Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[nubs]

Dominion is a fantastic game because of the subtle intricacies and killer combos. The tailored sets spelled out with the game and discussed on these forums make the most of the game, each one maximizing strategic possibilities and setting up for exciting games.

The idea behind the Custom Set Challenge is to design the cleverest set of 10 kingdom cards. Each round will have constraints (either cards available or cards that must be included). As sets are posted in the thread, I'll edit the poll. Dominion enthusiasts can then vote on their favorite set. I plan on posting a challenge each week, with each one open from Sunday to Sunday.
I hope that the more experienced players who frequent this board will be able to come up with sets that players newer to Dominion (like myself) could enjoy!

Factors to consider when designing a set:
+ Multiple Strategic Routes to Victory
+ Killer Combos
+ Underused / rarely purchased cards more useful
+ Overused / frequently purchased cards balanced by other options on the board
+ Educational (Playing the set will allow players to better get a grasp of card nuances)



Challenge #1:
Design a set that uses only cards from Dominion Base Game, Intrigue, and Seaside.
PS. Please name your set.

Best of luck and may the best set win!

[Kirian]

I always like educational sets, and this is, I think, a particularly good one.  You want to teach as many game concepts as you can to new players, so here's a good set:

Lighthouse
Steward
Warehouse
Salvager
Spy
Caravan
Island
Militia
Festival
Treasury

This allows you to teach the following concepts:

Vanilla card benefits: +1 Action, +Cards, +1 Buy, +Coins
+2 Actions (Festival)
Trashing (Steward)
Trashing for Benefit (Salvager)
Attacks (Spy, Militia)
Defense (Lighthouse)
Action Chaining (multiple +1 Action cards)
Making Choices (Steward)
Top-Decking (Treasury)
Deck Rearrangement (Spy)
Deck Cycling (Warehouse)
Duration (Lighthouse, Caravan)
Setting Aside (Island)

Curse games play so much differently from non-Curse games that I've left out cursing attacks for the sake of new players.  There are also no attacks that are extra-destructive in multiplayer; Militia and Spy never really stack, though Spy can cycle your opponents' decks.

Edit:  Removed 11th card, doh!

[nubs]

Thanks for your post Kirian!

Eager to see what other experienced players can come up with.

[Superdad]

I think as part of your challenge, you need to establish a clearer "goal".

For example, (my personal opinion is that) Kirian's "educational set" would be a disaster to teach new players with. So the education part only would be good for players with a few games under their belt.

Whenever I teach someone the game, I actually find the best way is to play with:

Copper
Silver
Gold

Estate
Duchy
Province (only 2 of each per player playing)

Smithy
Woodcutter
Steward
Laboratory


Anything more than that is generally confusing. We'll play a quick intro game, then I'll start adding in more kindgom cards 2 (or so) at a time. First two are usually Witch/Miltia, then Remodel/Village, etc. Once they get the hang of the first set of 4 cards, it's a lot easier to baby-step them into new types of cards (attacks, filter, "remodels", action chains, etc).

I find that teaching too many different aspects of the game at the start is just overwhelming, especially for non "gamers".

I've even managed to teach my 4 year old son how to play dominion. We started with just money (not even point cards). Over a handful of games, he's actually able now to evaluate 10-card kingdoms and play a full game. He actually wins surprisingly often! (he loves himself a montebank/witch!)


I think you started on the right path with defining your goals, but you should elaborate more on what the purpose of the set is... possibly giving consideration to giving out a "rating scheme", such as:

/2 + Multiple Strategic Routes to Victory
/2 + Killer Combos
/2 + Underused / rarely purchased cards more useful
/2 + Overused / frequently purchased cards balanced by other options on the board
/2 + Educational (Playing the set will allow players to better get a grasp of card nuances)

Total /10

The reason I say this is that the above scoring scheme will create kingdoms that are good at lots of stuff, but not extremely good at one.

A better challenge would be to just include one (or maybe two) categories. For example,

/5 Educational
/5 Multiple Strategic routes to victory

/10

I think that "goal" inspires "better" kingdoms for the specific criteria.

[nubs]

An excellent idea. For this week, we'll just stick to "design a kingdom using Base, Seaside, and Intrigue."

Next week, I'll provide more direction.
Any suggestions?

[jonts26]

Kirian - I like your set a lot but i count 11 kingdom cards.

[Kirian]

Kirian - I like your set a lot but i count 11 kingdom cards.

lol you're right.  I'll change it in a few min here.