Victory token

Some Victory tokens from Prosperity.

Some cardboard Victory tokens from some European Empires versions.

Victory and Debt tokens punchboard, as found in some European Empires versions.

Victory tokens (usually abbreviated as VP tokens or   tokens) can be gained by certain cards, Events, and Landmarks in Prosperity and Empires. They keep a tally of how much   a player has accrued over the game by means other than Victory cards. They are represented by metal shields similar to the icon used on Victory cards, in units of 1 , 2  and 5 . Prosperity comes with 16 1  tokens and 15 5  tokens, while Empires comes with 24 1  tokens, 12 2  tokens and 20 5  tokens; if they run out, players can use another means to count their  .

List of cards, Events, and Landmarks using Victory tokens

Triumph
Chariot Race, Farmers' Market
Bishop, Crumbling Castle, Monument, Ritual, Sacrifice, Salt the Earth, Temple
Wedding
Emporium, Groundskeeper, Plunder, Wild Hunt
Conquest, Goons
Grand Castle
Dominate
Landmarks: Aqueduct, Arena, Basilica, Baths, Battlefield, Colonnade, Defiled Shrine, Labyrinth, Mountain Pass, Tomb

Official Rules

Prosperity

• "+X " - The player takes X  tokens. He takes them from the pile of unused tokens, not from another player.
• When a player first takes   tokens, he takes a player mat to put them on.
•   tokens are not private; anyone can count them.
• There are 1  and 5  tokens; players make change as needed.
• At the end of the game, players add the   they have from tokens to their regular score.
• If the tokens run out, use something else to track any further tokens; players are not limited by the number of tokens available.
•   tokens are used by Bishop, Goons, and Monument.

Empires

• Victory Point tokens   are simply tokens that are worth   at the end of the game.
• They provide a way to score that does not appear in a player's deck.
• They come in 1 (small silver shield), 2 (small gold shield), and 5 (large silver shield) amounts; make change as needed.
• They are not counter-limited; use a replacement if you run out.
• Cards say "+1  " (or other amounts) to indicate that a player takes a   token or tokens.
• Cards that give +  or "add"   tokens to a pile take the tokens from the pile of unused tokens, not from a player.
•   tokens are not private; anyone can count them.

Impact

At first glance,   tokens appear to throw out one of the central strategic tensions of Dominion: the principle that Victory cards are usually dead, and therefore in order to increase your score you must weaken your deck. Victory tokens don't take up space in your deck, seemingly allowing you to score points without clogging your engine. In fact, in a few cases with a card such as Monument, it's possible to build a deck that does nothing each turn but score points and can continue indefinitely. However, the majority of   token–scoring effects require you to either gain or trash a card in order to earn your points, thus possibly weakening your deck anyway, and in any case driving the game toward a conclusion; several others (e.g., Landmarks such as Arena) can only be used a limited number of times. The couple of cards that can indefinitely produce   (specifically Monument and Plunder) produce only 1  at a time, and can usually be outpaced by a strategy that buys Victory cards.

Strategy

Each   token card, Event or Landmark plays differently. Please see their respective articles for strategic advice.

Trivia

Secret History

I also added the   tokens. Monument hadn't always been in the set, and then at one point left, tentatively slated for Dark Ages. I brought it back as a thing people liked that seemed to fit well. I knew tokens would be used for Monument, and also that people would be disappointed if it was the only card that used them (Seaside just had one use per token type because the set did not originally use tokens). In the end I managed to have three cards that used them.

—Donald X. Vaccarino, The Other Secret History of the Prosperity Cards

Applications to past cards

Well you don't really get anything changing Distant Lands, I mean it's one thing or another. You might be able to get a little use of   tokens though, other than completely new cards; Harem for example could be an Event with "+2  , gain a Silver."

—Donald X. Vaccarino, How would old cards be made differently with new mechanics?