BoardGame Verdict
86

Dominion is a deck-building card game where players start with identical small decks and compete to acquire the most victory points by strategically purchasing cards to build their decks. It was the first deck-building game and established the genre.

86

The Verdict

based on 33 reviews

Positive 0%
Mixed 0%
Negative 0%
Groundbreaking deck-building mechanic that is easy to learn.
High replayability due to the variable setup of Kingdom cards in each game.
Offers significant strategic and tactical depth despite its simple rules.
Quick and accessible gameplay, with games often lasting around 30 minutes.
Low level of direct player interaction, often described as "multiplayer solitaire".
The theme is considered by many to be weak or disconnected from the gameplay.
The base game can be prone to a dominant "Big Money" strategy without expansions.
The game involves a significant amount of shuffling cards.
100
The Thoughtful Gamer, MarcArticle

The reviewer hails Dominion as an unequivocal modern classic that defined the deckbuilding genre, highlighting its elegant design, ease of learning, and exceptional replayability as its core strengths, despite minor criticisms regarding its often-maligned theme and occasional less-than-ideal card setups.

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95
Cult Cardboard, Dario CamachoArticle

Dominion is awesome. If you feel an inkling of interest from what you just have read, I implore you to check it out, this game can suck you in, and keep you chained to its quick, mindful, intense way of deck building.

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95
3 Minute Board Games, J Carmichael and S RodgersVideo

The reviewer praises Dominion as the definitive and highly replayable original deck-building game, highlighting its fast-paced gameplay, accessibility for all ages, and strategic depth due to its fixed market, though noting it involves a lot of shuffling.

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95
Bower's Game Corner, BowerArticleTop List

The reviewer regards the base game 'Dominion' as a fantastic game and unequivocally places it among his top five favorite board games.

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95
Board Game TipsArticleTop List

In Dominion, you step into the shoes of a monarch, much like your ancestors, ruling over a small, picturesque kingdom. Your goal is to expand your territory, transforming these modest lands into a vast dominion filled with diverse landscapes and resources.

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95
The Opinionated Gamers, Dale YuArticle

Dominion is one of those critical and commercial successes that hits the hobby only once every few years. The game founded the deck-building genre, and even now, years after its release, no deck builder has achieved the same level of acclaim.

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95
Jeremy Reviews It, JeremyVideo

The reviewer regards Dominion as his personal favorite deck-building game, highlighting its streamlined gameplay, remarkable depth, and enduring appeal that he believes surpasses many other deck-building titles that have followed it.

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95
The Board Game Family, The Board Game FamilyArticle

It’s pretty easy to see from the video review of Dominion that Jaden absolutely loves it. It’s also a big hit with Trevor. And extremely addicting for dad.

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90
Board Game Atlas, Trent (Board Game Atlas)Video

The reviewer considers Dominion one of their all-time favorite board games, praising it as fantastic, incredibly replayable, easy to teach, and rich in strategy, affirming its status as a classic that is still highly enjoyable today.

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90
Wirecutter (NYT)ArticleTop List

Like the best traditional card games, Dominion is easy to learn and fun to play, but reveals levels of complexity and difficult choices as you move past your first few plays.

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90
Shelfside, ShelfsideVideo

Shelfside highly recommends Dominion Second Edition, praising it as an excellent, streamlined deck-building game for its accessibility, fast gameplay, strong replayability, and potential for expansions, despite acknowledging that it involves a significant amount of shuffling and offers somewhat limited direct player interaction in the base set.

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90
Board Game QuestArticle

Dominion is a great game, accessible to your gamer friends and non-gamer friends as well. Its unique game play experience, combined with its short play time and easy to learn rules make it a big win in my book.

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