“Life is like a game of cards. The hand you are dealt is determinism; the way you play it is free will.” – Jawaharlal Nehru
A few weeks ago, I played three of the recommended sets for Dominion’s base game. It was great fun getting back into this, and the gameplay came back to the four of us naturally. Donald X. Vaccarino, the creator of Dominion, really thought this out well. We didn’t need to spend time relearning the rules; we just needed to remind ourselves of the cards.
We played the following recommended sets:
First Game
- Cellar
- Market
- Militia
- We tend to play friendly, so while this was used, it isn’t always the first choice when in hand.
- Mine
- An excellent card for turning treasure cards into higher-value treasure cards.
- Moat
- Remodel
- Smithy
- Paired with a Village card for extra fun.
- Village
- A favorite among my friends! Having a few of these within a deck really allows for some interesting additional cards to be played.
- Woodcutter
- Workshop
First Game really lends itself to getting reacquainted with how to play and helps shake off some of that rust. It was a wonderful reintroduction that I highly enjoyed, and that’s not just because I won! We all took a haphazard approach to figuring out the game. One of us focused on gaining money, then buying land. Another tried to build a few cards that let them string actions together. Still, another just purchased the highest-value card they could afford at their turn.
Big Money
- Adventurer
- Bureaucrat
- Chancellor
- Chapel
- Feast
- Laboratory
- Market
- A favorite of this game with all of its additional bonuses.
- Mine
- One of, if not the first, pile to be bought up entirely! This is how we all turned our small piles of treasure into gold.
- Moneylender
- Throne Room
In Big Money, we all tried to ditch our copper cards as quickly as possible. The strategy paid off for some, and depending on the luck of the cards, not so much for others. This game turned out to be one of the closest we played! The winner pulled away just by a few points from the others.
Interaction
- Bureaucrat
- Chancellor
- Council Room
- It’s customary for us to all shout “Council Room!” when someone plays this card, as it’s a friendly interaction that helps everyone out.
- Festival
- Library
- Militia
- Moat
- Spy
- Thief
- Village
Interaction leaned hard on the use of the Militia card. Followed by everyone working to get rid of their money to stack their decks with gold for better buying power.
Overall, these three games were a great success at the start of this ambition and an even better time with friends.