The Ludarium Academy · Full course · Free

Shuffle by Shuffle

An unofficial Dominion course

Learn Dominion, teach it in ten minutes, and turn seven Coppers and three Estates into a deck that buys Provinces on time.

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Dominion setup for two players: the Supply of 17 face-up piles, with 7 Base card piles (46 Copper, 40 Silver, 30 Gold, 8 Estates, 8 Duchies, 8 Provinces, 10 Curses) and the 10 First Game Kingdom piles sorted by cost, the Trash mat beside them, and each player's shuffled deck of 7 Coppers and 3 Estates with a hand of 5 cards drawn.Free printable teach sheetSetup, a turn, scoring, and three tips on one page.

Six levels, 22 lessons

Start with lesson one

  1. Level 0 · Learn to play

    Tenant

    After this level: Set up, teach, and finish a game with the First Game kingdom, every card played right, without opening the rulebook.

    1. 01How to Play Dominion
    2. 02How to Teach Dominion
    3. 03The Dominion First Game Kingdom, Card by Card

  2. Level 1 · Beginner

    Landholder

    After this level: Open with a plan, use Big Money plus one card as your yardstick, and blunt every attack in the base set.

    1. 04Your First Three Games of Dominion
    2. 05Big Money in Dominion: The Deck Every Plan Must Beat
    3. 06Dominion Openings: Your First Two Buys
    4. 07Dominion Attacks: Militia, Witch, and How to Defend

  3. Level 2 · Intermediate

    Lord

    After this level: Trash down to a lean deck, build a Village and draw engine that pays off, and time your Provinces and Duchies.

    1. 08The Dominion Midgame: Money, Engines, and Tempo
    2. 09Dominion Trashing: Why a Smaller Deck Wins
    3. 10Your First Dominion Engine: Villages, Draw, and Payoff
    4. 11Dominion Endgame and Scoring Math

  4. Level 3 · Advanced

    Earl

    After this level: Put odds on your next hands, read any kingdom in two minutes, and run or stop a Gardens rush and a three-pile ending.

    1. 12Dominion Odds: Collisions, Key Cards, and Hitting $8
    2. 13How to Read Any Dominion Kingdom in Two Minutes
    3. 14Dominion Gardens, Rushes, and Three-Pile Endings
    4. 15Dominion Player Counts, Variants, and Expansions

  5. Level 4 · Tournament ready

    Regent

    After this level: Win the two-player duel, track an opponent's deck from what is public, and play a steady diet of ranked games online.

    1. 16Two-Player Dominion Strategy: Winning the Duel
    2. 17Reading Your Opponent's Dominion Deck
    3. 18Playing Dominion Online: Ranked Games and Fast Practice

  6. Level 5 · The championship path

    Monarch

    After this level: Play under World Boardgaming Championships rules, bid for your seat, review every game, and follow a six-week plan to your first heat.

    1. 19Competitive Dominion: Tournaments and Local Play
    2. 20Dominion Tournament Rules: The Hour, the Kingdom, and the Bid
    3. 21How to Review a Dominion Game and Find the Turn You Lost
    4. 22A Six-Week Dominion Practice Plan for Your First Championship

Every lesson is free to read here, any time. Sign up and they also arrive by email, one at a time, so the course keeps you learning between game nights.

Who it is for

  • New players who want the rules clear before the first shuffle.
  • Hosts who teach Dominion to family, friends, or a new group.
  • Players who build clever decks and still lose to plain Silver and Gold.
  • Anyone curious about expansions, online play, and the WBC tournament.
Players
2 to 4 (5 or 6 with the Base Cards set)
Play time
About 30 minutes
Rules as of
Dominion rulebook, second edition (Rio Grande Games, 2016)

Questions

How many Action cards can you play in a Dominion turn?

One, unless your cards give you more. A card that says +1 Action or +2 Actions adds to how many Action cards you may play, but you finish the current card before you play the next one.

When do you shuffle your deck in Dominion?

Only when you need a card from your deck and it is empty or too small. Then you shuffle your discard pile and put it under whatever is left of your deck. Never shuffle early.

How does a game of Dominion end?

At the end of any turn in which the Province pile is empty or any three Supply piles are empty. Every pile counts, including Curses, Copper, Estates, and the Kingdom piles.

Which ten Kingdom cards should you use for your first game of Dominion?

The rulebook's First Game set: Cellar, Market, Merchant, Militia, Mine, Moat, Remodel, Smithy, Village, and Workshop. It shows the main ideas of the game without any card that is hard to explain.

Who wins a tie in Dominion?

The tied player who took fewer turns. If the tied players also took the same number of turns, they share the win.

Can you play Treasures after you buy a card?

No. In your Buy phase you play the Treasures you want first, then you buy. Once you have bought a card, you cannot add more Treasures that turn.

Teach sheet · PDF · Rules as described in the Dominion rulebook, second edition (Rio Grande Games, 2016); official rules.

Unofficial. Not affiliated with Rio Grande Games. Dominion is a trademark of Rio Grande Games.