New to Dominion

Latest revision as of 14:31, 3 November 2021

This page is intended for people who are new to the game of Dominion. It will cover many important topics for those new to the game, providing links to further detail when applicable.

[edit] Strategy resources for beginner/intermediate players

Note: Over the last few years, the online Dominion community has largely shifted towards YouTube videos and away from written articles. This means most advice you can find in strategy articles is likely outdated or at least not maintained, as the meta and cardpool have evolved. On this wiki, pages tagged with an "Improve" banner have been noted as outdated and scheduled for updating. Also, be aware that Dominion is a fairly complex game, whose top players don't often agree on what's best or optimal, so feel free to learn from multiple sources.

[edit] Video series

How to Base Dominion - Video series by Burning Skull, which goes over general strategy concepts in games using Base Dominion
How to Build an Engine - Video series by JNails, for those who like Powerpoint presentations and clearly defined concepts
Dominion Strategy Basics - Video series by WanderingWinder
Dominion Heuristics - Videos by Dan Brooks on general Dominion skills, such as how to approach a random Kingdom and deck tracking

[edit] Articles

Building The First Game Engine - A guest article by Geronimoo detailing some slightly more advanced strategy in the 'First Game' kingdom.
Money strategies - A.k.a. 'Big Money', a class of strategies that prioritizes affording Provinces quickly over deck control, usually considered the opposite of an engine.
Your Guide To Beating Attacks - An article from the blog which details some of the ways you can counter attacking strategies.
Building a +Action/+Cards Engine - An article from the blog which details how to construct one of the simplest engines in the game.
Opening Odds - Article by WanderingWinder calculating the probability of various outcomes for various openings.
Generalized Kingdom Analysis - Article by terracubist outlining the "pyramid" approach, which tries to break down how to approach a given kingdom by looking at how much and what to build. Useful for intermediate level players, after how to build is well understood.
Dominion Glossary - A repository of many common terms used on the blog, forum, and wiki. Don’t be scared away by all the definitions: it’s intended as a reference, not as essential knowledge. Many of these terms and phrases will link to in depth wiki pages.

[edit] Frequently Asked Questions

My friend plays a strategy where he only buys money and victory cards and is able to keep winning. What's the deal? - The basic strategy is called "Big Money" and it is not at all unbeatable.
Yes, it is technically possible to play two Tacticians in one turn.
Why didn't I get triple the VP chips when I played King's Court on my Goons? - Goons gives VP chips per goons in play. See Goons wiki page or page 8 of the Prosperity Rulebook for details. Similar rules apply with Highway, Princess, and Merchant Guild.

[edit] Purchasing The Game

[edit] Which Expansion To Buy

One of the most regular questions new players ask is which expansions they should get. There is a post over on the blog which tries to answer this question, and you can find a few forum threads (1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9) on the subject as well. If you are looking for more information, there are also a few forum threads (1,2,3,4,5) which compare various attributes of the different expansions.

[edit] Promo Cards

Promo cards are official Dominion kingdom cards which do not belong to any particular set. The cards can typically be purchased on the BGG store.

[edit] Card Storage

Solutions for Dominion Card Storage are frequently discussed by people who own multiple expansions of the game. There is no 'best' solution to the problem, and solutions will vary by taste and resources.

[edit] Purchasing Dominion On Dominion Online

More information on Dominion Online and its pricing can be found on its page.

[edit] Dominion Online

[edit] Playing Online

[edit] Shuffle IT

Shuffle IT is the company that hosts the official online implementation of Dominion, which is located here.

[edit] Isotropic

Isotropic was a very popular unofficial online implementation of Dominion. It offered a very simple presentation of the game and hosted over 10 million games of Dominion.

[edit] Online Tournaments

[edit] Dominion League

Dominion League is the longest standing online dominion tournament, founded in 2014. It welcomes players of all skill levels and is free to join. Their website can be found here.

[edit] Online Resources

[edit] Dominion (Card Game) Discord Server

The Dominion Discord is community of players on a discord server which has supplanted Dominion Strategy as the hub for organized Dominion play and discussion.

[edit] DominionStrategy.com

Dominion Strategy is a blog dedicated to analysis and strategy surrounding the game of Dominion. It was created by theory and led to the creation of the forums and eventually this wiki.

[edit] Dominion Strategy Forum

The Dominion Strategy Forum is an offshoot of the Dominion Strategy blog which allows for discussion related to the game of Dominion. All skill levels are welcome. Check out especially the Help! forum, where you can post a game log and seek advice on what you did right or wrong, or the Rules forum, where you can get your rules questions answered.

[edit] Dominion Videos

Dominion Videos are video recordings of Dominion games (typically online games) used for strategy and analysis. Videos give the viewer an inside look at gameplay that game logs simply can't provide. The video of the game play is usually supplemented with commentary by the player recording, offering insights into the player's strategy, thought processes, and decision making.

[edit] CouncilRoom.com

CouncilRoom.com is a site dedicated to generating statistics from the logs of games played on Isotropic. It has not been updated to catalog logs from Dominion Online.

[edit] Other

BoardGameGeek - Game Page, Forums, Dominion FAQ, and Dominion Rules FAQ
Reddit - Dominion Subreddit, boardgaming Subreddit, theory's AMA, Obi Wan Bonogi's AMA, dougz's AMA, theory's meeple of the week on r/boardgames
Wikipedia - Wikipedia Page
TV Tropes - TV Tropes Page
Rio Grande Games - RGG's website, ednever's informal interview with Jay Tummelson (CEO)

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 This page is intended for people who are new to the game of Dominion. It will cover many important topics for those new to the game, providing links to further detail when applicable.
-== The Game of Dominion ==
+== [[Strategy]] resources for beginner/intermediate players ==
-=== Introduction ===
+Note: Over the last few years, the online Dominion community has largely shifted towards YouTube videos and away from written articles. This means most advice you can find in strategy articles is likely outdated or at least not maintained, as the meta and cardpool have evolved. On this wiki, pages tagged with an "Improve" banner have been noted as outdated and scheduled for updating. Also, be aware that Dominion is a fairly complex game, whose top players don't often agree on what's best or optimal, so feel free to learn from multiple sources.
-* [http://dominionstrategy.com/2011/06/19/guide-to-the-dominion-base-game/ Guide To The Dominion Base Game] - An article explaining some basic strategy found in [[Dominion_(Base_Set)|Base Dominion]].
+=== Video series ===
-* [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLtkTUMIr-WmKZCd4Q_KnrKtNJKR-vpC8a How to Base Dominion] Video Series by Burning Skull, which goes over general strategy concepts in games using Base Dominion
+* [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLtkTUMIr-WmKZCd4Q_KnrKtNJKR-vpC8a How to Base Dominion] - Video series by Burning Skull, which goes over general strategy concepts in games using Base Dominion
-* [[Glossary|Dominion Glossary]] - A repository of many common terms used on the blog, forum, and wiki. Don’t be scared away by all the definitions: it’s intended as a reference, not as essential knowledge. Many of these terms and phrases will link to in depth wiki pages.
+* [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLsrQ73qPvJ0sIvvD0gERXQt1nOS0iIK_4 How to Build an Engine] - Video series by JNails, for those who like Powerpoint presentations and clearly defined concepts
-* Dominion [[Who's Who]] - An introduction to some of the important individuals involved with the game of Dominion.
+* [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLECC131oboc6oGK9CZG-Z0p2xc-kof08l Dominion Strategy Basics] - Video series by WanderingWinder
-* [http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=5425.msg133391#msg133391 Beginner Strategy Guide] - An introductory guide to the most basic levels of Dominion strategy.
+* [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfrY5CAun1zJm7gEXVo5b7cbhfGvrcdTn Dominion Heuristics] - Videos by Dan Brooks on general Dominion skills, such as how to approach a random [[Kingdom]] and [[deck tracking]]
-=== [[Strategy]] ===
+=== Articles ===
-* [[Big Money]] - Discussion of what the 'Big Money' strategy is and why it is not unstoppable.
-* [http://dominionstrategy.com/2011/03/07/actionscards/ Building a +Action/+Cards Engine] - An article from the blog which details how to construct one of the simplest engines in the game.
-* [http://dominionstrategy.com/2011/12/27/your-guide-to-beating-attacks/ Your Guide To Beating Attacks] - An article from the blog which details some of the ways you can counter attacking strategies.
 * [http://dominionstrategy.com/2012/07/30/building-the-first-game-engine/ Building The First Game Engine] - A guest article by Geronimoo detailing some slightly more advanced strategy in the 'First Game' kingdom.
+* [[Money strategies]] - A.k.a. 'Big Money', a class of strategies that prioritizes affording {{Card|Province|Provinces}} quickly over [[deck control]], usually considered the opposite of an [[engine]].
+* [http://dominionstrategy.com/2011/12/27/your-guide-to-beating-attacks/ Your Guide To Beating Attacks] - An article from the blog which details some of the ways you can counter attacking strategies.
+* [http://dominionstrategy.com/2011/03/07/actionscards/ Building a +Action/+Cards Engine] - An article from the blog which details how to construct one of the simplest engines in the game.
+* [https://wanderingwindergames.blogspot.com/2015/05/dominion-opening-theory-money-matters.html Opening Odds] - Article by WanderingWinder calculating the probability of various outcomes for various openings.
+* [https://dominionstrategy.com/2021/03/27/generalized-kingdom-analysis-and-some-ramblings-about-teaching/ Generalized Kingdom Analysis] - Article by terracubist outlining the "pyramid" approach, which tries to break down how to approach a given kingdom by looking at how much and what to build. Useful for intermediate level players, after ''how'' to build is well understood.
+* [[Glossary|Dominion Glossary]] - A repository of many common terms used on the blog, forum, and wiki. Don’t be scared away by all the definitions: it’s intended as a reference, not as essential knowledge. Many of these terms and phrases will link to in depth wiki pages.
 === Frequently Asked Questions ===
-* My friend plays a strategy where he only buys money and victory cards and is able to keep winning.  [http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=1500.0 What's the deal?] - The basic strategy is called "[[Big Money]]" and it is not at all unbeatable.
+* My friend plays a strategy where he only buys money and victory cards and is able to keep winning. [http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=1500.0 What's the deal?] - The basic strategy is called "[[Big Money]]" and it is not at all unbeatable.
 * Yes, it is technically possible to play [[Tactician#Play_Two_Tacticians_In_One_Turn|two Tacticians]] in one turn.
-* Why didn't I get triple the VP chips when I played King's Court on my Goons? - {{Card|Goons}} gives VP chips per goons ''in play''.  See {{Card|Goons}} wiki page or page 8 of the [[Prosperity]] [http://www.riograndegames.com/uploads/Game/Game_361_gameRules.pdf Rulebook] for details. Similar rules apply with {{Card|Highway}}, {{Card|Princess}}, and {{Card|Merchant Guild}}.
+* Why didn't I get triple the VP chips when I played King's Court on my Goons? - {{Card|Goons}} gives VP chips per goons [[while in play|''in play'']]. See {{Card|Goons}} wiki page or page 8 of the [[Prosperity]] [http://www.riograndegames.com/uploads/Game/Game_361_gameRules.pdf Rulebook] for details. Similar rules apply with {{Card|Highway}}, {{Card|Princess}}, and {{Card|Merchant Guild}}.
 == Purchasing The Game ==
@@ Line 39: / Line 42: @@
 ===== Isotropic =====
-[[Isotropic]] was a very popular unofficial online implentation of Dominion. It offered a very simple presentation of the game and hosted over 10 million games of Dominion.
+[[Isotropic]] was a very popular unofficial online implementation of Dominion. It offered a very simple presentation of the game and hosted over 10 million games of Dominion.
+=== Online Tournaments ===
+===== Dominion League =====
+[[Dominion League]] is the longest standing online dominion tournament, founded in 2014. It welcomes players of all skill levels and is free to join. Their website can be found [https://dominionleague.org here].
 === Online Resources ===
 ===== Dominion (Card Game) Discord Server =====
-The [[Dominion Discord]] is a discord server which has supplanted Dominion Strategy as the hub for organized Dominion play and discussion.
+The [[Dominion Discord]] is community of players on a discord server which has supplanted Dominion Strategy as the hub for organized Dominion play and discussion.
 ===== DominionStrategy.com =====
@@ Line 54: / Line 61: @@
 [[Dominion Videos]] are video recordings of Dominion games (typically online games) used for strategy and analysis. Videos give the viewer an inside look at gameplay that game logs simply can't provide. The video of the game play is usually supplemented with commentary by the player recording, offering insights into the player's strategy, thought processes, and decision making.
 ===== CouncilRoom.com =====
-CouncilRoom.com is a site dedicated to generating statistics from the logs of games played on [[Isotropic]]. It has not yet been updated to catalog logs from Dominion Online.
+CouncilRoom.com is a site dedicated to generating statistics from the logs of games played on [[Isotropic]]. It has not been updated to catalog logs from Dominion Online.
 ===== Other =====
 * BoardGameGeek - [http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/36218/dominion Game Page], [http://www.boardgamegeek.com/forums/thing/36218/dominion Forums], [http://www.boardgamegeek.com/wiki/page/Dominion_FAQ Dominion FAQ], and [http://www.boardgamegeek.com/wiki/page/Complete_and_All-Encompassing_Dominion_FAQ Dominion Rules FAQ]