anything left in hand to [[Top decker|top-deck]] during the Buy phase
* {{Card|Lost City}} - a Lab variant and a village
* {{Card|Royal Carriage}} - a [[Throne Room variant]] that can never be drawn dead, and can stack on important cards
* {{Card|Wine Merchant}} - a decent payload card that does best in decks that can spare {{Cost|2}} every turn
* {{Card|Hireling}} - increases your handsize for the rest of the game
* {{Event|Alms}} - a fantastic [[gainer]] in Treasure-less decks
* {{Event|Travelling Fair}} - a source of +Buy as well as a top-decker
* {{Event|Bonfire}} - lets you use {{Card|Copper|Coppers}} while still trashing them
* {{Event|Expedition}} - can serve as draw for an engine with extra {{Cost}}
* {{Event|Ferry}} - makes important engine parts cheaper
* {{Event|Mission}} - engines can make more use of a turn on which you can't buy cards
* {{Event|Seaway}}, {{Event|Lost Arts}}, {{Event|Training}} and {{Event|Pathfinding}} - all of these can vastly improve an engine deck relying on many copies of key cards
Other cards may play well with engines, but more playtime is needed to judge.

== Theme ==
* 9 new Duration cards, including one non-Supply card: {{Card|Champion}}, {{Card|Amulet}}, {{Card|Caravan Guard}}, {{Card|Dungeon}}, {{Card|Gear}}, {{Card|Bridge Troll}}, {{Card|Haunted Woods}}, {{Card|Swamp Hag}}, {{Card|Hireling}}
* 9 Reserve cards, including one non-Supply card: {{Card|Coin of the Realm}}, {{Card|Teacher}}, {{Card|Ratcatcher}}, {{Card|Guide}}, {{Card|Duplicate}}, {{Card|Transmogrify}}, {{Card|Distant Lands}}, {{Card|Royal Carriage}}, {{Card|Wine Merchant}}
* 5 Token cards, including one non-Supply card: {{Card|Teacher}}, {{Card|Ranger}}, {{Card|Bridge Troll}}, {{Card|Giant}}, {{Card|Relic}}
* 3 cards with otherwise delayed or long-term effects: {{Card|Page}}, {{Card|Peasant}}, {{Card|Miser}}
* 8 off-theme cards: {{Card|Raze}}, {{Card|Magpie}}, {{Card|Messenger}}, {{Card|Port}}, {{Card|Artificer}}, {{Card|Lost City}}, {{Card|Storyteller}}, {{Card|Treasure Trove}}
There are also 20 Events, 11 of which use tokens: {{Event|Borrow}}, {{Event|Ferry}}, {{Event|Plan}}, {{Event|Pilgrimage}}, {{Event|Ball}}, {{Event|Raid}}, {{Event|Seaway}}, {{Event|Lost Arts}}, {{Event|Training}}, {{Event|Inheritance}}, {{Event|Pathfinding}}

== Trivia ==
{{OfficialArt|b=1}}

Adventures was the first expansion released after Donald X. stated he would no longer release expansions on a regular basis, making this the first "occasional" expansion.  It is also the last expansion originally published under the [[second edition|first edition]].  

[[Donald X]] has stated that Adventures started off as a "treasure chest" set that revisited themes from every previous expansion, but the only theme that both stood out and did not require the repeated inclusion of old tokens or other components was Duration cards.  He has also stated that, in retrospect, Adventures could have been a spin-off game.

The Adventures box art is one of the available backgrounds in [[Dominion Online]].
=== In other languages ===
* Dutch: Avonturen
* Finnish: Seikkailut
* French: Aventures
* German: Abenteuer (note: identical to the German name for {{Card|Venture}})
* Japanese: 冒険 (pron. ''bōken'')
* Polish: W nieznane! (lit. ''into the unknown''; note: as referred to in Polish ''[[Empires]]'' rulebook)
* Russian: Приключения (pron. ''priklyucheniya'', lit. ''adventure'')

=== Development timetable ===
{{Quote
|Text=I started Adventures in May 2014. The last changes (actually just wording tweaks) were November 2014. I was working on the rulebook in November.
|Name=[[Donald X. Vaccarino]]
|Source=[http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=5799.msg454950#msg454950 Interview with Donald X.]
}}
=== Teaser ===
The weekend before previews, Donald X. posted a teaser of "bits of information about the expansion that don't actually tell you any cards."
{{Quote
|Text=Some things you will find in Dominion: Adventures:

* 22 dividing lines
* 8 big arrows
* 7 cards with 3 [[type|types]]
* 3 [[Treasure|Treasures]], including an [[Attack]] and a [[Village (card category)|village]]
* 2 12-card piles, including a [[Victory]] card worth 0 {{VP}} the turn you buy it
* +{{Cost|3}}, +{{Cost|4}}, and +{{Cost|5}}
* a card that gives the 2nd player an advantage
* a card you can play when it isn't your turn
* a card that draws you 5 cards when {{Card|Throne Room|Throned}}
* word counts: [[Supply]]: 15; Game: 4; Turn: 31; [[Adventures tokens|Token]]: 16.
|Name=[[Donald X. Vaccarino]]
|Source=[http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=12811.0 Adventures Teasers!]
}}
=== Release ===
Adventures was the first expansion whose US edition was made in country, by Hasbro.  Unfortunately, the initial print run was beset with a number of problems, such as miscut or damaged cards, as well as other changes, such as more flexible cards and a lack of gloss on the box, mat, and tokens; all of this led to a perceived drop in quality of the physical components of the set relative to previous products, though the actual gameplay of the set was well-received.

=== Secret History ===
{{Quote|Text=At some point, you've gotta call it a day. I mean what about the people with storage solutions? And well. As I have said repeatedly, there are good reasons to switch from expansions to spin-offs. You run out of simple things to do. You already have endless variety with 8 expansions. There are things you can do in spin-offs that you can't do in expansions.

All that still stands. But I made a spin-off, and then took the Dominion part out; it's Kingdom Builder. And I made another spin-off, and took the Dominion part out; it's Temporum. At some point it was clear: even if I managed to make some spin-offs, I wasn't just going to crank out an endless series of them. So eventually I would make another Dominion expansion. The publishers and fans would want it, and I wouldn't be able to say, here's another spin-off instead. And one day in May 2014, I had nothing else going on, and it seemed like, well, maybe it's time to see what's left to do. And there was stuff to do, so I did it.

Some people talk about a "treasure chest" expansion - more cards for each existing expansion. It doesn't really work. It's not much of a product if it requires you to own the other sets, so everything you'd need has to be included. Including all that stuff is not great - so much for {{VP}} [[Victory token|tokens]], [[coin token|coin tokens]], stuff that costs {{Card|Potion}}, stuff handing out [[Ruins]]. At the same time some mechanics just don't scream out their expansion - "choose one" for example shows up in a bunch of sets, it doesn't just say, oh this is an Intrigue card. In fact of all of the mechanics in the expansions, the only one that seemed satisfying to revisit and which didn't require components (except rulebook space) was duration cards.

So, how about some new duration cards? There was plenty left to do there, and some of those cards could even be simple. So I made some up.

Another source of early inspiration was the idea of someday making an online-only [[promo]]. It would have to be something you simply couldn't do physically. I came up with an obvious card idea I liked - a card which, each time you played it, gained +1 of something of your choice. Gradually individual copies of the card would become distinct and more powerful. Later I realized, wait, I could do something like that physically, by having piles of cards to upgrade into. And that sounded cool. So, new duration cards, this upgrading thing, okay, a starting point. And I had my lists of old ideas never tried, and tried a few promising ones.

Initially I was thinking of the set as a full-on [[Seaside]] sequel. And what else did Seaside have? It had mats and tokens. I looked at what the possibilities were for these components. For mats one thing stood out: a mat you put cards on, where they would wait until you were ready to use them. I had done one of those in [[Dark Ages]], and it had been great, but hadn't made the set because you know, it needed the mat. For tokens, again connected to the online-only card concept, I thought, what about modifying cards? I couldn't modify individual cards, but I could modify piles - your cards from that pile are better. It had to be just your cards, because people are stingy. So, 6 copies of each token, in 6 colors to handle 6 players.

So I made cards for the mat, initially the Castle mat, and cards that produced tokens, initially one-shot kingdom cards (plus a few other kinds of uses for tokens). And a good time was had by all.

I was playtesting irl, but it seemed good to also have some external playtesters. My old playtesters mostly just played online, which wouldn't be possible this time, but a few had physical copies. So I let some of them know. I also looked on dominionstrategy.com for people who might playtest. I already had Matthew Engel, who had playtested {{Card|Prince}}. Now there were two things I wanted out of new people: playing ability, and owning the physical game. As it happened there had recently been a tournament, and there was a thread talking about a meet-up in Chicago. I looked for people who did well in the tournament who also said they had a copy of the game in the Chicago thread, and invited three people. So somehow, being willing to go to Chicago upped your chances of me asking you to playtest.

Wei-Hwa Huang alerted Doug Zongker to the existence of the new set, and Doug offered to program the set on [[isotropic]] for us. This was fantastic; you get way more testing done online, since it goes so fast and you can do it whenever. Since we could play online, I invited a few more people from dominionstrategy, this time based just on playing ability.

The mat worked great, the tokens were exciting, the new duration cards compelling. One day, real-life playtester Kevin White said, man the tokens took a while to get. You buy the one-shot, eventually shuffle it in and draw it, then play it and finally you have the token. Couldn't they be faster? Now they could have just been when-gain one-shots, a concept I tried out previously in Hinterlands. But if you trash a card when you gain it, well, why have the card? It's not doing anything except limiting how many times you can do this. You could just buy the token directly. That immediately sounded awesome. And then, if you can buy tokens directly, why not pay for other things? And thus the set got Events. And I needed new kingdom cards to replace the ones that turned into Events, and I needed more Events so there would be lots of Events.

Initially I had no flavor concept beyond, maybe it's Seaside-ish. Later I had to actually focus the set's flavor. I tried a "castle" theme, because of the Castle mat, but it just felt like [[Dominion (base set)|generic Dominion]]. Then I tried Adventures and well these stories aren't all interesting. I changed the Castle mat to a Tavern mat to tie in with adventures in its mild way. And I made some cards specifically to pursue the Adventures flavor. Dominion doesn't have a lot of "top-down" cards but it did get a few this time.

The set ballooned. With 20 Events and 8 upgrades eating up 60 cards, the options are to have fewer kingdom cards than usual, or more. I'm weak; I went for more. So the final set is 400 cards plus the mats and tokens.

'''* Outtakes *'''

I tried some old ideas that it seemed time to try. For a while there was a card that trashed another card for a mix of +1's equal to its cost. Then it didn't include +Card. Then I tried a mix of +Cards and +Actions, and then a straight, trash for +Buys card. Maybe there is something there, but not in this expansion. There was "Discard X {{Card|Silver}}s, +2X Cards." It somewhat survives as {{Card|Storyteller}}. I tried a {{Card|Throne Room}} that replays a card in play. It's dead unless there's a card giving +1 Action or better. That seemed insurmountable. Then I tried it again briefly in the {{Card|Disciple}} slot. I had a draw-up-to-7 card that let you discard cards first. It was totally fine but we rarely bought it and other stuff seemed more worth doing. Near the beginning there was a super-{{Card|Lookout}} - +3 Cards +1 Action, trash a card, discard a card, put a card from your hand on your deck. It was beloved and also cwazy. I watered it down some and then got rid of it.

I tried a few old cards that seemed like they should get another chance, but which then failed again. One was an {{Card|Expand}} that hit the top of your deck, and could put the gained card back there. It always seemed reasonable to me, but no-one liked it. Intrigue had had gain a {{Card|Silver}} to hand, reveal the top card of your deck, if it's {{Card|Silver}} trash this. I tried a new version here: +{{Cost|2}}, Gain 2 {{Card|Silver}}s, reveal top, if it's {{Card|Silver}} trash this and gain a {{Card|Duchy}}. It was the kind of thing that casual players might turn out to adore but which playtesters tend not to. In some sense it lives on as {{Card|Treasure Trove}}.

I tried an Action-Victory card that was cost {{Cost|5}}, trash a card from your hand, worth 13 {{VP}} minus 1 {{VP}} per 2 cards in your deck. "What huh," I hear you say. We had some fun playing around with it but it was too hard making it be fair but not awful both in 2-player games and 4-player games. Some versions could trash cards from supply piles, an old concept that has never worked out. When I was giving up on this, I tried a Victory card that was worth 1 {{VP}} per {{Card|Estate}} or {{Card|Gold}} you had, whichever was less. This was an old idea that I planned to try if I ever needed another {{VP}} card. It's uh not awful. It had no special joy though. Briefly I tried an Action-Victory card that put a card on your mat, and was worth {{VP}} based on the number of cards there. It just didn't give a new-enough experience; there's {{Card|Island}}. It sounded like it would be a strategy but it usually wasn't, it was usually {{Card|Island}} but maybe not worth the 2 {{VP}}. I tried a {{VP}} card that rewarded you for having the most of something, and stopped the game from ending until its pile was empty; man, who has the time to empty an extra pile these days. I tried a {{VP}} card that wanted you to have 3+ of as many cards as possible; it wasn't the same as {{Card|Fairgrounds}} but didn't have a good new feeling. I tried 1 {{VP}} per copy you have of the Action card you have the 2nd most copies of - you want a lot of two things. Man there isn't much to say about any of these. I tried a bunch of Victory cards, and in the end there's just {{Card|Distant Lands}}, which I had for most of the time, but I like it so hooray.

A {{Card|Moat}} that worked from the Tavern mat did not work out; I did do {{Card|Champion}} though. There was a Reserve card that let you put cards on the Tavern mat when you gained them; just putting all of your {{VP}} on the Tavern mat was not really good times. I had a Reserve card that gave +1 Buy; it sounds totally worth having but it didn't work out. If it's just +1 Buy it's not enough; if it's more, you call it when you don't even care about the +1 Buy. I had the Reserve {{Card|Remodel}}-on-gain that turned into {{Card|Transmogrify}}.

I tried a few versions of a {{Card|Thief}} variant as a Duration card. They trash a Treasure other than {{Card|Copper}} from play when they buy a card. It didn't work out. Then I tried a discard Attack that hit them at the start of their Buy phase. It's kind of interesting; it punishes you for not playing Actions, and also hurts a draw-your-whole-deck thing that ends up with its 7 {{Card|Copper}}s. But uh in practice it was a dud.

In the {{Card|Amulet}} slot, I tried a Duration card that gave the other players a bonus of your choice at the start of their intervening turns - +1 Action or +{{Cost|1}}. I liked it in theory.

I tried a Treasure - Duration. To not be wonky with cards like {{Card|Counterfeit}}, it had to have an "if this is in play" clause on the next turn's +{{Cost|2}}. That looks weird though. So then it had the penalty of leaving play if someone bought a {{Card|Province}}, which gave the "if this is in play" part meaning. Then it got a bonus instead, you could discard it from play to {{Card|Moat}} one Attack. And well. It was a dud, it showed up at the bottom of people's lists of cards sorted by how much they liked them. I did better Treasures.

Another Duration card that was around for a while gave out {{Card|Gold}}s to people who bought the right type of card. You named a type, you know, and it worked for you on two turns but only on one turn for them. It's fun naming the type, trying to make it hard on the other players. I liked the friendly interaction. But in multiples it just scripted games; you did what the card told you to.

I tried a drastically simpler variation on the {{Card|Peasant}} concept, where playing a card got you a token, or you traded in the card and 3 tokens for a particular card costing {{Cost|5}}, different each game. It was fine but didn't seem worth the tokens.

When I introduced the -1 Card token, it was on a card that just gave +{{Cost|2}} and gave out the token and cost {{Cost|3}}. It was somewhat like {{Card|Fortune Teller}}; only, as with {{Card|Bridge Troll}} being a {{Card|Cutpurse}} that never misses, it was a {{Card|Fortune Teller}} that never missed. It moved to {{Card|Soldier}} and then I did {{Card|Relic}} instead.

I very briefly tried several other tokens that went on piles. There was adding "Gain a {{Card|Silver}}" to a card, adding conventional trashing (rather than {{Event|Plan}}'s when-buy approach), there was "comes with a cheaper card" and "trash it and get an action costing {{Cost|3}} more." I tried "worth 1 {{VP}};" it just didn't play well. You have to charge a lot for it and then it's just a {{Card|Province}} that doesn't go in your deck that you can only buy one of.

Turning a card into a {{Card|Witch}} has a certain charm but I never tried it, I wanted to go light on {{Card|Witch}}es. "Draw plus discard" makes you worry about timing more than an ideal amount. "Play it twice and trash it" sounded interesting but didn't play nice with too much of the set. Stuff like "+1 Card the first time you play one of these each turn" just doesn't translate well to a token; the tokens want to be small and clear. I considered shared tokens that modified piles, but people are stingy.

There was an Event that shuffled all but 5 cards from your discard pile into your deck. A version of a concept that never worked in Hinterlands, unless you count {{Card|inn}}. It was no good but I added {{Card|Chancellor}} to it, Matthew's suggestion; {{Card|Chancellor}} had been another dud Event that had died much earlier. So then that was in the set for a while, being an obvious dud, and then {{Card|Alms}} replaced it, hooray.

I tried an Event that attacked you if you didn't buy it. It just drained {{Cost|1}} each turn (it did give +1 Buy) or else trashed your top card, giving you a cheaper card of the same type or a {{Card|Curse}}. It seemed like a neat direction to go in but well. We have an established game here, established fans, and they are not so fond of attacks that they want the game hitting them every turn. It was pretty oppressive.

I had an Event that moved a +{{Cost|2}} cost token that affected everyone. Man I think we got in one game of that. And we tried an Event that moved everyone's -{{Cost|2}} cost token at once; it was okay, in a pinch I could have used it. I tried a {{Card|Salvager}} - +1 Buy, trash an Action for +{{Cost|1}} per {{Cost|1}} it cost (only, the Event itself cost {{Cost|1}}). You use that on the last turn of the game and that's it. I tried a variant of {{Card|Quest}} that required trashing but gained {{Card|Duchy|Duchies}}, that was also just used on your last turn.

Phew. Well there were an endless number of cards and also an endless number of outtakes, and now you know about them.
|Name=[[Donald X. Vaccarino]]
 |Source=[http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=13082.0 The Secret History of Dominion: Adventures]
}}
=== Retrospective ===
{{Quote
|Text= ...In retrospect I don't like how many different tokens Adventures has, it's annoying pawing through them looking for the boot or whatever. I should have tried to get more use out of a smaller set of tokens. But, with that approach, that kind of thing in the future is okay.
|Name=[[Donald X. Vaccarino]]
|Source=[http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=5799.msg793430#msg793430 Interview with Donald X.]
}}
=== Does Adventures have power creep? ===
{{Quote
|Text= 
I don't think there's a power creep issue with Adventures.

Nothing pushes for power creep in Dominion - it won't sell sets, it's not good for the game. Designing cards doesn't entail fighting it. It's something with no reason to have it and I'm not trying to. So there's no reason to expect it and I don't see it.

What power level should cards be? This depends on how fast you want the game to be, and how much luck you want it to have. The more powerful the cards are, the faster the game and the more luck. I aim for a power level that gives a game length and luck amount I like.

Once you've established a good power level, ideally all cards are close to it. If a card is too weak, you don't play with it; if it's too strong, you don't play with other cards.

There are some caveats:
* It's nice once in a while to have an extra-narrow card, so that you can have the joy of winning with a card you usually can't win with. Originally I thought maybe 1 in 25 cards; now I think more like 1 in 100.
* Some cards only compete within their category, or only with certain categories. A strong trasher makes you not buy the weaker trasher, and may shut out a weak card that pushes a non-trashing strategy, but may still leave you interested in a weak card-drawer (that's as good as the table offers).
* Some categories are historically imperfect, in a way that I can't completely fix. I can make new cards weaker but don't want to make new cards that can never compete in those categories.
* Cards can't have identical power levels; something will be the strongest in its category.

The main set and {{Set|Intrigue}} both have more duds than later sets; {{Set|Seaside}} has more duds than later sets, but not as many as those two. Power creep isn't about the weakest cards though, it's about the strongest cards. These sets have some of the strongest cards in the game.

Events do not have the same power level issues as kingdom cards. They affect game length and luck, and how good the 10 cards are, but strong Events can still leave everything playable. Like, maybe it feels like {{Event|Alms}} must be too strong, since you're likely to buy it at some point in any game with it. But it's entirely dependent on the 10 cards; it spices up the game while letting you play with whatever showed up. Ultimately it lets us have a fun game of Dominion, and it's okay that it improves things for everyone. It nudges the game length and luck level but not at the expense of kingdom cards.

So then, when I look through Adventures, I see all these sweet cards, cards which I expect to see a fair amount of play, which are not duds, but which are not the tops in their categories. {{Card|Swamp Hag}} isn't the strongest {{Card|Witch}} and {{Card|Ratcatcher}} isn't the best trasher and so on. If we randomly divided cards up we would expect Adventures to have a few of the strongest cards, and maybe it does, but it's no outlier.
|Name=[[Donald X. Vaccarino]]
|Source=[http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=15033.msg584144#msg584144 Let's Discuss...Adventures!]
}}

== Recommended sets of 10 ==
=== Adventures only ===
{{Kingdom|Amulet|Distant Lands|Dungeon|Duplicate|Giant|Hireling|Port|Ranger|Ratcatcher|Treasure Trove|event1 = Scouting Party|imgwidth = 150|title = Gentle Intro}}
{{Kingdom|Caravan Guard|Coin of the Realm|Haunted Woods|Lost City|Magpie|Peasant|Raze|Swamp Hag|Transmogrify|Wine Merchant|event1 = Mission|event2 = Plan|imgwidth = 150|title = Expert Intro}}

=== Adventures & [[Dominion (base set)|Dominion]] ===
{{Kingdom|Market|Merchant|Militia|Throne Room|Workshop|Dungeon|Gear|Guide|Lost City|Miser|event1 = Training|imgwidth = 150|title = Level Up}}
{{Kingdom|Bandit|Bureaucrat|Gardens|Moneylender|Witch|Amulet|Duplicate|Giant|Messenger|Treasure Trove|event1 = Bonfire|event2 = Raid|imgwidth = 150|title = Son of Size Distortion}}

=== Adventures & [[Intrigue]] ===
{{Kingdom|Bridge Troll|Duplicate|Page|Raze|Royal Carriage|Conspirator|Courtier|Harem|Nobles|Swindler|event1 = Pilgrimage|imgwidth = 150|title = Royalty Factory}}
{{Kingdom|Artificer|Distant Lands|Gear|Transmogrify|Wine Merchant|Bridge|Pawn|Shanty Town|Steward|Upgrade|event1 = Ball|event2 = Borrow|imgwidth = 150|title = Masters of Finance}}

=== Adventures & [[Seaside]] ===
{{Kingdom|Astrolabe|Caravan|Fishing Village|Merchant Ship|Sailor|Amulet|Dungeon|Haunted Woods|Page|Swamp Hag|event1 = Mission|imgwidth = 150|title = Prince of Orange}}
{{Kingdom|Blockade|Haven|Sailor|Salvager|Smugglers|Bridge Troll|Caravan Guard|Hireling|Lost City|Messenger|event1 = Expedition|event2 = Quest|imgwidth = 150|title = Gifts and Mathoms}}

=== Adventures & [[Alchemy]] ===
{{Kingdom|Magpie|Messenger|Port|Royal Carriage|Treasure Trove|Apprentice|Scrying Pool|Transmute|University|Vineyard|event1 = Plan|imgwidth = 150|title = Haste Potion}}
{{Kingdom|Amulet|Bridge Troll|Caravan Guard|Peasant|Ratcatcher|Apothecary|Familiar|Golem|Herbalist|Philosopher's Stone|event1 = Save|event2 = Trade|imgwidth = 150|title = Cursecatchers}}

=== Adventures & [[Prosperity]] ===
{{Kingdom|Bishop|Collection|Magnate|Monument|Vault|Coin of the Realm|Dungeon|Messenger|Relic|Treasure Trove|event1 = Inheritance|colony = 1|imgwidth = 150|title = Last Will and Monument}}
{{Kingdom|Expand|Hoard|King's Court|Peddler|War Chest|Distant Lands|Giant|Hireling|Miser|Storyteller|event1 = Ball|event2 = Ferry|colony = 1|imgwidth = 150|title = Think Big}}

=== Adventures & [[Cornucopia]] ===
{{Kingdom|Artificer|Miser|Page|Ranger|Relic|Fairgrounds|Farming Village|Horse Traders|Jester|Menagerie|event1 = Travelling Fair|imgwidth = 150|title = The Hero's Return|id = herosreturn}}
{{Kingdom|Peasant|Storyteller|Swamp Hag|Transmogrify|Wine Merchant|Fortune Teller|Hamlet|Horn of Plenty|Tournament|Young Witch|bane = Guide|event1 = Ferry|event2 = Seaway|imgwidth = 150|title = Seacraft and Witchcraft}}

=== Adventures & [[Hinterlands]] ===
{{Kingdom|Haunted Woods|Lost City|Page|Port|Wine Merchant|Berserker|Guard Dog|Haggler|Spice Merchant|Trader|event1 = Raid|imgwidth = 150|title = Traders and Raiders}}
{{Kingdom|Bridge Troll|Distant Lands|Giant|Guide|Ranger|Cartographer|Crossroads|Highway|Inn|Trail|event1 = Expedition|event2 = Inheritance|imgwidth = 150|title = Journeys}}

=== Adventures & [[Dark Ages]] ===
{{Kingdom|Amulet|Caravan Guard|Hireling|Peasant|Relic|Graverobber|Marauder|Procession|Rogue|Wandering Minstrel|event1 = Alms|shelters = 1|imgwidth = 150|title = Cemetery Polka}}
{{Kingdom|Dungeon|Haunted Woods|Ratcatcher|Raze|Transmogrify|Cultist|Death Cart|Fortress|Knights|Rats|event1 = Lost Arts|event2 = Pathfinding|shelters = 1|imgwidth = 150|title = Groovy Decay}}

=== Adventures & [[Guilds]] ===
{{Kingdom|Artificer|Gear|Magpie|Miser|Storyteller|Doctor|Masterpiece|Merchant Guild|Soothsayer|Stonemason|event1 = Lost Arts|imgwidth = 150|title = Spendthrift}}
{{Kingdom|Coin of the Realm|Duplicate|Guide|Ratcatcher|Royal Carriage|Advisor|Butcher|Candlestick Maker|Herald|Journeyman|event1 = Pathfinding|event2 = Save|imgwidth = 150|title = Queen of Tan}}

=== Adventures & [[Empires]] ===
{{Kingdom|Capital|Catapult|Charm|Crown|Farmers' Market|Coin of the Realm|Page|Relic|Treasure Trove|Wine Merchant|event1 = Banquet|landmark1 = Keep|imgwidth = 150|title = Area Control}}
{{Kingdom|Archive|Encampment|Royal Blacksmith|Temple|Villa|Dungeon|Duplicate|Hireling|Peasant|Transmogrify|event1 = Mission|landmark1 = Bandit Fort|imgwidth = 150|title = No Money No Problems}}

=== Adventures & [[Nocturne]] ===
{{Kingdom|Conclave|Guardian|Pixie|Vampire|Werewolf|Bridge Troll|Giant|Messenger|Ratcatcher|Storyteller|event1 = Quest|imgwidth = 150|title = Monster Mash}}
{{Kingdom|Blessed Village|Druid|Fool|Sacred Grove|Tracker|Caravan Guard|Guide|Haunted Woods|Hireling|Ranger|dboon1 = The Sky's Gift|dboon2 = The Field's Gift|dboon3 = The Sea's Gift|event1 = Pilgrimage|imgwidth = 150|title = Lost in the Woods}}

=== Adventures & [[Renaissance]] ===
{{Kingdom|Experiment|Improve|Recruiter|Seer|Silk Merchant|Hireling|Ranger|Raze|Swamp Hag|Transmogrify|event1 = Training|project1 = Piazza|imgwidth = 150|title = Progress}}
{{Kingdom|Acting Troupe|Lackeys|Priest|Sculptor|Spices|Distant Lands|Duplicate|Haunted Woods|Royal Carriage|Storyteller|event1 = Ferry|project1 = Innovation|imgwidth = 150|title = Once Upon a Time}}

=== Adventures & [[Menagerie (expansion)|Menagerie]] ===
{{Kingdom|Destrier|Displace|Falconer|Sleigh|Stockpile|Magpie|Ranger|Ratcatcher|Relic|Royal Carriage|way1=Way of the Ox|event1=Pilgrimage|imgwidth=150|title = Horse Feathers}}
{{Kingdom|Barge|Gatekeeper|Groom|Mastermind|Village Green|Amulet|Caravan Guard|Dungeon|Giant|Raze|event1=Toil|event2=Mission|imgwidth=150|title = Sooner or Later}}

=== Adventures & [[Allies]] ===
{{Kingdom|Augurs|Bauble|Innkeeper|Modify|Specialist|Artificer|Duplicate|Lost City|Miser|Treasure Trove|ally=Gang of Pickpockets|event1=Mission|imgwidth = 150|title=Adventures in Pickpocketing}}
{{Kingdom|Forts|Marquis|Sentinel|Skirmisher|Sycophant|Caravan Guard|Gear|Haunted Woods|Port|Transmogrify|ally=Market Towns|event1=Seaway|imgwidth = 150|title=Future Perfect}}

=== Adventures & [[Plunder]] ===
{{Kingdom|Figurine|First Mate|Fortune Hunter|Mapmaker|Search|Artificer|Distant Lands|Port|Ratcatcher|Treasure Trove|event1=Ferry|trait1=Patient|traitfor=Artificer|imgwidth = 150|title = Set Sail}}
{{Kingdom|Quartermaster|Secluded Shrine|Stowaway|Swamp Shacks|Tools|Coin of the Realm|Gear|Haunted Woods|Hireling|Wine Merchant|event1=Rush|trait1=Shy|traitfor=Wine Merchant|imgwidth = 150|title = Rush Job}}


{{Navbox Adventures}}
{{Navbox expansions}}