Dominion Player Counts, Variants, and Expansions

Dominion has more expansions than most players will ever own. That is a gift, and it can be a trap. The base box alone has 26 Kingdom cards, and any 10 of them make a game. Before buying anything, it helps to see how much the base box can do, and how the game shifts as your group grows.

How does the game change by player count?

The base box plays 2 to 4. The setup counts change with the table:

Five and six players need more Base cards: the rulebook points to the Base Cards product, or a second copy of Dominion.

• Two players: the most strategic count. You can track one opponent’s whole deck, and every Province is a clear swing.
• Three or four: attacks hit more people, piles drain faster, and the game moves more between your turns. Militia and Witch get stronger.
• Five or six: longer waits between turns. It works best with a group that knows the cards.

Kingdoms already in the box

Besides the First Game set, the rulebook lists five more kingdoms using only base cards:

• Size Distortion: Gardens and Workshop next to Chapel and Witch. Big decks against tiny ones.
• Deck Top: cards like Harbinger, Sentry, Artisan, and Bureaucrat that look at or put cards on top of a deck.
• Sleight of Hand: draw and hand size, with Library, Council Room, Cellar, and Militia.
• Improvements: cards that upgrade other cards, such as Remodel and Mine, with Artisan, Moneylender, and Witch alongside.
• Silver & Gold: a Treasure-focused set with Bandit, Bureaucrat, Mine, and Merchant.

After those, shuffle the randomizer cards and turn over 10. Every random kingdom is a new puzzle, and reading it fast is a skill of its own.

Variants and house rules

The rulebook says you can use any 10 Kingdom cards you like, so groups have room to shape the game.

• Replay a kingdom. Play the same 10 cards twice and swap seats. You learn more from the second game than the first.
• A veto house rule. Deal 12 randomizers and let each player remove one before the game. It is not in the rulebook, but it keeps out a card someone hates.
• Solo practice. The base rulebook has no solo mode. You can still play alone for 15 to 20 turns and count how fast your deck buys Provinces. The official digital edition from Temple Gates Games also has computer opponents at four difficulty levels.

The base game and the Base Cards set

If you are buying your first copy, the Dominion base game from Rio Grande Games is the place to start. The current second edition has the cards this course teaches.

The Base Cards set holds extra Treasure, Victory, and Curse cards. It is what the rulebook suggests for 5 or 6 players.

Which expansion first?

Rio Grande has published more than a dozen expansions. These four are the usual starting points, and the base rulebook already suggests kingdoms that mix base cards with each.

Intrigue is the closest in feel to the base game. Many of its cards let you choose one of several effects, so every play is a small decision. If your group loves the base game as it is, start here.

Seaside adds Duration cards, which stay in play and do something on your next turn too. It teaches planning one turn ahead.

Prosperity is the big-money expansion. It adds Platinum and Colony, a Treasure and a Victory card above Gold and Province, for longer games with bigger turns.

Hinterlands is full of cards that do something when you buy or gain them, which makes every buy count twice.

Later expansions, such as Dark Ages, Adventures, Empires, Nocturne, Renaissance, Menagerie, Allies, Plunder, and Rising Sun, add new card types and rules. They are rich, and they are best after your group knows the base game well.

How to choose

• Your group loves the base game: Intrigue.
• You want more planning: Seaside.
• You want huge turns: Prosperity.
• You want every buy to matter more: Hinterlands.

Add one at a time, and mix about half its cards with half from the base set at first. Our piece on whether expansions are worth it has a broader way to decide, for Dominion and every other game on your shelf.