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== Common terms and phrases ==
 
== Common terms and phrases ==
 +
 +
=== A ===
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* [[Attack immunity]]: Abilities that prevent a player from being affected by [[Attack]] cards (e.g. {{Card|Moat}}).
 +
* [[Autopile]]: To empty a pile by playing cards from that pile, e.g. with {{card|Rats}}.
  
 
=== B ===
 
=== B ===
 
* [[Dominion_(Base_Set)|Base]]: The original Dominion, with no expansions.  For example, “In Base, {{Card|Chapel}} is the best early-game trasher.”
 
* [[Dominion_(Base_Set)|Base]]: The original Dominion, with no expansions.  For example, “In Base, {{Card|Chapel}} is the best early-game trasher.”
−
* [[Big Money]]: Strictly speaking, a strategy where no [[Action card|Actions]] are bought at all, only [[Treasure]] and [[Victory card|Victory]] cards. In practice, it is often used to refer to a strategy emphasizing Treasure and Victory cards that is merely supplemented with one or two Action cards. Compare with ''[[engine]]''.
+
* [[Big Money]]: see [[Money Strategies]]
−
* Board (or set, table, or tableau):  The set of cards that make up the game of interest.
+
* Board (or [[Kingdom]], or set):  The set of cards and [[landscape]]s that make up a particular game.
 +
* Build: To improve the quality of one’s deck, usually by adding [[deck control]] or [[payload]]
 +
* Bottomdeck: To appear, or to place a card, at or near the bottom of your deck, often so that you can’t draw it immediately—either deliberately, as with {{card|Secret Passage}}, or randomly as a result of [[shuffle|shuffling]]. Most commonly used to describe an undesirable case, e.g. "I hope I haven't bottomdecked my {{Card|Sentry}}."
  
 
=== C ===
 
=== C ===
−
* [[Cantrip]]:  Any card that gives at least +1 Card, +1 Action; it costs no action to spend it and it replaces itself in the hand. Can technically refer to [[Village (card category)|villages]], but in practice usually refers to cards like {{Card|Spy}}.
+
* [[Cantrip]]:  Any card that gives +1 Card, +1 Action; it costs no net Action to play it and your hand size does not change. Can technically refer to [[Village (card category)|villages]], but in practice usually refers to cards like {{Card|Merchant}}.
−
* Chain: A deck in which the same card(s) are played either multiple times per turn or simply every turn for some powerful cards. For example, “{{Card|Laboratory|Lab}} chain”.
+
* [[Card-shaped thing]]: a [[card]], or another gameplay element printed on a physical card, such as a [[Way]], [[Event]], [[Landmark]], or [[Project]].
−
* City Trap: Purchasing multiple {{Card|City|Cities}} in a game in which no piles (other than {{Card|Province}} or {{Card|Colony}}) are likely to be emptied; the Cities are very expensive [[Village (card category)|villages]] in this case.
+
* Centralizing (adj.): A card is said to be centralizing if it is an important component of the most effective strategy in a given Kingdom, so that gaining it is effectively mandatory. E.g., "Recruiter is often centralizing in [[Kingdom]]s in which it appears."
−
* Clog (or bloat, gum up, etc.): Add cards to a deck (preferably an opponent’s) that interfere with the [[engine]] being used. Often happens voluntarily in the endgame.
+
* Chain: To play a card while another card is resolving. Common examples include {{Card|Throne Room}} chains in which successive {{Card|Throne Room}}s are played on each other, or {{Card|Sauna}}/{{Card|Avanto}} chains.  
−
* Colony Game: Any game in which {{Card|Colony}} and {{Card|Platinum}} (from [[Prosperity]]) are available for purchase.
+
* [[Coffers]]: A token a player gets when cards say "+1 Coffers" (or, in early printings of Dominion: Guilds, "take a Coin token") and that they keep on their Coffers mat (or the Coffers side of their Coffers/Villagers mat), to save {{Cost}} for later; each token can be removed from the mat at some later point for +{{Cost|1}}.
−
* Counter: A card that acts to neutralize another card (usually an [[Attack]]), whether directly (like {{Card|Moat}}) or indirectly (like {{Card|Library}} vs. {{Card|Militia}}/{{Card|Goons}}).
+
* [[Collision]]: Having two or more given cards together in the same hand.
−
* Cycling: To move quickly through your deck. {{Card|Chancellor}} provides an extreme example of cycling, but {{Card|Warehouse}} and {{Card|Laboratory}} also cycle your deck effectively.
+
* Colony game: Any game in which {{Card|Colony}} and {{Card|Platinum}} (from [[Prosperity]]) are available in the [[supply]]. The two always appear together.
 +
* [[Combo]]: A strong interaction between cards that is a monolithic strategy.
 +
* [[Counter]]: To neutralize or mitigate another effect (usually an [[Attack]] card or strong but fragile strategy, e.g. [[Combo:_Counting_House_and_Travelling_Fair|Counting House/Travelling Fair]]), whether directly (e.g. {{Card|Moat}}) or indirectly (e.g. {{Card|Library}} vs. {{Card|Militia}}/{{Card|Goons}}).
 +
* [[Cycling]]: To move through your deck and get closer to your next [[reshuffle]], whether or not you draw or play the cards cycled through. {{Card|Scavenger}} provides an extreme example of cycling, but {{Card|Warehouse}} and {{Card|Laboratory}} also cycle your deck effectively.
  
 
=== D ===
 
=== D ===
−
* DoubleJack: A strategy involving buying only two copies of {{Card|Jack of all Trades}}, and otherwise exclusively [[Treasure]] and [[Victory card|Victory]] cards.
+
* Deck tracking: The ability of a player to know or estimate the contents and shuffle state of their and/or their opponent's decks at any given moment.
−
* Draw Dead: Generally refers to drawing an [[Action card]] when you have no more actions entitling you to play it. In context, it may refer to drawing an Action card that cannot be effectively used (like {{Card|Baron}} without {{Card|Estate}} or {{Card|Moneylender}} without {{Card|Copper}}).
+
* Draw [[dead]]: To draw an [[Action card]] when you have no more Actions allowing you to play it.
−
* [[Duchy dancing|Duchy Dancing]]: A situation toward the end of a game when both players buy {{Card|Duchy|Duchies}} and neither is willing or able to take the final {{Card|Province}}(s).
+
* [[Draw to X]] (or DTX): A card ability that causes you to draw until you have a specified number of cards in your hard, such as those of {{Card|Library}} or {{Card|Minion}}, or a strategy centered around such cards.
 +
* [[Duchy dancing]]: A situation in the [[endgame]] in which taking {{Card|Province|Provinces}} would risk opening up a win for one’s opponent, and therefore both players buy {{Card|Duchy|Duchies}} even when they could afford Provinces.
 +
* [[Dud]]: A turn which falls significantly below your expectations, usually one in which a poor starting hand means you fail to draw much or any of your deck, or you fail to hit a desired pricepoint.
  
 
=== E ===
 
=== E ===
−
* Early Game: Most purchases are low-[[cost]] cards; players are defining their overall strategy.
+
* Early game: The first few turns (usually up to around turn 6) of the game. Includes the [[opening]].
−
* [[Endgame]] (or Late Game): Players are purchasing almost exclusively [[Victory card|Victory cards]]. Often accompanied by jockeying with lower-value Victory cards, like with ''[[Penultimate Province Rule|PPR]]'' (below).
+
* [[Endgame]] (or late game): The last few turns of the game, when [[greening]] and [[pileout]]s become a concern.  
−
* End on piles: Force the game to end by emptying three or more [[Supply]] piles (four or more with five or more players).
+
* End on piles: Force the game to end by emptying three or more [[Supply]] piles (four or more with five or more players). Also known as a [[Three-pile ending]] or a pileout.
−
* [[Engine]]: Loosely defined, the [[Action card|Action cards]] that “drive” one’s deck. An “engine-based” strategy refers to a strategy emphasizing Actions. Compare with [[Big Money]].
+
* [[Engine]]: A strategy in which you play multiple Action cards every turn, usually aiming to draw your full deck after [[thinning]] your starting cards, and to build to a point at which you can buy multiple Provinces per turn or score more {{VP}} by other means; also such a deck itself. Compare with [[money strategies]].
−
* Envoy/Big Money: Similar strategy to {{Card|Smithy}}/[[Big Money]], but with {{Card|Envoy}} in place of Smithy (see below)
+
* [[Expansions]]: Releases of Dominion card sets beyond the [[Base set]].
−
* Estate tennis: The first phase of an {{Card|Ambassador}} game, in which players pass back and forth their starting {{Card|Estate|Estates}}. This can be said to "sit on" the game, delaying its actual start by several turns.
+
  
 
=== G ===
 
=== G ===
−
* [[Greening]] / “Go Green”: Begin purchasing [[Victory card|Victory cards]].
+
* [[Gain-and-play]]: To gain a card and play it within the same turn.
 +
* [[Goko]]: The second major online implementation of Dominion. Operated from 2013 to 2015.
 +
* Golden sombrero: When both cards bought in the [[opening]] miss the first [[reshuffle]] and are therefore not drawn until turn 5.
 +
* [[Greening]]: The stage of the game in which players acquire [[Victory card]]s.
  
−
=== I ===
+
=== H ===
−
* [[Isotropic]] (or Iso): http://dominion.isotropic.org — an exceedingly popular online implementation of Dominion, often linked to from these forums. Defunct since March 2013.
+
* Hand size: The number of cards in your hand.
  
−
=== L ===
+
=== I ===
−
* Level X City: A shorthand for referencing the power level of a {{Card|City}}. Typically follows either a 1/2/3 or 0/1/2 (which references the number of empty piles) formatting.
+
* [[Isotropic]] (or Iso): http://dominion.isotropic.org — the first popular online implementation of Dominion, often linked to from the DominionStrategy forums. Operated from 2010 to 2013.
  
 
=== M ===
 
=== M ===
−
* Midgame: Most purchases are [[Action card|Action]] or [[Treasure]] cards of value {{Cost|5}} or higher, but rarely with hands above {{Cost|6}} (in {{Card|Province}} games) or {{Cost|9}} (in {{Card|Colony}} games); players are refining their strategies and attempting to tune their [[engine|engines]].
+
* [[Making Fun]]: The third major online implementation of Dominion. Operated from 2015 to 2016.
−
* Mirror Match: When both players pursue identical or near-identical strategies.
+
* [[Megaturn]]: A turn in which a player gains a large amount of {{VP}}, usually while also ending the game.
 +
* Midgame: The stage of the game after the opening and before the endgame, in which players begin to have [[deck control]] and can build without much fear of the game ending immediately.
 +
* Mill (verb): To lower the amount of cards left in a pile without changing one's own deck state, usually by trashing a copy of that card and gaining another copy of it. Typically done on {{Card|Province|Provinces}} with a [[trash for benefit]] card as a tool for accelerating endgame when one is in the lead.
 +
* Miss the reshuffle: For a card to be in a player's hand or play area when they [[reshuffle]], and return to the discard pile afterward, meaning it will not be drawn again until after the ''next'' reshuffle.  
 +
* [[mirror (strategy)|Mirror]]: When two or more players pursue identical or near-identical strategies.
 +
* Multiplayer: A game with 3 or more players.
  
 
=== N ===
 
=== N ===
−
* Non-Terminal (or Non-Terminal Action, sometimes NT): Any [[Action card]] that gives at least one additional action (+1 Action).
+
* [[Non-terminal]]: Any [[Action card]] that gives at least one additional action (+1 Action), or otherwise allows playing additional actions (e.g. {{Card|Throne Room}} or {{Card|Patron}}).
 +
* The Nothing Test: A comparison between buying/gaining a card over buying/gaining nothing, often used to refer to a card being worse than nothing. E.g., "With {{Cost|3}}, all I can buy is {{Card|Silver}}, {{Card|Estate}}, {{Card|Copper}}, and {{Card|Curse}}. None of these pass the Nothing Test here, as I have an unreliable [[draw-to-X]] deck that chokes on [[Treasure]]s, and don't need the economy, so {{Card|Silver}} and {{Card|Copper}} are just [[junk]] to me. I also do not need to [[greening|score]], and there's no pileout with any of these piles, so buying {{Card|Estate}} or {{Card|Curse}} is also worse than nothing." See also: [[Silver test]].  
  
 
=== O ===
 
=== O ===
−
* [[Opening]]: Purchases made on the first two turns. Usually clarified as a 4/3 or 5/2 opening.
+
* [[Opening]]: The first two turns and purchases made then. Usually classified as a {{Split|4|3}} or {{Split|5|2}} opening, although other openings are possible with cards from expansions.
 +
* [[Overdraw]]: The ability to draw more cards than your deck contains.
 +
* Overterminal: To add more terminal Action cards to your deck than your [[terminal space]] can support.
  
 
=== P ===
 
=== P ===
−
* Piles: see ''end on piles''.
+
* Piles: The stacks of cards from which players gain cards (or otherwise acquire them, e.g. by exchanging): for example “the {{Card|Province}} pile has 3 remaining”.  
−
* Province Game (rarely, Non-Colony Game): A standard game in which {{Card|Colony}} and {{Card|Platinum}} are not available.
+
* Pile control (a.k.a. pile pressure): The ability to empty piles for a [[three-pile ending]] at will. Usually described in relative terms, e.g. "I have more pile control than my opponent, given I have an extra {{Card|Artisan}} they do not".
−
* Pseudo-Trash: Remove cards from your deck without trashing them, for example with {{Card|Island}}.
+
* [[Piledriving|Piledrive]]: To gain all the cards in a supply pile; especially, to do so rapidly or on a single turn.
 +
* [[Pin]]: A very rare situation in which a player is unable to make any forward progress. Examples of cards that can lead to a pin include {{Card|Bureaucrat}} and {{Event|Donate}}.
 +
* Pop: To get a powerful one-off effect that takes time or effort to build up to. Example uses include: "I'm going to pop my {{Project|Sinister Plot}} next turn" and "My opponent is behind because they still haven't popped their {{Card|Magic Lamp}}".
 +
* Price point: A specific {{Cost}} amount you are trying to generate in order to afford something. Example uses include: "{{Card|Courtyard}} can help me control what price points I hit in the early game" and "One problem with a {{Event|Bonfire}} opening is potentially missing higher price points on turns 3 and 4".
 +
 
 +
=== R ===
 +
* [[Reshuffle]]: When a player turns over their discard pile and shuffles it to replace their empty deck.
 +
* [[rush (strategy)|Rush]]: A strategy which attempts to end the game as quickly as possible, typically with a three-pile ending.
  
 
=== S ===
 
=== S ===
−
* [[Sifter|Sift]]: Filter through your cards by removing unwanted cards. Similar to cycling, but with more finesses. See, for example, {{Card|Warehouse}}.
+
* Shuffle (noun): The content and ordering of cards in a player's draw pile between consecutive reshuffles. Example uses: "I triggered a shuffle with mostly [[junk]]" and "I hope my {{Card|Village|Villages}} and {{Card|Smithy|Smithies}} [[collision|collide]] this shuffle".
−
* Smithy / Big Money: A strategy involving one purchase of a {{Card|Smithy}} and otherwise exclusively [[Treasure]] and [[Victory card|Victory]] cards. Reaches four {{Card|Province|Provinces}} in approximately 14 turns.
+
* Shuffle iT: The fourth (and current) major [[Dominion Online|online implementation of Dominion]]. Operating from 2017 to present day. Can be found at: https://dominion.games/
−
* Split: [[Coin]] values of the first two hands (5/2 or 4/3). Tournament and league play often gives players the same split. Can also refer to the split in gaining a key card in the game, such as {{Card|Minion}} or {{Card|Grand Market}}.
+
* [[Sifter|Sift]]: To filter through your cards so that desired cards end up in your hand while undesirable cards are discarded, usually through draw-and-discard (e.g. {{Card|Warehouse}}) or deck inspection (e.g. {{Card|Cartographer}}) methods.  
 +
* {{Card|Silver}} flooding: A technique usually associated with [[money strategies]] which aims to fill a deck with many {{Card|Silver|Silvers}} (e.g., via {{Event|Delve}}). This brings the average [[money density]] of a deck close to {{Cost|2}} per [[stop card]], which should make affording a {{Card|Province}} with a five card hand very likely.
 +
* [[Slog]]: A long game in which a typical turn has weak buying and drawing power, often as a result of powerful Attacks that can't be effectively countered.
 +
* Spike: Generate a desired amount of {{Cost}} that is higher than your current deck would usually be likely to produce on a turn, e.g. by using a one-shot [[draw]] effect such as {{card|Madman}} early in the game.
 +
* Split:  
 +
** [[Coin]] values generated by a player’s first two hands ({{Split|5|2}} or {{Split|4|3}}).  
 +
** The distribution between players of cards from a depleted pile: “I won the {{Card|Highway}} split 9 to 1”.
 +
* Stalemate: A (rare) game state in which neither player is incentivized to remove cards from the [[Supply]] and thereby advance towards the end of the game.
 +
* [[Stop card]]: Any card that does not draw more cards.
 +
* [[Synergy]]: Describes any time two or more cards make effective use of each other's abilities, or cover for each other's disadvantages.
  
 
=== T ===
 
=== T ===
−
* [[Terminal]] (or Terminal Action): Any [[Action card]] that does not provide actions when played.
+
* [[Terminal]]: Any [[Action card]] that does not provide +Actions or otherwise enable you to play more Action cards.
−
* Terminal clash: Drawing multiple [[terminal]] cards together, such that you can only play one of them.
+
* Terminal collision: Having two or more [[terminal]] [[Action card|Action cards]] into the same hand without enough Actions to play them both.  
−
* [[Terminal Silver]]: Any terminal action that produces {{Cost|2}}.
+
* [[Terminal silver]]: Any terminal Action that provides {{Cost|2}}, e.g. {{Card|Nomad Camp}}.
−
* Top-Deck: Place a card on top of your deck that would normally go elsewhere (like with {{Card|Alchemist}} or {{Card|Royal Seal}}).
+
* [[Terminal space]]: The number of terminal Actions an [[engine]] deck is capable of playing per turn.
−
* [[Trasher]] (or Deck-thinner): Any card that allows one to remove cards from one’s deck.
+
* [[Thinning]]: To remove cards from your deck via trashing, or otherwise prevent them from appearing in your hand/discard/draw pile (e.g. by [[Exile|Exiling]])
−
* [[Trasher#Trash_for_benefit|Trash for Benefit]]: Any card that gives a benefit at the cost of trashing a card. For example, {{Card|Apprentice}} draws additional cards and {{Card|Salvager}} produces [[coin|coins]].
+
* Topdeck: To place a card on top of your deck. Various abilities can allow you to topdeck a card from your hand (such as {{card|Courtyard}}), from play (such as {{Card|Alchemist}}), or when gained (such as {{Card|Royal Seal}}).
 +
* [[Trash]]: To trash is to remove a card, usually from your deck, placing it in an area called the Trash or Trash pile. A card in the Trash is usually permanently removed from the game, though there are a few effects that can retrieve cards from the trash.
 +
* [[Trasher#Trash_for_benefit|Trash for benefit]]: Any ability that gives a benefit at the cost of trashing a card, especially those whose benefit scales with the [[cost]] of the trashed card. For example, {{Card|Apprentice}} draws additional cards proportional to the trashed card's cost, and {{Card|Salvager}} produces +{{Cost}}.
  
 
=== V ===
 
=== V ===
−
* [[Village (card category)|Village]]: Besides the {{Card|Village|card of the same name}}, it can refer to any card which gives +2 Actions; most (but not all) such cards have “Village” in their names.
+
* [[Village (card category)|Village]]: the informal generic name for the family of cards which offer the ability to play more than one [[terminal]] Action in a turn—so called because many of them have "village" in their names. The simplest village card is {{Card|Village}} itself. Typically, these cards offer +2 Actions, but there are some village cards which give this effect in other ways.
−
* Village Idiot: {{Card|Village}} seems like a great card to an inexperienced player, and it is good–but taking Villages without any [[terminal|terminals]] makes the Villages worthless. Hence, Village Idiot. More loosely, this refers to any poor strategy that buys too many [[Action card|Action cards]].
+
* [[Virtual coin]] or [[Virtual money]]: {{Cost}} produced by [[Action card|Action cards]] (e.g. {{Card|Festival}}), which can be spent during the [[Buy phase]].
−
* Virtual +Buy: Cards which allow you to gain an additional card on your turn along with your ordinary Buy, like {{Card|Ironworks}} and {{Card|Workshop}}.
+
−
* [[Virtual coin]] or [[Virtual money]]: [[Action card|Action cards]] which produce [[coin|coins]] to spend during the [[Buy phase]] (not cards which gain [[Basic cards#Basic_Treasures|basic Treasure cards]]).
+
  
−
== Abbreviations ==
+
=== W ===
 +
* Whiff: To miss on an intended goal, e.g. “I tried to spike an early {{Event|Inheritance}} but whiffed”.
 +
 
 +
=== Common Abbreviations ===
  
 
* C, S, G, E, D, P: Sometimes used in game analyses for the [[Basic cards#Basic_Treasures|basic Treasure cards]] and [[Basic cards#Basic_Victory_cards|basic Victory cards]] in a Province game.
 
* C, S, G, E, D, P: Sometimes used in game analyses for the [[Basic cards#Basic_Treasures|basic Treasure cards]] and [[Basic cards#Basic_Victory_cards|basic Victory cards]] in a Province game.
 
* Amb: {{Card|Ambassador}}.
 
* Amb: {{Card|Ambassador}}.
−
* BM: [[Big Money]] (rarely, {{Card|Black Market}}, in context).
+
* BMU: A particular algorithm for Dominion simulators which plays a simple [[Big Money|money]] strategy that buys no Kingdom cards.
−
* BMU: A particular algorithm for playing [[Big Money]] that intelligently buys {{Card|Duchy|Duchies}}.
+
* DTX: [[Draw to X]]
−
* FV: {{Card|Fishing Village}} (rarely, {{Card|Farming Village}}, in context).
+
* FPA: First Player Advantage
 
* GM: {{Card|Grand Market}}.
 
* GM: {{Card|Grand Market}}.
−
* Hag: {{Card|Sea Hag}}.
+
* Hag: {{Card|Sea Hag}} or {{Card|Swamp Hag}}.
 
* HoP: {{Card|Horn of Plenty}}.
 
* HoP: {{Card|Horn of Plenty}}.
−
* HP: {{Card|Hunting Party}}
+
* HP: {{Card|Hunting Party}}.
−
* HT: {{Card|Horse Traders}}.
+
 
* IGG: {{Card|Ill-Gotten Gains}}.
 
* IGG: {{Card|Ill-Gotten Gains}}.
 
* JoAT: {{Card|Jack of all Trades}}.
 
* JoAT: {{Card|Jack of all Trades}}.
Line 90: Line 129:
 
* Lab: {{Card|Laboratory}}.
 
* Lab: {{Card|Laboratory}}.
 
* Masq: {{Card|Masquerade}}.
 
* Masq: {{Card|Masquerade}}.
−
* MV: {{Card|Mining Village}}.
 
−
* NV: {{Card|Native Village}}.
 
 
* Plat: {{Card|Platinum}}.
 
* Plat: {{Card|Platinum}}.
 
* PPR: [[Penultimate Province Rule]].
 
* PPR: [[Penultimate Province Rule]].
−
* TFB / T4B: [[Trasher#Trash_for_benefit|Trash for benefit]].
+
* Prov: {{Card|Province}}
−
* TM: {{Card|Treasure Map}}.
+
* TFB: [[Trasher#Trash_for_benefit|Trash for benefit]].
−
* TR: {{Card|Throne Room}} (rarely, {{Card|Trade Route}}, in context).
+
* TR: {{Card|Throne Room}}
−
* UAS: Unstoppable {{Card|Alchemist}} Stack.
+
* 2E: [[Second edition]]
−
* UCS: Unstoppable {{Card|City}} Stack.
+
 
 +
[[category:Rules]][[category:Dominion community]]

Latest revision as of 02:49, 19 December 2022

This page contains a list of common terms and abbreviations used in discussion of the game Dominion.

Contents

[edit] Common terms and phrases

[edit] A

[edit] B

  • Base: The original Dominion, with no expansions. For example, “In Base, ChapelChapel.jpg is the best early-game trasher.”
  • Big Money: see Money Strategies
  • Board (or Kingdom, or set): The set of cards and landscapes that make up a particular game.
  • Build: To improve the quality of one’s deck, usually by adding deck control or payload
  • Bottomdeck: To appear, or to place a card, at or near the bottom of your deck, often so that you can’t draw it immediately—either deliberately, as with Secret PassageSecret Passage.jpg, or randomly as a result of shuffling. Most commonly used to describe an undesirable case, e.g. "I hope I haven't bottomdecked my SentrySentry.jpg."

[edit] C

  • Cantrip: Any card that gives +1 Card, +1 Action; it costs no net Action to play it and your hand size does not change. Can technically refer to villages, but in practice usually refers to cards like MerchantMerchant.jpg.
  • Card-shaped thing: a card, or another gameplay element printed on a physical card, such as a Way, Event, Landmark, or Project.
  • Centralizing (adj.): A card is said to be centralizing if it is an important component of the most effective strategy in a given Kingdom, so that gaining it is effectively mandatory. E.g., "Recruiter is often centralizing in Kingdoms in which it appears."
  • Chain: To play a card while another card is resolving. Common examples include Throne RoomThrone Room.jpg chains in which successive Throne RoomThrone Room.jpgs are played on each other, or SaunaSauna.jpg/AvantoAvanto.jpg chains.
  • Coffers: A token a player gets when cards say "+1 Coffers" (or, in early printings of Dominion: Guilds, "take a Coin token") and that they keep on their Coffers mat (or the Coffers side of their Coffers/Villagers mat), to save $ for later; each token can be removed from the mat at some later point for +$1.
  • Collision: Having two or more given cards together in the same hand.
  • Colony game: Any game in which ColonyColony.jpg and PlatinumPlatinum.jpg (from Prosperity) are available in the supply. The two always appear together.
  • Combo: A strong interaction between cards that is a monolithic strategy.
  • Counter: To neutralize or mitigate another effect (usually an Attack card or strong but fragile strategy, e.g. Counting House/Travelling Fair), whether directly (e.g. MoatMoat.jpg) or indirectly (e.g. LibraryLibrary.jpg vs. MilitiaMilitia.jpg/GoonsGoons.jpg).
  • Cycling: To move through your deck and get closer to your next reshuffle, whether or not you draw or play the cards cycled through. ScavengerScavenger.jpg provides an extreme example of cycling, but WarehouseWarehouse.jpg and LaboratoryLaboratory.jpg also cycle your deck effectively.

[edit] D

  • Deck tracking: The ability of a player to know or estimate the contents and shuffle state of their and/or their opponent's decks at any given moment.
  • Draw dead: To draw an Action card when you have no more Actions allowing you to play it.
  • Draw to X (or DTX): A card ability that causes you to draw until you have a specified number of cards in your hard, such as those of LibraryLibrary.jpg or MinionMinion.jpg, or a strategy centered around such cards.
  • Duchy dancing: A situation in the endgame in which taking ProvincesProvince.jpg would risk opening up a win for one’s opponent, and therefore both players buy DuchiesDuchy.jpg even when they could afford Provinces.
  • Dud: A turn which falls significantly below your expectations, usually one in which a poor starting hand means you fail to draw much or any of your deck, or you fail to hit a desired pricepoint.

[edit] E

  • Early game: The first few turns (usually up to around turn 6) of the game. Includes the opening.
  • Endgame (or late game): The last few turns of the game, when greening and pileouts become a concern.
  • End on piles: Force the game to end by emptying three or more Supply piles (four or more with five or more players). Also known as a Three-pile ending or a pileout.
  • Engine: A strategy in which you play multiple Action cards every turn, usually aiming to draw your full deck after thinning your starting cards, and to build to a point at which you can buy multiple Provinces per turn or score more  VP by other means; also such a deck itself. Compare with money strategies.
  • Expansions: Releases of Dominion card sets beyond the Base set.

[edit] G

  • Gain-and-play: To gain a card and play it within the same turn.
  • Goko: The second major online implementation of Dominion. Operated from 2013 to 2015.
  • Golden sombrero: When both cards bought in the opening miss the first reshuffle and are therefore not drawn until turn 5.
  • Greening: The stage of the game in which players acquire Victory cards.

[edit] H

  • Hand size: The number of cards in your hand.

[edit] I

[edit] M

  • Making Fun: The third major online implementation of Dominion. Operated from 2015 to 2016.
  • Megaturn: A turn in which a player gains a large amount of  VP, usually while also ending the game.
  • Midgame: The stage of the game after the opening and before the endgame, in which players begin to have deck control and can build without much fear of the game ending immediately.
  • Mill (verb): To lower the amount of cards left in a pile without changing one's own deck state, usually by trashing a copy of that card and gaining another copy of it. Typically done on ProvincesProvince.jpg with a trash for benefit card as a tool for accelerating endgame when one is in the lead.
  • Miss the reshuffle: For a card to be in a player's hand or play area when they reshuffle, and return to the discard pile afterward, meaning it will not be drawn again until after the next reshuffle.
  • Mirror: When two or more players pursue identical or near-identical strategies.
  • Multiplayer: A game with 3 or more players.

[edit] N

  • Non-terminal: Any Action card that gives at least one additional action (+1 Action), or otherwise allows playing additional actions (e.g. Throne RoomThrone Room.jpg or PatronPatron.jpg).
  • The Nothing Test: A comparison between buying/gaining a card over buying/gaining nothing, often used to refer to a card being worse than nothing. E.g., "With $3, all I can buy is SilverSilver.jpg, EstateEstate.jpg, CopperCopper.jpg, and CurseCurse.jpg. None of these pass the Nothing Test here, as I have an unreliable draw-to-X deck that chokes on Treasures, and don't need the economy, so SilverSilver.jpg and CopperCopper.jpg are just junk to me. I also do not need to score, and there's no pileout with any of these piles, so buying EstateEstate.jpg or CurseCurse.jpg is also worse than nothing." See also: Silver test.

[edit] O

  • Opening: The first two turns and purchases made then. Usually classified as a $4/$3 or $5/$2 opening, although other openings are possible with cards from expansions.
  • Overdraw: The ability to draw more cards than your deck contains.
  • Overterminal: To add more terminal Action cards to your deck than your terminal space can support.

[edit] P

  • Piles: The stacks of cards from which players gain cards (or otherwise acquire them, e.g. by exchanging): for example “the ProvinceProvince.jpg pile has 3 remaining”.
  • Pile control (a.k.a. pile pressure): The ability to empty piles for a three-pile ending at will. Usually described in relative terms, e.g. "I have more pile control than my opponent, given I have an extra ArtisanArtisan.jpg they do not".
  • Piledrive: To gain all the cards in a supply pile; especially, to do so rapidly or on a single turn.
  • Pin: A very rare situation in which a player is unable to make any forward progress. Examples of cards that can lead to a pin include BureaucratBureaucrat.jpg and DonateDonate.jpg.
  • Pop: To get a powerful one-off effect that takes time or effort to build up to. Example uses include: "I'm going to pop my Sinister PlotSinister Plot.jpg next turn" and "My opponent is behind because they still haven't popped their Magic LampMagic Lamp.jpg".
  • Price point: A specific $ amount you are trying to generate in order to afford something. Example uses include: "CourtyardCourtyard.jpg can help me control what price points I hit in the early game" and "One problem with a BonfireBonfire.jpg opening is potentially missing higher price points on turns 3 and 4".

[edit] R

  • Reshuffle: When a player turns over their discard pile and shuffles it to replace their empty deck.
  • Rush: A strategy which attempts to end the game as quickly as possible, typically with a three-pile ending.

[edit] S

  • Shuffle (noun): The content and ordering of cards in a player's draw pile between consecutive reshuffles. Example uses: "I triggered a shuffle with mostly junk" and "I hope my VillagesVillage.jpg and SmithiesSmithy.jpg collide this shuffle".
  • Shuffle iT: The fourth (and current) major online implementation of Dominion. Operating from 2017 to present day. Can be found at: https://dominion.games/
  • Sift: To filter through your cards so that desired cards end up in your hand while undesirable cards are discarded, usually through draw-and-discard (e.g. WarehouseWarehouse.jpg) or deck inspection (e.g. CartographerCartographer.jpg) methods.
  • SilverSilver.jpg flooding: A technique usually associated with money strategies which aims to fill a deck with many SilversSilver.jpg (e.g., via DelveDelve.jpg). This brings the average money density of a deck close to $2 per stop card, which should make affording a ProvinceProvince.jpg with a five card hand very likely.
  • Slog: A long game in which a typical turn has weak buying and drawing power, often as a result of powerful Attacks that can't be effectively countered.
  • Spike: Generate a desired amount of $ that is higher than your current deck would usually be likely to produce on a turn, e.g. by using a one-shot draw effect such as MadmanMadman.jpg early in the game.
  • Split:
    • Coin values generated by a player’s first two hands ($5/$2 or $4/$3).
    • The distribution between players of cards from a depleted pile: “I won the HighwayHighway.jpg split 9 to 1”.
  • Stalemate: A (rare) game state in which neither player is incentivized to remove cards from the Supply and thereby advance towards the end of the game.
  • Stop card: Any card that does not draw more cards.
  • Synergy: Describes any time two or more cards make effective use of each other's abilities, or cover for each other's disadvantages.

[edit] T

  • Terminal: Any Action card that does not provide +Actions or otherwise enable you to play more Action cards.
  • Terminal collision: Having two or more terminal Action cards into the same hand without enough Actions to play them both.
  • Terminal silver: Any terminal Action that provides $2, e.g. Nomad CampNomad Camp.jpg.
  • Terminal space: The number of terminal Actions an engine deck is capable of playing per turn.
  • Thinning: To remove cards from your deck via trashing, or otherwise prevent them from appearing in your hand/discard/draw pile (e.g. by Exiling)
  • Topdeck: To place a card on top of your deck. Various abilities can allow you to topdeck a card from your hand (such as CourtyardCourtyard.jpg), from play (such as AlchemistAlchemist.jpg), or when gained (such as Royal SealRoyal Seal.jpg).
  • Trash: To trash is to remove a card, usually from your deck, placing it in an area called the Trash or Trash pile. A card in the Trash is usually permanently removed from the game, though there are a few effects that can retrieve cards from the trash.
  • Trash for benefit: Any ability that gives a benefit at the cost of trashing a card, especially those whose benefit scales with the cost of the trashed card. For example, ApprenticeApprentice.jpg draws additional cards proportional to the trashed card's cost, and SalvagerSalvager.jpg produces +$.

[edit] V

  • Village: the informal generic name for the family of cards which offer the ability to play more than one terminal Action in a turn—so called because many of them have "village" in their names. The simplest village card is VillageVillage.jpg itself. Typically, these cards offer +2 Actions, but there are some village cards which give this effect in other ways.
  • Virtual coin or Virtual money: $ produced by Action cards (e.g. FestivalFestival.jpg), which can be spent during the Buy phase.

[edit] W

  • Whiff: To miss on an intended goal, e.g. “I tried to spike an early InheritanceInheritance.jpg but whiffed”.

[edit] Common Abbreviations

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