30.8.2012

First thing you'll notice when you get this expansion is just how HUGE it is. Each base set comes with 25 distinct kingdom cards. The average expansion (other than the horrid Alchemy and the rushed Cornucopia) provided 25. This set comes with 35 distinct kingdom cards (one of which-- knights-- is a stack of ten unique cards that are played as a single kingdom stack), three alternatives to the three starting estates, and three cards that act like kingdom cards but are only accessed via other cards. This expansion feels mind-blowingly large because it is. For reference, here is a chronological list of expansions and the number of kingdom cards that they came with:Dominion had 25kingdoms(2008)Intrigue had 25kingdoms (2009)Seaside had 26kingdoms (2009)Alchemy had 15kingdoms (2010)Prosperity had 25kingdoms (2010)Cornucopia had 13kingdoms (2011)Hinterlands had 26kingdoms (2012)Dark Ages has 35kingdoms (2012)The set introduces a few new types of cardsShelters - these function as alternatives to the three estate cards that players normally start with in their deck. They are slightly less detrimental because they each do something small (some are +action, some give you things for trashing them, etc). There are three different typesRuins - these are like shelters in the fact that they are under-powered cards. They function somewhere between [estates] (which give a small victory point reward but clog up your hand) and curses (which both hurt you and clog up your hand). They clog up your hand slightly, don't award victory points, but have some powers in the game. They are usually under-powered compared to kingdom cards in the supply so they don't hurt as much as a curses but water down the power of your deck. Usually you give them to other players when you pillage or ransack them, but sometimes (like the [Death Wagon], they come with another kingdom card.Knights- these act like a normal kingdom cards in that they are put out in a stack of 10, but only the top card is visible and each card in the stack is unique (each has its own name e.g. [sir michel]and power). Basically its just ten different kingdom cards stacked as one to add more variability to the game.[Rats]- these are traditional action cards in every way except that they self-replicate, eat through your deck (make you trash a card) and there are 20 instead of 10 of them.[Hermit]/[Madman]- When you have [Hermits] in your game, you will also pull out a pile of [Madman] cards. When you use a [Hermit] and fail to buy a card that turn, the [Hermit] turns into a [Madman] (you trash the [Hermit] and get a [Madman] from another stack ([Madman], [Mercenary] and [Spoils] are all action or treasure cards that can only be acquired via other cards and don't count toward the 10 kingdom limit or game-end conditions. Its an interesting mechanic where hermits can go mad and madmen go out in a blaze of glory.[Urchin]/[Mercenary] - When/if you play with the [Urchin] card, you also pull out a stack of [Mercenary] cards. [Mercenaries] are not part of supply and can only be acquired via an [Urchin]. The gist is that if an [Urchin] aims high (takes on multiple tasks/actions in a single turn] then he becomes a [mercenary] (trash the [Urchin] and get a {mercenary][Spoils] - these are not in the supply and can only be acquired by cards that pillage or ransack others. [Spoils] are basically a single-use [gold]. Pillaging means that other players discard cards and you put a [spoils] card in your discard pile. Ransacking means you give every other player a Ruin card and you gain a [Spoils]. When the [Spoils] appears in your hand, you use it for +3 coin and instead of discarding it to your discard pile, you discard it back to the [spoils] stack from whence it came.When trashed - many of these cards have a power that is only used when the card is trashed (whether voluntarily as a strategy or involuntarily). This adds a lot of interesting strategy particularly with Hinterlands and Seaside.Trash as power - [Death Cart] is an extremely powerful card that requires you to trash an action card. If you don't, you trash it at the end of that turn. Cards like [Procession] allow you, amongst other things, to use an action card twice (a la [throne room], but if you double an action, you trash that card. Both are examples of trash "powering" or "powering up" cards.So is it fun? Yes it is. We played three games with Dark-Ages-only sets and two games with sets mixed with Dark-Ages cards last night (after getting it via two-day shipping and we had a blast. The game plays very well with itself, and played interestingly with other cards. On one of the games, the mix wasn't optimal because we had many cards to put things into the trash, but nothing to trash them or get them out of the trash. Overall, the cards are very versatile for almost every setup, and its far from the harshly-limited alchemy expansion, but you will want to play with at least one card that causes players to trash cards (from any expansion) and at least one that benefits from being trashed. Pulling cards from the trash is optional, but makes for a fun dynamic.The good+++You get a TON of variety here and a TON of content++Cards feel unique and fun++As with almost all Dominion sets, the card name, card art and card mechanic all work flawlessly together++Unique expansion feel (poverty, destruction, underground and rebirth)++interesting new mechanics introduced++great art+It actually helps make some of the less-viable Cornucopia cards more viableThe bad-some cards aren't as fun without being matched with others (which could be said about almost any set). It's far from the train-wreck that is Alchemy.-Some cards are a little less inspired-Some games felt a little "impoverished" and bogged down. We didn't have a lot of money or our hands were filled with under-powered ruins. It fits the expansion feel well, but I tend to favor the power-play games rather than the games where everyone scrapes along toward victory-- this is totally subjective.Overall, the cards are great, but just a notch below Prosperity, Seaside and Hinterlands. There is just so much variety and content, though. If it was a smaller set like Conucopia, I'd put it at the bottom of the list with Cornucopia. As it is, this is the single biggest expansion to date and introduces so many new ideas that the sheer quanitity of original content makes up for the quality of some of the cards.1) Intrigue (the better base set)2) Prosperity (the highest quality expansion set)3) Dark-Ages (the expansion with the most new ideas)4) Seaside (the second best in terms of quality)5) Hinterlands (the quirkiest and most bizarre but often overpowered)6) Cornucopia (a little blah and TINY)and just skip Alchemy altogether. It's bad. You'll never play it.

10.3.2014

This review is for those who are already familiar with the mechanics of Dominion:There are already many reviews on Alchemy, why write another one? I write this because I do not think this expansion deserves all the hate it gets. This expansion is a collection of powerful Dominion cards that, contrary to popular belief, are not necessarily more difficult to incorporate in a regular Dominion game. They simply require more discerning in their purchasing. This is of course due to the use of the Potion currency.First though, let me put it out there that Alchemy cards are very powerful cards, competitive even on boards with cards from other more popular expansions such as Prosperity. They are (arguably)rather cheap and synergize very well with each other, creating strategies for "spamming" certain of these cards to facilitate massive draw and gargantuan hands. Nearly all of these cards give at least +1 action, so in actual gameplay they hardly ever interfere with the other cards you are implementing.This sounds great, of course, but there is a catch, and that catch is the Potion cost. Potion is a treasure card that has a qualitative value rather than a quantitative. Potions are required for all but one of the "power cards" in Alchemy, usually in supplementary fashion with regular coin, e.g. an Alchemist card costs 3 coin + Potion.There are two common complaints about Potions. First, the Potion costs 4 coins, and you have to buy a Potion first, then wait for your shuffle, and then use the Potion to buy the card you actually want. Thus it creates an extra step in getting the card you want, and buying the Potion at the cost of 4 means you may miss out on a good action card that costs 4. Second, Potions do not help you buy Provinces. A hand with 6 coin and a Potion can certainly be disappointing if you need to buy a Province, knowing that if that Potion was a Silver you would have had it. So the thing about them is that it requires discerning when the cards that require Potions are worth getting the Potion for or not.Consider for example a random Dominion board that has both Laboratory and Alchemist:Laboratory gives +2 cards +1 action and costs 5 coins.Alchemist also gives +2 cards +1 action but can be returned to the top of your deck if you play a Potion that turn. This means that all your Alchemist cards can be played turn after turn if set up right. Clearly this makes Alchemist a superior card in terms of function.However, the Alchemist requires the Potion to purchase. This effectively increases its cost, which balances out its superior gameplay function when laid next to Laboratory. So when starting a game with both Laboratory and Alchemist, you have to weigh the value of the Alchemist--is this Alchemist worth getting a Potion for? Or is the only-slightly-inferior Laboratory going to be just as good? Should I buy the Potion at a cost of 4 coin, or buy an action card that costs 4 that will help me get a Laboratory after my next shuffle?This same principle applies to nearly all the Alchemy cards. You have to estimate their value in comparison to the other cards on the board and weigh the cost of getting the Potion. This often requires great skill and experience as a Dominion player to come out ahead. In that same vein, I believe that this expansion is so unloved because Potions and Potion-cost cards are usually misplayed in terms of the timing and quantity of the purchases. Many novice players will buy more than one Potion when one is entirely adequate, or buy the Potion at an inopportune time. At the risk of offending many, I submit that many people often times just play a few games with Alchemy, experiment with the new cards, lose, and subsequently run out of patience for the Potion-cost cards. It takes a while to figure out optimal play for these cards, so this expansion is definitely not for the beginner Dominion player.What also must be considered is that purchasing Potion-cost cards is optimized while utilizing additional Buys. This is very important to keep in mind to make best use of your money in the game. Consider when you have a hand of 5 coin and a Potion and want to buy a University, which costs 2 coin + Potion. That leftover coin is certainly sad not to be used, and most likely your next hand will not be very good. This dilemma, however, makes some of the less-loved cards in the game more attractive, e.g. Woodcutter (+2 coin +1 buy). Playing a Woodcutter with 3 additional coin and a Potion means you can buy that University and something that costs three coin. On many boards without Alchemy cards, additional Buys are not important early on. Mix in some Alchemy cards, and suddenly that Woodcutter looks like a really good opening purchase.Now I have to hedge all this with a disclaimer: I must admit that when playing a Dominion game randomly set up (how I normally play), it is sometimes best to ignore Potions if there is only one card on the board that requires them. Many reviewers seem to think that this makes the expansion bad or not worth the money. I disagree. The same argument could be said for any of the expansions this size. I own all the small expansions. There are many times when there is only one card from one of these expansions, and for some reason it is not optimal on that board and subsequently ignored. Its value is weighed against its cost, and it is found wanting. Does that make the whole expansion that card belongs to bad? No. Additionally, the Alchemy cards operate so smoothly together, that if there are multiple Potion-cost cards on the board, Potions become even more attractive because of the synergy these cards achieve, even at different price points.In conclusion, what I like most about Alchemy is the powerful synergy of the cards, and the unique game mechanics that Potions offer. Alchemy cards offer exciting options for different "engine" strategies that can completely punish an opponent that decides Potions are not for him. These cards will definitely change your Dominion experience, and the expansion is totally worth the money if you are serious about Dominion strategy.

5.5.2015

I am a huge Dominion fan! It is my favorite game of all time, and I have played thousands of games online. For the purpose of my review I want to focus on three things: The quality of the cards and game components, how casual players may enjoy this expansion, and how people who have played with most or all the expansions may feel about this expansion.As far as the quality goes, for this printing it is a slight step down from previous Dominion printings. Rio Grand Games changed having the game printed in Germany to being published by Hasbro. The downgrade in quality is not intentional and printings of all games have been halted while the issue is being investigated.So at some point a better quality version will come out but that is a ways away since A LOT of copies were printed, apparently enough to last at least a year.The box is now a matte finish and lacks the glossy feel of previous Dominion expansions. The same applies to the tokens and mats which also have a matte finish which drowns out some of the colors and does not feel as pleasant to the touch as the mats in other expansions. In addition the tokens are slightly off center and the cards are slightly bendier. Again these issues will be fixed at some point but you should be made aware of them. I am a little bothered by this but the cards in this expansion are so amazing it more than makes up for this downgrade in quality. If you really want this expansion I say buy it now. If you don't play Dominion that often it might be worth waiting a year or two for the new printing to come out.Now onto the review. First I want to focus on the casual player. I teach Dominion to a lot of people. Overall I think this an excellent expansion for someone fairly new to the game. Adventures does add a lot of complexity but is also a lot of fun. My recommendation is to introduce Seaside, then prosperity, and after that Adventures. The other expansions are good but these three offer the most bang for the buck. I would save Dark Ages and Alchemy for last as those tend to be expansions that casual players don't enjoy as much or not at all in some cases. Ironically , Dark Ages is a favorite among very experienced Dominion players.For the casual player, Adventures brings back Duration cards which were first introduced in Seaside. For many people this is the most popular mechanic ever in Dominion. Also Durations have evolved. We get Duration-Attacks and Durations that stay out for the entire game once you get them into play! How awesome is that.Durations alone might be enough to get some people to buy this expansion, but there is more! Perhaps the most popular mechanic in this expansion will be the Traveller cards. These are cards that cost 2 coins to buy and get better add the game goes on. You keep exchanging them for something better until you end up with one super powerful card. For instance, the Champion card is a Duration that protects you from attacks for the rest of the game AND allows you to play all your action cards for the rest of the game. You can play your entire deck without using a single Village. Holy cow!!!And, the fun does not stop there. Adventures introduces a new card type called Events which are not kingdom cards but effects that you can buy throughout the game. Events may just be my favorite mechanic in the game. They really add a lot of depth to the game and are a ton of FUN.Finally we have reserve cards. Newer players might not enjoy these as much since they are easy to forget about and require a bit more thinking to use. Essentially, reserve cards are cards that you set aside when you play and then call them into play when certain conditions are met. For instance Guide allows you to call it at the beginning of any turn to discard your hand and draw 5 new cards. So if someone plays Militia against you or you don'tlike your hand , you just call Guide and get a new hand.I almost forgot to mention Adventures offers a lot of cards. You get 30 new kingdom cards and 20 Events. That's a lot of cards. Ther are also tokens which do things that usually modify a pike of cards. For instance one token makes any action card cost two coins less while another token turns your estates into any action that costs four coins or less! I have a feeling that will be a favorite with a lot of people. And your estates are still worth a victory point.Now let's discuss how a more experienced player may respond to this. Here is my response: If you love Dominion buy this expansion. Seriously, this is a must-have. Compared to all other expansions, this is probably the best expansion ever. You get so much bang for your buck. There is a lot of strategic depth added with this expansion. Events are awesome. Durations are back. Reserves add a ton of strategy and, well, you are essentially getting 50 new cards here--30 kingdom cards and 20 Events. Honestly for an experienced player this is the best expansion ever.If anyone has any questions please leave a comment and I will do my best to answer your question. For the record I did not go into to much depth since I am on a plane writing this on a tablet, but I will say I do love this expansion.

1.5.2015

Does Adventures add anything worthwhile to Dominion? Is the artwork less goofy than some of the Guilds cards? Can this be enjoyed by newbies to the game?Yes. Yes. And mostly yes.For the past couple of years, Dominion has dominated our dining room table, with many games being played with my wife, daughters, and neighbors. We have all of the expansions, and have created many of our own cards as well, with Dark Ages, Seaside, and Prosperity being the most popular in our household, though we enjoy all of the expansions for different reasons. We love the complexity and possibilities of Dark Ages, the strategic yet straightforward elements of Seaside, and the Treasure-oriented elements of Prosperity.Cornucopia is fun in its own right, but more suited to two players, due to the longer games that can ensue.Adventures adds all sorts of fun and exciting elements to the world of Dominion. We have Action-Traveller cards that upgrade as you play them. And who wouldn't want to become a Champion? It is one strong card, believe me. We have Action-Reserve cards, which can be set aside on your Tavern Mat and called back into play when you choose. You need to be able to play extra actions, or gain a copy of good card, or trash those Curses given you by the Giant attack card? Well, there's an Action-Reserve card that just might do the trick. There are also Event cards, 20 to be exact, from which one or two can be selected to multiple the possibilities of any game. They are set out for all players to access, by buying the Event's ability at the end of a turn. Some are simple (draw an extra 2 cards into your next hand), while others are more strategy-specific, giving Estates in your hand the power of a selected Action card, for example. It's not that complicated, once you play it through, but it could be overwhelming for new players.And, of course, we have the return of Duration cards. These are some very handy Durations. Give the Dungeon, Amulet, and Gear cards a try, and you'll see what I mean. How about Duration-Attacks? Well, meet the Swamp Hag, who gives other players Curses if they buy any cards on the following turn. Or the Bridge Troll (think Bridge, from the Intrigue expansion, with a bite). Or the Haunted Woods. Sadly, the Haunted Woods doesn't have as much effect in this expansion, as it targets Victory cards in other players' hands, and this expansion only adds one new Victory card. However, Haunted Woods could be deadly to Gardens (from the Dominion base set) or Dukes (from Intrigue).The variety of cards here is excellent. My wife gravitated straightaway to the Big Money ideas of the Treasure Trove card and the Magpie. She beat me our first game, 67 to 66. I was drawn to the ideas of the Artificer card, the Hireling, and Miser. Miser, for instance, is similar to Pirate Ship (from Seaside), except you do it to yourself, setting aside and accumulating your own Coppers, and then getting the chance to count them towards your Buy phase on later turns. Pretty nifty, if you have enough +Actions to double up those Misers. Which is where a seemingly mundane card such as Coin of the Realm becomes very powerful, when you call it from your Tavern Mat and give yourself +2 Actions whenever you need them. This barely scratches the surface, but you get the idea.The Adventures artwork is much better on this set than on Guilds, and though I heard complaints from others about the quality of these cards and tokens, I don't share the complaint. Perhaps my set, which bears a Made in the USA stamp, was manufactured with different elements. Either way, we are already enjoying the game immensely. It's imaginative. It's more female-centric in its card art and ideas than in some of the previous expansions. It's just a whole lot of fun!Warning: If you're new to Dominion, this expansion might be a little overwhelming at first until you understand the nuances of the game and its wording. Start with Dominion's base set or Intrigue, then work your way in with Seaside, Hinterlands, Dark Ages, and so on. Throw in some Adventures whenever you're ready, and have a blast!

26.10.2012

First of all, before I say anything about what I thought about the product, let me detail what the Dominion Base Cards set are.Victory CardsEstate : 24Duchy : 12Province: 12Colony : 12Curse : 30Treasure CardsCopper : 60Silver : 40Gold : 30Platinum: 12Potion : 16Trash : 1Empty : 1All together this adds up to 250 cards, which is packed in three piles laid out horizontal in the box face up. In these piles are the Base set of cards Dominion is required for play, but this time they have brand new artwork. That's right, now it is clearly visible what is a Copper and what is a Gold from all the way across the table with just a quick bat of the eye. The main selling point for the Dominion Base Cards Set (DBCS as we'll call it here on out)is the recognition feature, which is easily achieved with the Treasures, the mild exception being Potion. The reason for this is that Potion's artwork doesn't really "pop out" and it's kind of hard to see just what the picture is. However, when you're playing with Potions, this messy blend of color will stand out from the other treasures and your eyes will pick up on it quickly.The Victory Cards do not stand out as well, but I have just only recently started to get acquainted with them. So far I seem to mix Estate with Duchy rather easily when sorting through my piles, but my eyes are slowly and surely trying to find key features that distinguish them. Curse doesn't have this problem, it's the most outspoken card with absolutely fitting portrait of a crow over a dark night sky.When all's said and done, this set may not be for new players. I know, the cards shine much brighter than their originals, but I believe that it's important to play with the originals before diving into these new ones. This is because the DBCS does not provide an easy way to see the value of your card like the originals do in big bold text in the middle. Sure, you couldn't always tell what its name was, but you knew the value and that was worth all your attention. So really, the DBCS is a graduation for those familiar with the card names and values for a good while so they can now associate a new bright picture with a familiar term they know the meaning of.Finally, there is the issue of packaging, Really, only three slots to put these cards is a gripe, but I'm sure it saved Rio Grande Games packaging costs. Actually, when it comes down to it, the packaging doesn't really matter when it comes to game preparation, because I usually just take all of the cards and set them out. Save for Platinum or Potion, which I'll set to the side half of the time. It's still a continuity issue for me, seeing as everything else Dominion based has a neat packaging and labeling system, which has been completely forgone for a sloppy yet portable container.So should you buy this? Yes, not just for (mostly, but still improved) easy to see cards, but to open up new opportunities for multiple Dominion games at the same time. I bought 2 of them, and actually considering buying one to accompany each expansion so if my Seaside or Hinterlands gets borrowed, they'll also have base cards to use.Do your eyes a favor and buy this, then train the noobies in a couple of games with the original cards and have them graduate to these. You won't regret it.

13.12.2018

This review is for the Renaissance expansion, as the Renaissance was listed together with the Second Edition base Dominion set.Dominion: Renaissance is great. It balances adding some clever mechanics that promote interesting and varied strategies while still remaining very approachable and fun to play. It will be equally fun for both high-level and casual play.Renaissance is quite possibly the best expansion created yet. It's easy enough to be a first expansion as well. If you have any interest in Dominion and are looking for more, I can wholeheartedly recommend this one (even over Prosperity and Seaside). I have a personal love for Adventures, Empires and even most aspects of Nocturne,but they are slightly more complex (especially Nocturne).The mechanics:The coin and action saving tokens (collected on your Coffers and Villagers mats, respectively) are great to use. Coffers return from the Guilds expansion. Having the ability to smooth out your purchasing power across turns or even save up for a big turn is very powerful and strategic. The Villagers can really get you out of a bind when you draw actions you couldn't otherwise play. They even allow you to use more cards that don't give +Action in your deck than you otherwise would. The provided cards also dole them out in interesting ways.The Artifacts are passive ability-granting cards that you hold on to that stay out of your deck. There is only one copy of each and players fulfilling certain conditions on the corresponding Kingdom card can take it away for themselves. Flag Bearer in particular seems to get stolen a lot, as the person holding it basically gets a 6 card hand instead of 5. They are fun and provide a interesting form of player interaction aside from Attack cards, though there are only 4 Kingdom cards that use Artifacts.This expansion is light on attack cards: there are only 2, which isn't really a problem due to the Artifacts.The Projects provide an extra ability for the rest of the game after you buy them, and are often very useful. Sometimes it comes down to when you should buy them, not if. Some are very fun, such as Citadel, that's like an automatic Throne Room at the start of each turn. There are 20 in total and you'll want to include 1 or 2 in every game you play, whether or not you use the other Renaissance cards in a given game.There are also a fair number of Kingdom cards that don't use any of the new mechanics. Some use parts of mechanics from prior sets (e.g. Duration cards from Seaside, when-trash abilities from Dark Ages, and when-gain abilities from Hinterlands, cost reduction from Intrigue, etc.). These are also well put together and interesting without being overly complex. Even the most complex cards, (possibly Improve, Research and the Capitalism Project) aren't that hard to understand.The components:The only slight issue is here are some slight printing coloration issues where the tint of the card fronts doesn't always match that of prior expansions - they are generally lighter. The backs are ever so slightly different as well, but not enough to notice unless you're looking. It hasn't been an issue in my play group yet. The other components (mats, tokens, and wooden project tracking cubes) are high quality and look nice.

27.10.2016

You should know a couple of things about me:I have all the previously released Dominion games and expansions. Including the promo cards. The only thing I am missing is the "Base Cards" set.I wondered, like many of you, is it worth it to get this after having all the rest? Well, I think yes. The base card artwork has the best of both worlds in my opinion. Nicer pictures/designs but still has the large numbers printed on them. This is what kept me from the "Base Card" set. Where the copper had a nice picture of copper coins, but no giant 1. This adds those on top of the coin art. A nice touch. The new kingdom cards should be great. Realistically, once you have as many cards as are available across all editions,I don't think 7 more is going to make or break the whole experience. But they do seem interesting to play with.The trash "mat" is a bit of a disappointment. I'm a type A person, and didn't mind the trash card. The mat is a thin cardboard type, but much thinner at first look than the mats in Seaside or Adventures. The edges of the mat stick up a little bit at the top and it doesn't lay flat.However, the cards are nice and flat. My set of Adventures is a disaster. The cards bow so badly they barely fit in the tray. The rest of my card sets are fine and this is no exception. The printing on the cards seems to be a little more refined and better color than my other Dominion set. I purchased the first edition last November, so it's not all that old.As for packaging, some of my Dominion sets came with some crazy damage to the plastic tray and inlay cards. The inlay card for this set was in the rule booklet, so no damage there. The card packs bounced around some and ripped and dented the tray a bit, but it should still hold the cards. I do like how the inlay card was protected. A couple of my other expansions had the inlay card damaged and ripped to the point that some serious tape was needed to keep it somewhat whole.If you already own the 1st edition would I recommend this set? If you were going to buy the upgrade pack, I would say just get this whole set. You will get the Trash mat (kind of cool, see issues above) and the new base cards (very nice as noted above, and those can wear out a bit since you use them every game). You also get the rule book. Which is NOT included in the upgrade pack. Also, then you have the clarified wording on a couple of cards, which I don't think matters much, until it matters in a game against an 11 year old. If you are worried about the duplication of much of the game, take out the discontinued cards, keep them for yourself for posterity, and give the rest of the game away to someone to introduce them to the game.I don't share this view on the Intrigue upgrade. I don't think it worth it to replace the whole box there. Just get the upgrade pack and deal with the missing rulebook. But this one, I think it's worth it.I didn't get paid for my review, I paid full price for this and all my Dominion games and cards and enjoy playing them with my son. Also, I think this is my first review on Amazon, but wanted to help my fellow gamers out on this one, since the game is familiar, and there is some information out there, but maybe not quite enough.

14.6.2016

Just as Dominion was growing stale, Donald X and his merry band of play-testers came up with some concepts that have infused the game with new life and myriad possibilities. This revival started with Adventures, where we were introduced to Events and Reserve cards, and now with Empires we get Landmarks and Debt tokens. The game has evolved from the primitive stages to the world of capitalistic conquest.Empires comes with a small number of attacks, but they are amusing and sometimes brutal. Legionary has destroyed a game or two of mine, forcing me to discard down to 2 cards before drawing one, while Enchantress has disrupted a few games with her card-shifting ways. Catapult is a handy way of trashing,while punishing your opponents at the same time. This expansion has other good trashers with Sacrifice and Temple, and some fun game mechanics involving split piles--a 10-card pile that has 5 of one card on top, and 5 of another on the bottom. The bottom cards usually provide a strategy to go with the top cards, and can become a goal unto themselves.The real fun for me, though, is the Debt token concept. These are cards that can be gained for a certain amount of Debt tokens, which must be paid off before you can buy anymore cards. There is the immediate drawback of the debt, but as in the real world, the wise usage of this can lead to big gains. Overlord costs 8 Debt, but can function as any Action on the board costing 5 or less. City Quarter also costs 8 Debt, but can be a game-changer. As for Capital, you buy this Treasure for 5 coins, and when you play it, you get 6 coins of purchasing power and an extra Buy. The only catch is that you gain 6 Debt tokens when you do so. Sure, you might take a hit for a turn or even two, but as with Tactician (from Dominion: Seasides), the payoff can be huge. The real mind-blower is Fortune, which costs 8 coins and 8 Debt tokens. It doubles your buying power once in a turn, and can shift a game quickly from buying cards that cost 4 and 5 to buying Golds, Platinums, and multiple Victory cards.Another fun card is Castles. The pile of 12 Castles is set out with the cheapest Castle on the top, the Humble Castle. By upgrading and gaining more Castles, you can reach the King's Castle. Fighting over the Castle pile could be a strategy unto itself, where a player can run out 3 piles before the other player gets too deep into the Provinces or Colonies.I haven't even touched on all the ideas in the Landmarks and Events. The possibilities seem endless, especially when mixing Empires and Adventures with other Dominion sets. The way I see it, Dominion just keeps getting better. Instead of rushing out ideas just to make a buck, Donald X seems to really think through these concepts and make the game something that continues to grow, evolve, and add new surprises. When many were frustrated with the cheaper quality of some of the game pieces and cards in Adventures, he listened and made sure that the next expansion had quality cards and even better Victory tokens than before. In caring about the game and its fans, he has truly built an Empire.

10.10.2012

I was too busy playing this expansion when it came out to review it ... =)There are several well-written reviews all ready, so instead I thought I might be able to tell you what it's like after playing for a month or so.For the person new or just getting into Dominion, I would definitely put this one on your "buy" list. If you're new to this obsession, err .. game, I'd pick up the sets in this order:1. Base set and/or Intrigue2. Prosperity or Seaside3. Seaside or Prosperity4. Dark Ages5. the rest, as your $$ allows =)Dark Ages is a great expansion, and some people would probably rank Dark Ages above Seaside (another reviewer here did). By itself I would give Dark Ages 5 stars,I'm only giving 4 stars in comparison to the other expansions. A month after I bought it, we're still playing some of the recommended setups from this expansion, or insisting a few Dark Ages cards be included in an otherwise randomized setup. They're definitely fun and there are many different ways to use them in combination with cards from other sets. I'd say it's the least fun all by itself (except in the beginning when you're learning what the cards do).There are really only two minor issues I have with this set - and let me be clear, they are more like "inconveniences" than actual problems:1. These cards are confusing for new or relatively new players. If you're trying to get a friend or loved one into Dominion, resist the urge to show them the cool new cards you just got, or their eyes will gloss over. I say this because there's a lot of text on these cards, not just "+2 Actions, +$2," and furthermore the strategy of how and when to best use these cards is more involved than the sets I listed above. For newer players, cards like "Haven" and "Bridge" are sometimes confusing enough, never mind "Band of Misfits" and "Urchin." (Of course this complexity makes them hugely fun for more experienced players.)2. Ruins cards + Curse cards = No Fun. If you have a set of Kingdom cards that contains one or more cards that give Curses AND one or more cards that give Ruins, the game almost always slows to a crawl until someone mercifully empties a 3rd stack of cards and ends the game. You know what it's like to play a game with a lot of Curses, well, just imagine you're playing with twice as many -- that's pretty much what it feels like, even with cards that Trash it still bogs everything down. Of course this can be easily fixed with a "house rule," but as a result I've noticed that the Ruins-related cards get vetoed at our table a lot, which is a bummer because they're interesting.Well, that's it. All in all I'd call it a "definitely get" set for Dominion. I hope this was helpful to some folks. =)

13.9.2012

Dominion: Dark Ages is the 7th and penultimate expansion for the deck-building game Dominion. Dark Ages is NOT a standalone expansion, meaning you will need Dominion, Dominion: Intrigue, or Dominion: Base Cards to play with this set. That being said, Dark Ages is a very robust expansion with lots to offer. It includes 35 new kingodm decks (34 are actions, and 1 is victory), making it the biggest expansion of the series. The theme of this set is a bit more doom and gloom than previous releases. As much as Dominion: Prosperity is about wealth and good fortune, this set is about the dregs of society and the squalor it thrives in. Many of the cards' names fit well with this theme: Beggar, Death Cart,

25.11.2009

We bought the Seaside expansion pack to use in conjunction with the original Dominion and Dominion Intrigue and have absolutely no regrets. Seaside offers a variety of new and very original cards to use, many of which "continue" to your next turn. This expansion also adds "metal coins" to be used with the Pirate Ship card, and metal chips to use with the Embargo card, so beware, if you have small kids, this new expansion does have small parts along with the usual multiple cards.The strategies change significantly with Seaside, as there are numerous cards that allow you to take extra actions, use more coins, and/or draw extra cards on not only the turn they are played, but also the subsequent turn.

30.4.2014

Dominion Seaside is everything an expansion should be. It builds on what was already a tight and easy to learn game format in a way that offers some new tactics and options without overwhelming you.The new mechanic in this set are duration cards, which stay in play and give you a bonus when you initially play the card and then give you an additional bonus on the subsequent turn. This allows you to plan your upcoming turns in a more constructive fashion than before, giving you extra cards or gold next turn or for example using a tactician to turn your appalling hand of estates, curses and duchys into a much more conducive hand next turn.This set is also pretty thematic,

15.8.2011

Let me begin with the only caveat- this is an expansion pack. You must buy the main Dominion game first.That said, this is my favorite game ever. Dominion is fun and continually changing. The game is played with a small subset of the available cards, so each game can be different. It's part luck and part strategy. You get to build up a deck of cards and what cards you put in your deck is pretty much completely up to you (you have to have enough "money" on a turn to "buy" a card). The way the cards come out of your deck is random. Different sets of cards demand different strategies, so you can't just figure out one way to play the game and just coast through.The seaside expansion in particular adds a bunch of cards similar to the regular deck.

14.12.2013

My son received the Dominion/Prosperity/Alchemy box set as a birthday gift, so we have become Dominion junkies. The Dark Ages set is the first additional set I've ordered, but I have been able to gain familiarity with all the other sets by playing Dominion on-line (which I learned about from a nifty card included in the Dark Ages box).Dark Ages presumes humble beginnings and a "hard times" economy, which is a refreshing change from the (over-)abundance of wealth in Prosperity and the mind-boggling complexity of Alchemy (e.g., Possession). Much of the game action involves trashing cards, and sifting through the trash. We really enjoy the wide variety of new game functions and mechanics (Knight attacks to trash opponents'

10.9.2012

This is an expansion to Dominion or Dominion: Intrigue and you must have one of them to be able to play this. I have the base set of the game but not Intrigue. I have played about 5 games of Seaside so far and enjoy the difference in game play.Differences between Dominion and Dominion: Seaside:Duration cards: There are cards in this expansion that last more than one turn. Yes this can get confusing and does make the play more interesting. I found that I really liked this new aspect of the game.The embargo card: This card allows you to place an embargo token on any stack of cards after which when someone buys one they will be given a curse card.

Dominion Seaside - Reviews

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