Rio Grande Games Dominion 2nd Edition | Deckbuilding Strategy Game for 2-4 Players, Ages 13+ | Updated Cards, Artwork, Streamlined Rules

For those who are new to Dominion, Dominion is a deck building game where players compete to see which player can build the deck with the most victory points. The game evolves around purchasing card which will help you buy more cards that hopefully increase the synergy of your deck, allowing you to buy more victory point cards and hopefully giving you a edge over the other players.Mechanics- The mechanics of this game is really well balanced. To begin with each player begins with the same hand and have access to all of the same cards. But the choices you make will determine how effective your deck is and the person with the best deck will come out on top.Replayability- Dominion, along with its many expansions, bring versatility into each new game. In each game you have access to a vast array of different combinations of action cards. With so many intermixable expansions, it allows this fun game to still remain fresh after many rounds of gameplay.Skill-Luck ratio- Dominion is a game that test the ability of a player to build a deck that could bring them the most victory points. Although there is the luck factor of shuffling your deck(possibly bringing a undesirable combination of cards{especially with a handful of estates and curses}). Dominion is still a highly skill oriented game that with simply rules that its easy for players to learn and become more skilled.Fun- Get it and you shall see.

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.

Being a family who has many game nights, this was a game that the adult kids learned and loved (all the expansions) and to be honest I wasn't sure if my old self would like it, but it was easy to learn and there is enough variety each time you play it that it is NEVER dull. Recommend if you are looking for something to get the family together. Expect complete entertainment!!! I will admit that this game leans more towards older teens and adults. Quick turn-around for shipping and nicely packaged.

This game is our current family game-night favorite. Our family of five (ages 12, 15, 18, 52, 52) love playing this game together. It is a game that is easy to learn, but takes time to develop your strategy. My favorite part about the game is that you can play multiple variations by changing up the deck that you use. I recommend starting with the set-up that the instructions recommend for beginners the first time you play. It is a fast-paced game, so you can finish in one hour. There is some luck involved and there are "attack" cards but it is not a game where people can gang up on others (this can be a problem in a house with three competitive brothers). My oldest son loves this game so much, he bought his own copy to take to college.