26
Dominion: Nocturne Previews / Re: Nocturne Teasers
« on: October 20, 2017, 08:55:03 am »
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27
Dominion General Discussion / Re: Dominion Round Table: New Dominion Blog Article Format-This month's topic Donate
« on: October 19, 2017, 06:03:06 am »
Thanks for putting all this effort into the blog! I like this format a lot, as I usually do not have the time and / or audio device to listen to the podcasts. With the new format, I get the chance to enjoy it even if there are no speakers available.
28
Dominion Articles / Re: Common Skill "Plateaus" in Mastering Dominion
« on: October 04, 2017, 06:42:40 am »
As someone stuck around the 5000ft line, I would apreciate a few more words and /or excplicit examples for the topics mentioned at 7k feet (winning splits, PPR, endgame control, shuffle control, deck tracking, deck tempo).
I also feel that incorporating your opponent's strategy ino your own play is another plateau that sits somewhere between 3k and 5k foot. You learn quite early on that you need to win an important split or that you should react to your opponent's garden rush.
What happens at 7k feet is that good players also study the opponent's tactics, like if causing a reshuffle would help or hinder them.
I also like ConMan's suggestion for subheadlines a lot.
I also feel that incorporating your opponent's strategy ino your own play is another plateau that sits somewhere between 3k and 5k foot. You learn quite early on that you need to win an important split or that you should react to your opponent's garden rush.
What happens at 7k feet is that good players also study the opponent's tactics, like if causing a reshuffle would help or hinder them.
I also like ConMan's suggestion for subheadlines a lot.
29
Dominion General Discussion / Re: Dominion Strategy: Then, Now, and the Future
« on: September 05, 2017, 03:05:58 pm »
Fantastic first post, fantastic thread. Kudos to everyone involved.
I posted it earlier, but I also believe that post-Guilds Dominion changed quite profoundly. This has nothing to do with the quality of the expansion (Adventure is one of my favourite expansion), but with the raw numbers. In pre-Adventures times (and pre-2nd edition) quite often you could see these games with 2-3 overly dominant cards and many ignorable ones. These were perfectly playable just by following the Quist ranking. You felt smart if you picked an unknown combo, but more often than not, someone else had already posted it on the Wiki or on fds. It was a good time for being a beginner, because a few simple rules always remained true (Trash down, Ignore Scout, forget Chancellor, go with Witch, Sea Hag or Rebuild, if nothing works better: Big Money). You could not compete with top players, but you could feel like a beginning expert.
Adventures's cards, events and the 2nd edition shattered these truths: Suddenly you would have 5 to 7 viable roads in any match and tweaking these to the ebbs and flows of the game became even more crucial. It is like Titandrake said: The games revolved less about knowledge of the 'behaviour' of individual cards, but about understanding about the general rules that govern certain card types. It became more interesting, but also more demanding. It is interesting to look at the flow of the expansions:
1) When you played with Base (1st), Intrigue (1st), Seaside and Prosperity you would see certain cards return all the time. Knowledge and application of their combos was essential. This could feel quite repetitive after a while. (Remember the Goko campaigns? ;-) )
2) When you added Hinterlands, Dark Ages, Cornucopia, Alchemy and Guilds, you would see certain strategies return all the time, still with many matches dominated by certain cards. Combos increased in number, but they were still essential to know for good players. This already felt varied and interesting, though after the 100th Rebuild / Witch / Mountebank game you started looking for change.
3) When you added Adventures and 2nd edition, you would see certain strategies return from time to time, but games started to become far more balanced. Combos hardly matter anymore, as now they are both more and less of them in any game: Far more small combos in any given match, but much less chance for an unstoppable combo to appear in you total amount of plays. You started to begin missing certain cards that you had not seen for quite some days in full random. And basically every game now became a surprise that needed to be studied very closely.
4) Empires just by itself upped the bar further: With Landmarks and all the new events, it became absurd to speak about cards without context. Even Silver now costs 2! It was not possible anymore to 'learn' a card in full random, because it could take weeks until any given card had a chance to appear again in a setup where it mattered. There are classical combos now that are even counter-productive, depending on the Landmark. I also believe that this is the main reason why people do not post more specific card articles anymore: Why bother with any specific strategy if the likelyhood of these specific circumstances to appear is so low?
Do not get me wrong: I do not see this development as a decline from a 'Golden Age' at any given time. The opposite is the case: I can play Dominion for hours and hours and every game is like a new world - to me this is the perfect game. Every new expansion brings this promise closer to fulfillment. Eventually I will get all the mssing expansion and I will spent my life, discovering all the subtle nuances. If you ask which game to bring to a lonely island, I cannot understand anyone saying anything but Dominion in its current state. It is literally millions of games, all in this enjoyable, clean and easy ruleset.
I do not believe that Nocturne CAN reduce the complexity. It contains at least 30 new cards that will alter each individual game further, separating them from each other, more than they have ever been. By then it might take you MONTHS to see your favorite card again, at least in a relevant context. You could swap any of the expansion in the development mentioned above and you would still have the sam effects in place.
I agree with crj: We are shifting away from this game of knowledge, where the perfect realization of the known priciples determined the better player. Dominion turns into a game, where looking 'behind the Matrix' is key for victory - the most abstract and flexible player wins. On an emotional level I find this a bit sad: It is tough to say goodbye to the wellknown heroes of ye olde time, that you hardly see anymore around: Farewell Chapel, Witch, Library. You had your great heroic deeds in the spotlight, now step back in the row and do your share of work, like all the other cards.
But you know: Just play Nocturne with Base only and you are back in the golden days, where BIG CARDS with BIG COMBOS mattered. (Historical analogy not intended, but now hard to ignore ;-) )
I posted it earlier, but I also believe that post-Guilds Dominion changed quite profoundly. This has nothing to do with the quality of the expansion (Adventure is one of my favourite expansion), but with the raw numbers. In pre-Adventures times (and pre-2nd edition) quite often you could see these games with 2-3 overly dominant cards and many ignorable ones. These were perfectly playable just by following the Quist ranking. You felt smart if you picked an unknown combo, but more often than not, someone else had already posted it on the Wiki or on fds. It was a good time for being a beginner, because a few simple rules always remained true (Trash down, Ignore Scout, forget Chancellor, go with Witch, Sea Hag or Rebuild, if nothing works better: Big Money). You could not compete with top players, but you could feel like a beginning expert.
Adventures's cards, events and the 2nd edition shattered these truths: Suddenly you would have 5 to 7 viable roads in any match and tweaking these to the ebbs and flows of the game became even more crucial. It is like Titandrake said: The games revolved less about knowledge of the 'behaviour' of individual cards, but about understanding about the general rules that govern certain card types. It became more interesting, but also more demanding. It is interesting to look at the flow of the expansions:
1) When you played with Base (1st), Intrigue (1st), Seaside and Prosperity you would see certain cards return all the time. Knowledge and application of their combos was essential. This could feel quite repetitive after a while. (Remember the Goko campaigns? ;-) )
2) When you added Hinterlands, Dark Ages, Cornucopia, Alchemy and Guilds, you would see certain strategies return all the time, still with many matches dominated by certain cards. Combos increased in number, but they were still essential to know for good players. This already felt varied and interesting, though after the 100th Rebuild / Witch / Mountebank game you started looking for change.
3) When you added Adventures and 2nd edition, you would see certain strategies return from time to time, but games started to become far more balanced. Combos hardly matter anymore, as now they are both more and less of them in any game: Far more small combos in any given match, but much less chance for an unstoppable combo to appear in you total amount of plays. You started to begin missing certain cards that you had not seen for quite some days in full random. And basically every game now became a surprise that needed to be studied very closely.
4) Empires just by itself upped the bar further: With Landmarks and all the new events, it became absurd to speak about cards without context. Even Silver now costs 2! It was not possible anymore to 'learn' a card in full random, because it could take weeks until any given card had a chance to appear again in a setup where it mattered. There are classical combos now that are even counter-productive, depending on the Landmark. I also believe that this is the main reason why people do not post more specific card articles anymore: Why bother with any specific strategy if the likelyhood of these specific circumstances to appear is so low?
Do not get me wrong: I do not see this development as a decline from a 'Golden Age' at any given time. The opposite is the case: I can play Dominion for hours and hours and every game is like a new world - to me this is the perfect game. Every new expansion brings this promise closer to fulfillment. Eventually I will get all the mssing expansion and I will spent my life, discovering all the subtle nuances. If you ask which game to bring to a lonely island, I cannot understand anyone saying anything but Dominion in its current state. It is literally millions of games, all in this enjoyable, clean and easy ruleset.
I do not believe that Nocturne CAN reduce the complexity. It contains at least 30 new cards that will alter each individual game further, separating them from each other, more than they have ever been. By then it might take you MONTHS to see your favorite card again, at least in a relevant context. You could swap any of the expansion in the development mentioned above and you would still have the sam effects in place.
I agree with crj: We are shifting away from this game of knowledge, where the perfect realization of the known priciples determined the better player. Dominion turns into a game, where looking 'behind the Matrix' is key for victory - the most abstract and flexible player wins. On an emotional level I find this a bit sad: It is tough to say goodbye to the wellknown heroes of ye olde time, that you hardly see anymore around: Farewell Chapel, Witch, Library. You had your great heroic deeds in the spotlight, now step back in the row and do your share of work, like all the other cards.
But you know: Just play Nocturne with Base only and you are back in the golden days, where BIG CARDS with BIG COMBOS mattered. (Historical analogy not intended, but now hard to ignore ;-) )
30
Dominion General Discussion / Re: Night cards speculation
« on: August 08, 2017, 09:20:32 am »
I am pretty sure that Donald X did not miss the chance to follow the flavor that vampires or werwolves have: At night they turn into someting different. The bat becomes a vampire, the blacksmith turns into werewolve, the statue changes into the spooky women. Nocturne's flavor text hints into this direction too.
So the interesting question is: How do cards turn into something different?
- It might be written on the card: Bat / Vampire: "[Day symbol] +1 card / +1 Action | [Night Symbol]: Opponent discards to 2. "-> This feels very heavy-handed and it does not really sell the flavor of turning one card into another one. I cannot imagine how the card art would look for it either.
- It might work similar to the Overlord mechanic: Bat:" +1 card / +1 Action | During Night, you may play this as a Vampire." Vampire in this case would be a supply pile that you cannot purchase.
- It could work similar to the Madman: Bat: "+1 Card, +1 action | During night, trash this card, and exchange it with a Vampire." -> It would be a small bonus during day time and a delayed purchase a night.
- I find the Blacksmith example in Nocturne's flavor text a bit odd. The blacksmith is an established card that already exists. If he can turn into a werewolve, maybe any card can be exchanged with a Night card or get the traits of a Night card? So it is maybe: Bat: "Move an action card from your hand to the night mat. You may play this card as a vampire "
- The same idea as a variation of the urchin mechanic: Bat: "Trash two action cards costing 4 or more from your hand. Gain a Vampire." -> This would not really fit the "different between night and day" theme, but it is a nice mechanic, which requies some time to line up the cards.
- Maybe it could mess with the buys: Event: Bat:"Trash all cards your purchased during day. For every two cards you trashed, gain a vampire" --> This would explain the extra phase after the buy phase. It would also be the "-2 buy" mechanic, that have been brought up up from time to time.
Other ideas, how this card conversion could work?
So the interesting question is: How do cards turn into something different?
- It might be written on the card: Bat / Vampire: "[Day symbol] +1 card / +1 Action | [Night Symbol]: Opponent discards to 2. "-> This feels very heavy-handed and it does not really sell the flavor of turning one card into another one. I cannot imagine how the card art would look for it either.
- It might work similar to the Overlord mechanic: Bat:" +1 card / +1 Action | During Night, you may play this as a Vampire." Vampire in this case would be a supply pile that you cannot purchase.
- It could work similar to the Madman: Bat: "+1 Card, +1 action | During night, trash this card, and exchange it with a Vampire." -> It would be a small bonus during day time and a delayed purchase a night.
- I find the Blacksmith example in Nocturne's flavor text a bit odd. The blacksmith is an established card that already exists. If he can turn into a werewolve, maybe any card can be exchanged with a Night card or get the traits of a Night card? So it is maybe: Bat: "Move an action card from your hand to the night mat. You may play this card as a vampire "
- The same idea as a variation of the urchin mechanic: Bat: "Trash two action cards costing 4 or more from your hand. Gain a Vampire." -> This would not really fit the "different between night and day" theme, but it is a nice mechanic, which requies some time to line up the cards.
- Maybe it could mess with the buys: Event: Bat:"Trash all cards your purchased during day. For every two cards you trashed, gain a vampire" --> This would explain the extra phase after the buy phase. It would also be the "-2 buy" mechanic, that have been brought up up from time to time.
Other ideas, how this card conversion could work?
31
Dominion: Nocturne Previews / Re: Dominion: Nocturne announced!
« on: August 04, 2017, 06:48:52 am »Oh man, how long ago were "Something to replace starting coppers" originally posted in the fan cards thread?
Quite a long time ago, under the name of "Trinkets" by NoMoreFun. Possibly there were other attempts. To be honest, if I had been asked to guess a fan-made mechanic that was in the next expansion, I wouldn't necessarily have gone with replacing Coppers. Then again, I don't know where that went with Nocturne.
I like the expansion's theme, btw.
Your last suggestion in the mentioned thread fits with the name 'heirloom', as 'Inheritance' is associated with estates. So maybe we start out with treasure / victory cards that are worth 1VP? This could open quite some interesting synergies with Patrol, Iron Monger, etc.
32
Dominion: Nocturne Previews / Re: Dominion: Nocturne announced!
« on: August 04, 2017, 02:40:07 am »That along with the gloomy hex atmosphere makes me wonder if this is a sort of sequel to dark ages in the way that Adventures was to Seaside and Empires is to Prosperity.I could imagine it as a fixed set of Alchemy: Potions made the game too slow, but you want to have some card that are running outside of the regular coin economy, so players can pursue different progress tracks. The night mechanics opens this path without the problems of a new currency.
My guess is that the night mechanic works similar to Outpost or Mission: After this turn, take another turn, where you can only play night cards. Night action cards would then allow you to curse your opponent, play remaining dead terminals, gain other (night) cards, do funky night stuff, etc.
Hmm, thinking of it... That could be quite some words on the cards. Maybe it is far more simple: It could work like an automatic Journey token. During setup you place the day / night token on its day side , then before the start of your turn you flip it. During daytime the day effects on cards are in play (i.e. Citizen / Werewolf -> Citizen: +1 Card +1 Action). Then night falls and the night effect of the card becomes active (i.e. Citizen / Werewolf -> Werewolf: Opponents discard to 3, +3 Cards).
Anyway, I bet there will we a card that on setup requires you to start at night instead of day.
EDIT: I overlooked the 'which are played after the Buy phase' in the short description from Jay. So I guess the night token is out.
33
Dominion General Discussion / Re: The bad luck thread
« on: July 30, 2017, 09:27:30 am »
Alms game with Torturer and platinum. I started 4/3 (Smithy/ Silver), then drew 7 (Gold), 4 (Smithy).
Meanwhile, Lord Rattington was playing the following:
Turn 1 - Lord Rattington
plays 5 Coppers
buys and gains a Torturer
Turn 2 - Lord Rattington
plays 2 Coppers
Turn 3 - Lord Rattington
plays a Torturer
draws 3 cards
plays 7 Coppers
buys and gains a Gold
Turn 4 - Lord Rattington
plays 2 Coppers
draws 5 cards
Turn 5 - Lord Rattington
plays a Torturer
draws 3 cards
plays 6 Coppers
and a Gold
buys and gains a Platinum
It felt brutal already, while I was playing, but copying the Log I realized that Lord Ratington did not even use Alms - twice!
Meanwhile, Lord Rattington was playing the following:
Turn 1 - Lord Rattington
plays 5 Coppers
buys and gains a Torturer
Turn 2 - Lord Rattington
plays 2 Coppers
Turn 3 - Lord Rattington
plays a Torturer
draws 3 cards
plays 7 Coppers
buys and gains a Gold
Turn 4 - Lord Rattington
plays 2 Coppers
draws 5 cards
Turn 5 - Lord Rattington
plays a Torturer
draws 3 cards
plays 6 Coppers
and a Gold
buys and gains a Platinum
It felt brutal already, while I was playing, but copying the Log I realized that Lord Ratington did not even use Alms - twice!
34
Dominion General Discussion / Re: What will the next Dominion expansion be???
« on: May 15, 2017, 11:46:32 am »
So, to stop beating around the bush, I think the next Dominion set will be a sequel of sorts to Dark Ages. I think we will see plenty of attack cards, maybe more Curse and Ruins type cards, as that seems the logical step after VP and then Treasure type cards. I believe the theme will be more dark and gritty then we have seen recently; Guilds was about Business, Adventures was about fun adventures (go figure) and Empires was about being great and powerful. This new set will be about conquest, warfare and other terrific stuff like that. I think we will see a Paladin, Arsenal, Seige, and more Knight-like stuff.
I think it is quite unlikely that we a see a 'classical' /recognizable Dominion expansion anytime soon. Donald mentioned a couple of times that the way to proceed after running out of simple ideas is to create a spinnoff, where you have new ideas to start from. So maybe th next Dominion-shaped thing will come with a game board or some kind of Meta-Story.
Yet, I think, the theme you described makes a lot of sense. It also fits to the three open topics where there is space left to play around with: Supply, preconditions and alternate currencies instead of Coins.
So here are my predictions:
- Victory cards will no longer simply sit in the supply, but you will need to fulfill certain tasks to 'free' them, i.e. play five actions in a row
- There will be cards that you unlock by trashing/trading certain card types to it, i.e. remove 3 Attack cards fom your deck to gain the Power Attack. Thematically this would fit the Siege theme quite nicely (losing Soldiers to gain the fortification)
- The cards you trade to this new card type might be filled up collectively, Farmer's Market Style (players consecutively add to the stock, the first player takes the price)
- The cards you trade to this new card type might be available for others to gain
- There will be an attack that requires you to fulfill a condition before you can use a certain card type again (i.e. pay 3$ to ransom Mountebank). Thematically this will be handled as kidnapping, maybe by placing a card on a new mat (Robber's den).
- There will be a card that when purchased, adds Victory Cards to the supply or goes directly to the supply as a Victory Card or multiple Victory Cards.
- There will be cards that you can purchase with Victory cards / Victory Points
35
Let's Discuss ... / Re: Let's Discuss Adventures Events: Lost Arts
« on: May 06, 2017, 02:41:43 pm »
Lost Arts + Cultist is actually quite neat, as it turns the cultists into villages (or splitters, as the cool kids say).
36
Dominion General Discussion / Re: Neat card interactions that were useful in the game you found them in.
« on: April 25, 2017, 03:17:26 pm »
Mine & Royal Carriage on a Colony Board
Not sure, if I overrate colliding two 5s, but going from Silver to Platinum at Turn 6 still felt pretty nice, as well as turning all Coppers into Platinum over the course of the game.
Not sure, if I overrate colliding two 5s, but going from Silver to Platinum at Turn 6 still felt pretty nice, as well as turning all Coppers into Platinum over the course of the game.
37
Dominion General Discussion / Re: The Replayability Factor
« on: January 25, 2017, 07:04:50 am »
Sorry for rescuing this old threat, but I could not find anything better on this topic:
Playing with the ShuffleIT client for a while now, I realized that I have seen some cards quite more often than others. For instance, I remember playing 4 or 5 games with the teacher line and at least 5 with Goons. Given that I played maybe 100 games in this timeframe, the probability for such events to occur randomly seems to me rather low when I follow my intuition. But the mind is a curious thing and it has many biases, so I am interested in the statistics. I played almost exclusively against bots (so no purchase bias from other players), had all expansions active and all cards were set to familiar. As far as I know, ShuffIT picks the cards fully random.
So, for the statisticians out there:
- What is the probability for any given Supply Card to occur in any kingdom in general?
- What are the odds for a single card to occur in multiple matches?
- How many matches would you need to play in order to see all kingdom cards at least once?
- What is the likelihood that you get a kingdom which comes only from a single expansion?
Playing with the ShuffleIT client for a while now, I realized that I have seen some cards quite more often than others. For instance, I remember playing 4 or 5 games with the teacher line and at least 5 with Goons. Given that I played maybe 100 games in this timeframe, the probability for such events to occur randomly seems to me rather low when I follow my intuition. But the mind is a curious thing and it has many biases, so I am interested in the statistics. I played almost exclusively against bots (so no purchase bias from other players), had all expansions active and all cards were set to familiar. As far as I know, ShuffIT picks the cards fully random.
So, for the statisticians out there:
- What is the probability for any given Supply Card to occur in any kingdom in general?
- What are the odds for a single card to occur in multiple matches?
- How many matches would you need to play in order to see all kingdom cards at least once?
- What is the likelihood that you get a kingdom which comes only from a single expansion?
38
Dominion General Discussion / Re: Favorite Dominion Expansions - 2017 Edition
« on: January 24, 2017, 06:26:41 am »
As stated initially, it was not my intention to step on anyone's toes or devalue the hard work that went into Empires. I think it is a good expansion, just like Seaside is a good expansion and I think it is a miracle of design and creativity that there were still enough card concepts left for a huge expansion of such quality. It just did not click for me. I guess to some extent this comes down to the Art and the theme. The art not only has its quality issues (I am looking at you, Gladiator), it feels also rather dark. What kind of empire is this, where the Bustling Village looks like the entrance to Sleepy Hollow, where the City Quarter has seen too many Death Carts and where the Fortune is a box of pickles? (Ok, it is probably the one where Fairgrounds take place). There is so much sepia and sunset. Maybe it's a brilliant move to depict an empire built on debt, but it just turns me off.
I definitely take back some of the generalization I made: Yes, Empires is not complicated in terms of Card text. I think if you play it with Base only, it is totally playable with starters. Debt, Landmarks & Victory Points are a far easier concepts to explain than i.e. Duration Cards. Landmarks is even better for starters: With them being present, there's a good chance to win the game, just because you happen to have a full set of treasures, or an all Coppers deck. So it might really be that this expansion is harder to chew for long-term Dominion players, which need to reset their line of thinking. I personally felt overwhelmed by that, but this is different for every player, as it was pointed out.
Same for the Strategy discussion: I do not think, it is Empires' fault or anything. The trend (if it exists at all) might be caused by Discord as well, as the natural course of Internet Communities and simply having reached a critical mass of cards where any given Combo has a really small likelihood to appear. Compare this, to the very first 'Workshop / Gardens' articles and you see how far we have come.
Regarding Power Creep, or not: I also do not think, that Empires break the game's balance (which is near impossible in Dominion anyway), or jumps the shark, or anything. Maybe it is the fact, HOW well balanced the cards are which turns me off. You know, I prefer a card that says '+ 3 Cards' over one with the same price that says '+7 Cards, then discard down to 8, trash 1 Card from your hand and gain a Silver'. (I am exaggerating, obviously). Both cards are roughly balanced in power level (well, as good, as a made up example can be, so please don't nitpick). The latter is definitely the more interesting card which can perform some really nice tricks under a couple of circumstances. It has a lot strategic depth and at the same time it is also easy to explain, as it uses only core concepts. Still, I do not like it. It is such a roller-coaster to play: Do something awesome, then do something you do not like, but then gain a bonus, which is not a bonus under certain circumstance and take a punishment, which again is a bonus under certain circumstances. I prefer straight-on effects, that make my limbic system happy, without triggering unhappy feelings. Someone wrote that Empires is the 'Eat your Vegetables' expansion and this is exactly how it feels. I would rather have less powerful effects with less downsides attached, than having to go through a lot of hoops for huge effects which then turn out to be not so strong anyway in the end. But again, these are personal preferences, not eternal judgements.
I am really happy to see the lists of other people and their preferences. Seeing that Intrigue went up in favor, pleases me as a fan of this expansion and I can see a lot of love for Empires, putting my own thoughts in perspective. I am quite surprised about the deviation regarding Seaside. I always thought, I was the outlier here, but some rate it very high, while some (including me) rate it rather low. I'd love to hear more.
I definitely take back some of the generalization I made: Yes, Empires is not complicated in terms of Card text. I think if you play it with Base only, it is totally playable with starters. Debt, Landmarks & Victory Points are a far easier concepts to explain than i.e. Duration Cards. Landmarks is even better for starters: With them being present, there's a good chance to win the game, just because you happen to have a full set of treasures, or an all Coppers deck. So it might really be that this expansion is harder to chew for long-term Dominion players, which need to reset their line of thinking. I personally felt overwhelmed by that, but this is different for every player, as it was pointed out.
Same for the Strategy discussion: I do not think, it is Empires' fault or anything. The trend (if it exists at all) might be caused by Discord as well, as the natural course of Internet Communities and simply having reached a critical mass of cards where any given Combo has a really small likelihood to appear. Compare this, to the very first 'Workshop / Gardens' articles and you see how far we have come.
Regarding Power Creep, or not: I also do not think, that Empires break the game's balance (which is near impossible in Dominion anyway), or jumps the shark, or anything. Maybe it is the fact, HOW well balanced the cards are which turns me off. You know, I prefer a card that says '+ 3 Cards' over one with the same price that says '+7 Cards, then discard down to 8, trash 1 Card from your hand and gain a Silver'. (I am exaggerating, obviously). Both cards are roughly balanced in power level (well, as good, as a made up example can be, so please don't nitpick). The latter is definitely the more interesting card which can perform some really nice tricks under a couple of circumstances. It has a lot strategic depth and at the same time it is also easy to explain, as it uses only core concepts. Still, I do not like it. It is such a roller-coaster to play: Do something awesome, then do something you do not like, but then gain a bonus, which is not a bonus under certain circumstance and take a punishment, which again is a bonus under certain circumstances. I prefer straight-on effects, that make my limbic system happy, without triggering unhappy feelings. Someone wrote that Empires is the 'Eat your Vegetables' expansion and this is exactly how it feels. I would rather have less powerful effects with less downsides attached, than having to go through a lot of hoops for huge effects which then turn out to be not so strong anyway in the end. But again, these are personal preferences, not eternal judgements.
I am really happy to see the lists of other people and their preferences. Seeing that Intrigue went up in favor, pleases me as a fan of this expansion and I can see a lot of love for Empires, putting my own thoughts in perspective. I am quite surprised about the deviation regarding Seaside. I always thought, I was the outlier here, but some rate it very high, while some (including me) rate it rather low. I'd love to hear more.
39
Dominion General Discussion / Favorite Dominion Expansions - 2017 Edition
« on: January 23, 2017, 11:17:19 am »
It has been a while since I saw this topic occurring, so in the light of Empires and the Second Edition Cards, I feel it is time again, to discuss our favorite Dominion Expansions.
I start with my personal list, sorted from bottom (least great) to top (amazing). As with all of these lists, it is highly subjective and based on personal taste. So do not feel bad, if you think, I mistreated your favorite expansion, but write your own list, and point out what you think is awesome about it.
So, here’s my take (quite long, but we have a lot of expansions by now
):
11. Alchemy
Not much to say about it which has not been said before. It is a shame though. I really liked the Potion Concept and the Art is definitely in the upper third of Dominion. But the cards kill it for me – weak (Transmute, Philosopher’s Stone), annoying (Scrying Pool, Familiar, Possession), bland (University, Herbalist) or wheel-spinning (Alchemist, Golem, Scrying Pool & Familiar again). And there is Apprentice & Vineyard, which are pretty cool, but do not save the expansion. Clearly bottom of the list
10. Empires
I really have not warmed up to this expansion yet. What I played in the ShuffleIT Beta confirmed my thoughts when I first saw the cards: Complicated, overpowered and occasionally boring. I can see the appeal in bending the rules of Dominion, as far as possible. But while in theory Landmarks sounded great, in practice they make the game far too unpredictable for non-expert players. I think there is a reason why strategic discussions in this forum died down – with Landmarks being present, it is near impossible to provide general advice anymore that is not contradicted by at least 1 landmark. Since they are handled like events in the ShIT implementation, they also show up far too often for my taste. (Compare this to Colonies or Shelters!)
Then there is the Power Creep. I know, it does not really matter in Dominion, but it just feels so uninspired: +6 Card, double your money, +3 Action Village, $2 Silver, $6 Money, trash as many cards as you like, 500 ways to earn VP, return to your action phase, Cantrip Warehouse, Action/ Treasure Throne Room, … -- this reminds me of one of those fan mods, that give you all the super weapons in the first 5 minutes of play. The whacky art (imo partially worse than the Seaside art) makes it even LOOK like a fan expansion. And then there are a couple of cards that sit on the uncomfortable spot between being potentially helpful, but not really so much (Settlers, Farmer’s Market, Chariot Race, Wild Hunt, Castles, etc.).
Not a fan, though I can see the appeal for super expert players. Number 10.
9. Seaside
One more vote against the trend, but I never quite liked Seaside. The Duration mechanic is awesome, but I feel Adventures explores its full potential way better. Then you have a few dud cards and two of the nastiest attacks in Dominion (Sea Hag and Ghost Ship). There are definitely nice cards (Ambassador, Fishing Village, Lookout, Tactician, Salvager, Wharf), but when setting up a kingdom for a board game night recently, I realized how narrow the space for interesting kingdoms is with Seaside only. Maybe my views are also shaped negatively by grinding through the MF campaign with Seaside, under constant attack of hag, or ghost ship, or both. Contrary to popular opinion, I found the art mostly ok, and I dig the Orange of the duration cards. Still, only number 9.
8. Guilds
Guilds is a very ok expansion that felt like a matching end point for Dominion at its time. There is hardly anything controversial about it, it is just nice small expansion with a little twist. While it does no wonders, I am always happy when one of the Coin tokens pop up, Baker changes the start setup, or Merchant Guild seems a reasonable route to go. Guild cards are a good expansion to any kingdom, though they can hardly exist on their own.
I think it speaks of the quality of Dominion’s design that this perfectly fine and average expansion sits in the lower end of this list.
7. Hinterlands
Also known as the expansion that everyone forgets. Which is not fair: From my perspective, Hinterlands has plenty of fun and interesting cards, which increase the overall quality of every kingdom. Scheme, Jack, Tunnel, Highway, Crossroads, Spice Merchants, Fool’s Gold are all iconic Dominion Cards that invite experimentation with your deck. I also like the art of this set a lot, it’s colorful and friendly and sells the flavor of being in distant lands.
It guess, what it lacks, is the one defining thing that you can put your finger on. Most cards feel like outtakes of other sets, smart takes on existing concepts, but in themselves pretty bland. It is the ‘If you liked Dominion until Cornucopia, here is more’ expansion, a god stuff deck with a lot of slightly above average cards that do not blow your mind. I like it, for what it is, so it’s my number 7.
6. Cornucopia
My favorite small expansion! With only 13 cards (+ Prizes) it has an absolutely amazing hit ration: Hamlet. Tournament. Remake. Young Witch. Horn of Plenty. Fairgrounds. Hunting Party. All of these not only change the way you play significantly, they are also just fun to play out. And the focus on deck variety makes it a nice addition for newcomers with little plan how to build your deck.
5. Prosperity
Initially I wanted to rate it way lower, as on first glance, it follows the same patterns that I complained about with Empires: Here’s your Market with 2 Money instead of 1. Here’s your three-times Throne Room. Here’s Remodel with up to 3 coins. Here’s an overpowered attack that gives money, buy and victory points.
But there are quite a few things different with this expansion, pulling it into the top five. First of all, I think the power increase is way better balanced via the costs than in Empires. In Prosperity, it takes quite some time & smart moves until you reach the point that you can actually gain the power cards. When you reach them, you feel you earned them. Compare this to the Debt cards which come free and usually pay themselves back within a few turns, due to their raw power.
Then, there are Colonies and Platinum, which also help to counterbalance some of the crazier power effects. They also make games inherently more interesting, as they broaden the opportunities and ways to pursue victory. They also make juicy engines viable – there is little more satisfying than purchasing multiple colonies in one turn.
And finally the filler cards are awesome. Usually, when you have a favorite card and you do really remember where it came from, it is Prosperity. Loan, Watchtower, Bishop, City, Mountebank, Peddler – these are usually not the cards that come to your mind, when you think of prosperity, but here they happily sit along classic favorites, like Kings Court, Goons or Bank. Top 5 material, without doubt.
4. Base – Second Edition
I love how base expresses all the core aspects of Dominion and is still fun to play to this day. I admire how the Second Edition managed to do the impossible: Create simple, yet fun and powerful cards, even after a few hundred cards have already been designed. I love Vassal for instance.
With the revision, I feel this set is one of the most polished pieces of Dominion you can get your hands on. It is easy to explain, has little text to read and still offers plenty of opportunities and room for strategy. And its cards are a great fit to any kingdom. Number 4, definitely.
3. Dark Ages
I love trashing, so it is no surprise, that this expansion made it to the top 3. Still, I think Dark Ages is far more than ‘the Trashing expansion’.
First of all, it is the most on-topic expansion that you can think of. There are so many little easter eggs hidden in the mechanics, in the card art, or in the card names. Think of Rats, Pillage / Village, Hermit / Madmen, Squire, etc. There’s not a single card that feels out of place, neither in naming, nor in mechanic (well, maybe Storeroom). The art fits great as well, making this the Dominion expansion which best captures the essence of its theme.
Then there are the cards: Throw in a Dark Ages card into any kingdom and you will see this game transform, but very differently than with any other expansion. The great thing about Dark Ages is that it lets other Expansions shine, while it usually does not create dominant strategies on its own. Ok, there are Cultist and Rebuild, but even these create at least a tough challenge to beat.
And last but not least there are shelters, which again, fundamentally altered the way how Dominion is played, without breaking it. To me, this earns it a place on the podium.
2. Adventures
If Empires is the fan movie, Adventures is the Magnum Opus. It is the best of all previous Dominion Expansion, but taken to a new level. First, the cards: They are amazing from a Design Perspective! I am not even talking about the crazy stuff, like Travellers and Tokens. What I really love about Adventures, is how there are so many ‘simple’ cards with such a huge impact: Take Port, Magpie, Treasure Trove, Raze. All of these feel, as if they could have been part of the first Dominion expansion. They are so familiar, so obvious, but it still feels awesome, when you play them.
This expansion is definitely on the power creep side of the rainbow. Hireling, Coin of the Realm, Royal Carriage are game changer, without doubt. Still, from my personal perspective, these somehow feel ok. Maybe it is, because these cards are basically more reliable versions of cards that existed for a long time – take a few Caravans, Fishing Villages or Throne Rooms and you have basically the same level of power. The traveler line is insane in some regards, but it needs time to set up, has chance to fail and thus feels appropriately introduced when you reach the crazy end.
Clearly, and hardly surprising anyone, Events is what raises this expansion to a top level. Events were the missing pieces that no one realized were missing, until they were introduced. I will not go into detail, because I think everyone knows by now how much of a positive game changer this addition was. Adventures is my personal number 2.
1. Intrigue – Second Edition
My pick for number one is a mix of various feelings. Clearly, there is a bit of love for the underdog. I heard so many bad things about the ‘worst’ big Dominion expansion that I was utterly surprised how good it was, when I finally picked it up, despite the duds that were in the initial release.
First of all, I love the Victory / Action Card subtheme. There are so many cute tricks you can do with these that I always felt a bit sad that it was not explored even further. Also, the set (as an initial beginner set) is so straightforward with its descriptions that it is easy to play with anyone you meet. It is so much easier, to setup a game with Intrigue, than going through the motions of explaining someone Seaside’s duration mechanics or the lengthy texts of Empires.
Then, there are so many ‘Swiss Army Knife’ card of Dominion in this expansion that I simply do not understand people’s disdain for it. I mean, a lot of these have not lost their appeal after 9 expansions. Masquerade, Baron, Bridge, Duke, Steward, Courtyard, Torturer, Ironworks, Conspirator … There are so many staple Dominion cards coming from this expansion that I wonder, if people simply forgot about their origin. I would not want to miss them in my random kingdom.
My fondness for this expansion was always a bit troubled though. While I dig the Scout meme (and I definitely think, Scout deserves a place in the Dominion canon), playing with the duds was no fun, particularly when Saboteur was around.
With the new edition, I feel, this expansion has really earned its position in my favor. Most of the duds are gone and the set gained a few of the most interesting cards in recent times. Replace, Patrol, Lurker and Courtier are easily my favorites, but I like Secret Passage, Mill and Diplomat quite a lot too. Add to this the new, beautiful and diversified Art, and there you have it: Intrigue, Second Edition, clearly my favorite Expansion!
I start with my personal list, sorted from bottom (least great) to top (amazing). As with all of these lists, it is highly subjective and based on personal taste. So do not feel bad, if you think, I mistreated your favorite expansion, but write your own list, and point out what you think is awesome about it.
So, here’s my take (quite long, but we have a lot of expansions by now
):11. Alchemy
Not much to say about it which has not been said before. It is a shame though. I really liked the Potion Concept and the Art is definitely in the upper third of Dominion. But the cards kill it for me – weak (Transmute, Philosopher’s Stone), annoying (Scrying Pool, Familiar, Possession), bland (University, Herbalist) or wheel-spinning (Alchemist, Golem, Scrying Pool & Familiar again). And there is Apprentice & Vineyard, which are pretty cool, but do not save the expansion. Clearly bottom of the list
10. Empires
I really have not warmed up to this expansion yet. What I played in the ShuffleIT Beta confirmed my thoughts when I first saw the cards: Complicated, overpowered and occasionally boring. I can see the appeal in bending the rules of Dominion, as far as possible. But while in theory Landmarks sounded great, in practice they make the game far too unpredictable for non-expert players. I think there is a reason why strategic discussions in this forum died down – with Landmarks being present, it is near impossible to provide general advice anymore that is not contradicted by at least 1 landmark. Since they are handled like events in the ShIT implementation, they also show up far too often for my taste. (Compare this to Colonies or Shelters!)
Then there is the Power Creep. I know, it does not really matter in Dominion, but it just feels so uninspired: +6 Card, double your money, +3 Action Village, $2 Silver, $6 Money, trash as many cards as you like, 500 ways to earn VP, return to your action phase, Cantrip Warehouse, Action/ Treasure Throne Room, … -- this reminds me of one of those fan mods, that give you all the super weapons in the first 5 minutes of play. The whacky art (imo partially worse than the Seaside art) makes it even LOOK like a fan expansion. And then there are a couple of cards that sit on the uncomfortable spot between being potentially helpful, but not really so much (Settlers, Farmer’s Market, Chariot Race, Wild Hunt, Castles, etc.).
Not a fan, though I can see the appeal for super expert players. Number 10.
9. Seaside
One more vote against the trend, but I never quite liked Seaside. The Duration mechanic is awesome, but I feel Adventures explores its full potential way better. Then you have a few dud cards and two of the nastiest attacks in Dominion (Sea Hag and Ghost Ship). There are definitely nice cards (Ambassador, Fishing Village, Lookout, Tactician, Salvager, Wharf), but when setting up a kingdom for a board game night recently, I realized how narrow the space for interesting kingdoms is with Seaside only. Maybe my views are also shaped negatively by grinding through the MF campaign with Seaside, under constant attack of hag, or ghost ship, or both. Contrary to popular opinion, I found the art mostly ok, and I dig the Orange of the duration cards. Still, only number 9.
8. Guilds
Guilds is a very ok expansion that felt like a matching end point for Dominion at its time. There is hardly anything controversial about it, it is just nice small expansion with a little twist. While it does no wonders, I am always happy when one of the Coin tokens pop up, Baker changes the start setup, or Merchant Guild seems a reasonable route to go. Guild cards are a good expansion to any kingdom, though they can hardly exist on their own.
I think it speaks of the quality of Dominion’s design that this perfectly fine and average expansion sits in the lower end of this list.
7. Hinterlands
Also known as the expansion that everyone forgets. Which is not fair: From my perspective, Hinterlands has plenty of fun and interesting cards, which increase the overall quality of every kingdom. Scheme, Jack, Tunnel, Highway, Crossroads, Spice Merchants, Fool’s Gold are all iconic Dominion Cards that invite experimentation with your deck. I also like the art of this set a lot, it’s colorful and friendly and sells the flavor of being in distant lands.
It guess, what it lacks, is the one defining thing that you can put your finger on. Most cards feel like outtakes of other sets, smart takes on existing concepts, but in themselves pretty bland. It is the ‘If you liked Dominion until Cornucopia, here is more’ expansion, a god stuff deck with a lot of slightly above average cards that do not blow your mind. I like it, for what it is, so it’s my number 7.
6. Cornucopia
My favorite small expansion! With only 13 cards (+ Prizes) it has an absolutely amazing hit ration: Hamlet. Tournament. Remake. Young Witch. Horn of Plenty. Fairgrounds. Hunting Party. All of these not only change the way you play significantly, they are also just fun to play out. And the focus on deck variety makes it a nice addition for newcomers with little plan how to build your deck.
5. Prosperity
Initially I wanted to rate it way lower, as on first glance, it follows the same patterns that I complained about with Empires: Here’s your Market with 2 Money instead of 1. Here’s your three-times Throne Room. Here’s Remodel with up to 3 coins. Here’s an overpowered attack that gives money, buy and victory points.
But there are quite a few things different with this expansion, pulling it into the top five. First of all, I think the power increase is way better balanced via the costs than in Empires. In Prosperity, it takes quite some time & smart moves until you reach the point that you can actually gain the power cards. When you reach them, you feel you earned them. Compare this to the Debt cards which come free and usually pay themselves back within a few turns, due to their raw power.
Then, there are Colonies and Platinum, which also help to counterbalance some of the crazier power effects. They also make games inherently more interesting, as they broaden the opportunities and ways to pursue victory. They also make juicy engines viable – there is little more satisfying than purchasing multiple colonies in one turn.
And finally the filler cards are awesome. Usually, when you have a favorite card and you do really remember where it came from, it is Prosperity. Loan, Watchtower, Bishop, City, Mountebank, Peddler – these are usually not the cards that come to your mind, when you think of prosperity, but here they happily sit along classic favorites, like Kings Court, Goons or Bank. Top 5 material, without doubt.
4. Base – Second Edition
I love how base expresses all the core aspects of Dominion and is still fun to play to this day. I admire how the Second Edition managed to do the impossible: Create simple, yet fun and powerful cards, even after a few hundred cards have already been designed. I love Vassal for instance.
With the revision, I feel this set is one of the most polished pieces of Dominion you can get your hands on. It is easy to explain, has little text to read and still offers plenty of opportunities and room for strategy. And its cards are a great fit to any kingdom. Number 4, definitely.
3. Dark Ages
I love trashing, so it is no surprise, that this expansion made it to the top 3. Still, I think Dark Ages is far more than ‘the Trashing expansion’.
First of all, it is the most on-topic expansion that you can think of. There are so many little easter eggs hidden in the mechanics, in the card art, or in the card names. Think of Rats, Pillage / Village, Hermit / Madmen, Squire, etc. There’s not a single card that feels out of place, neither in naming, nor in mechanic (well, maybe Storeroom). The art fits great as well, making this the Dominion expansion which best captures the essence of its theme.
Then there are the cards: Throw in a Dark Ages card into any kingdom and you will see this game transform, but very differently than with any other expansion. The great thing about Dark Ages is that it lets other Expansions shine, while it usually does not create dominant strategies on its own. Ok, there are Cultist and Rebuild, but even these create at least a tough challenge to beat.
And last but not least there are shelters, which again, fundamentally altered the way how Dominion is played, without breaking it. To me, this earns it a place on the podium.
2. Adventures
If Empires is the fan movie, Adventures is the Magnum Opus. It is the best of all previous Dominion Expansion, but taken to a new level. First, the cards: They are amazing from a Design Perspective! I am not even talking about the crazy stuff, like Travellers and Tokens. What I really love about Adventures, is how there are so many ‘simple’ cards with such a huge impact: Take Port, Magpie, Treasure Trove, Raze. All of these feel, as if they could have been part of the first Dominion expansion. They are so familiar, so obvious, but it still feels awesome, when you play them.
This expansion is definitely on the power creep side of the rainbow. Hireling, Coin of the Realm, Royal Carriage are game changer, without doubt. Still, from my personal perspective, these somehow feel ok. Maybe it is, because these cards are basically more reliable versions of cards that existed for a long time – take a few Caravans, Fishing Villages or Throne Rooms and you have basically the same level of power. The traveler line is insane in some regards, but it needs time to set up, has chance to fail and thus feels appropriately introduced when you reach the crazy end.
Clearly, and hardly surprising anyone, Events is what raises this expansion to a top level. Events were the missing pieces that no one realized were missing, until they were introduced. I will not go into detail, because I think everyone knows by now how much of a positive game changer this addition was. Adventures is my personal number 2.
1. Intrigue – Second Edition
My pick for number one is a mix of various feelings. Clearly, there is a bit of love for the underdog. I heard so many bad things about the ‘worst’ big Dominion expansion that I was utterly surprised how good it was, when I finally picked it up, despite the duds that were in the initial release.
First of all, I love the Victory / Action Card subtheme. There are so many cute tricks you can do with these that I always felt a bit sad that it was not explored even further. Also, the set (as an initial beginner set) is so straightforward with its descriptions that it is easy to play with anyone you meet. It is so much easier, to setup a game with Intrigue, than going through the motions of explaining someone Seaside’s duration mechanics or the lengthy texts of Empires.
Then, there are so many ‘Swiss Army Knife’ card of Dominion in this expansion that I simply do not understand people’s disdain for it. I mean, a lot of these have not lost their appeal after 9 expansions. Masquerade, Baron, Bridge, Duke, Steward, Courtyard, Torturer, Ironworks, Conspirator … There are so many staple Dominion cards coming from this expansion that I wonder, if people simply forgot about their origin. I would not want to miss them in my random kingdom.
My fondness for this expansion was always a bit troubled though. While I dig the Scout meme (and I definitely think, Scout deserves a place in the Dominion canon), playing with the duds was no fun, particularly when Saboteur was around.
With the new edition, I feel, this expansion has really earned its position in my favor. Most of the duds are gone and the set gained a few of the most interesting cards in recent times. Replace, Patrol, Lurker and Courtier are easily my favorites, but I like Secret Passage, Mill and Diplomat quite a lot too. Add to this the new, beautiful and diversified Art, and there you have it: Intrigue, Second Edition, clearly my favorite Expansion!
40
Dominion Strategy Wiki Feedback / Re: Visual Card List + List Overview
« on: January 12, 2017, 05:15:50 am »
Thank you, that was exactly what I was looking for. 
I would not mind, if it would be easier to find, but you are the Wiki Master, not me.
I would not mind, if it would be easier to find, but you are the Wiki Master, not me.
41
Dominion Strategy Wiki Feedback / Visual Card List + List Overview
« on: January 06, 2017, 09:55:35 am »
I wanted to show a (non-gamer) artist friend the beauty of the Dominion Card Art in an visual overview of all Dominion cards ever released, but there was no such page in the Wiki that covered all expansions at once (or at least I could not find it). So I needed to refer him to this Pinterest picture instead: https://de.pinterest.com/pin/508554982897227132/
It was quite surprising, that such a page did not exist, given that the majority of the work has already been done for the individual expansions (via the {{CardImage|Card Name}} tag). It should be no big deal to copy & paste the according lines to a single page? I would create this page on my own, but I am not sure whether there is a reasoning behind it that I do not know (i.e. protection from card piracy).
I also have one more request: It would be really nice, if there would be an Overview Page for the multiple non-expansion specific lists that exist on the Wiki by now. Topics like the List of Illustrators, the List of cards (in other languages), the Glossary, the Who Is Who, the List of Cards, .. are really hard to find when you do not know, they exist. Call it 'Lists & other Articles' and put the link on the Main page, i.e. in the 'Community' section below the Isotropic Article Link.
It was quite surprising, that such a page did not exist, given that the majority of the work has already been done for the individual expansions (via the {{CardImage|Card Name}} tag). It should be no big deal to copy & paste the according lines to a single page? I would create this page on my own, but I am not sure whether there is a reasoning behind it that I do not know (i.e. protection from card piracy).
I also have one more request: It would be really nice, if there would be an Overview Page for the multiple non-expansion specific lists that exist on the Wiki by now. Topics like the List of Illustrators, the List of cards (in other languages), the Glossary, the Who Is Who, the List of Cards, .. are really hard to find when you do not know, they exist. Call it 'Lists & other Articles' and put the link on the Main page, i.e. in the 'Community' section below the Isotropic Article Link.
42
Dominion Online at Shuffle iT / Re: "Features" threads
« on: December 09, 2016, 06:39:20 pm »This! I really hope ShIT considers a great Solo Mode as vital as the needs of the Hardcore Community for Online Play.
Part of the reason that I bring up these ideas is because an on-line-centric implementation with matchmaking can be extraordinarily intimidating for most players who don't see themselves becoming top-level Dominion experts. I enjoy a lot of games, and I play Dominion well, but probably not at a super-high level. I personally enjoy the MF campaigns and am still working my way through them, usually beating everything on the first try, but occasionally getting stuck having to try one five or six times.
I'm reminded of some of the on-line videogames I've played, particularly team shooters. I've enjoyed the single-player campaigns, and I've enjoyed playing with friends, but in several games I've thought I was reasonably OK at the game and jumped into some random on-line games and absolutely had my head handed to me (angering randomly assigned teammates in the process.) Good single-player or circle-of-friends play can keep players engaged with the game and enthusiastic about it. Jumping into the matchmaking pool and repeatedly getting destroyed by really skilled on-line players is alienating, and Dominion is too good a game to suffer from a syndrome like that.
43
Dominion Online at Shuffle iT / Re: Streaming the new client - 10 Dec 19:00 UTC
« on: December 03, 2016, 03:09:17 pm »
I can offer an Android Xperia Z2 and a Windows 10 Laptop. I guess this qualifies me for the ' just anyone' roster. 
44
Dominion General Discussion / Re: Best Dominion moments 2016
« on: November 11, 2016, 04:31:35 am »
No, it's the week of unexpected province gains. 
---------- Villager Bot: turn 22 ----------
Villager Bot - plays Port
Villager Bot - draws Duchy
Villager Bot - plays Port
Villager Bot - draws Copper
Villager Bot - plays Cultist
Villager Bot - draws Duchy, Port
Villager Bot - plays Port
Villager Bot - draws Throne Room
Villager Bot - plays Throne Room
Villager Bot - plays Swindler
TeDeO - reveals Province
TeDeO - trashes Province
TeDeO - gains Province
Villager Bot - plays Swindler
TeDeO - reveals Peddler
TeDeO - trashes Peddler
TeDeO - gains Province
Villager Bot - plays 1 Copper
Villager Bot - buys Duchy
Villager Bot - gains Duchy
Villager Bot - draws Gold, Throne Room, Copper, Estate, Peddler
(It's not a bug, the Peddler pile was empty)
---------- Villager Bot: turn 22 ----------
Villager Bot - plays Port
Villager Bot - draws Duchy
Villager Bot - plays Port
Villager Bot - draws Copper
Villager Bot - plays Cultist
Villager Bot - draws Duchy, Port
Villager Bot - plays Port
Villager Bot - draws Throne Room
Villager Bot - plays Throne Room
Villager Bot - plays Swindler
TeDeO - reveals Province
TeDeO - trashes Province
TeDeO - gains Province
Villager Bot - plays Swindler
TeDeO - reveals Peddler
TeDeO - trashes Peddler
TeDeO - gains Province
Villager Bot - plays 1 Copper
Villager Bot - buys Duchy
Villager Bot - gains Duchy
Villager Bot - draws Gold, Throne Room, Copper, Estate, Peddler
(It's not a bug, the Peddler pile was empty)
45
Dominion Online at Shuffle iT / Singleplayer Features
« on: August 30, 2016, 06:19:43 pm »
Have there been any news on the Features of the Singleplayer Part of Dominion 2017? Are these comparable to the Implementation of Making Fun / Goko, or will there be more or less to play around with?
There are couple of things that come to my mind
- Will the Campaigns be kept, or better: revised / extended? At the moment they feel like the opposite of what makes Dominion great. I would even pay to see a string of curated boards with Default Dominion Rules, utilizing cards from all sets, instead of repeating one Set over and over again.
- Will there be improving bots, that adapt their difficulty based on the skill of the player? Would also be nice in a Campaign.
- Will there be any kind of Achievements, Rankings, or other ways to compare with your friends / other Players, when playing only against Bots? Or is this limited to the Online Mode? As meaningless as it is, I have a weak spot for the Casual Ranking and I would love to see that extended.
- Any plans for fun offline Achievements or other intersting long-term goals?
Thanks in advance
There are couple of things that come to my mind
- Will the Campaigns be kept, or better: revised / extended? At the moment they feel like the opposite of what makes Dominion great. I would even pay to see a string of curated boards with Default Dominion Rules, utilizing cards from all sets, instead of repeating one Set over and over again.
- Will there be improving bots, that adapt their difficulty based on the skill of the player? Would also be nice in a Campaign.
- Will there be any kind of Achievements, Rankings, or other ways to compare with your friends / other Players, when playing only against Bots? Or is this limited to the Online Mode? As meaningless as it is, I have a weak spot for the Casual Ranking and I would love to see that extended.
- Any plans for fun offline Achievements or other intersting long-term goals?
Thanks in advance
46
Goko Dominion Online / Re: Guilds on Goko immediately after physical release
« on: June 15, 2013, 09:24:27 am »
Fun things to do in Guilds: Finishing the game by butchering a Province into a Province and then buying the last Duchy with the coins you've got from butchering. :-)
47
Goko Dominion Online / Re: Dominion Online User Extension for Firefox and Chrome
« on: June 05, 2013, 04:07:05 pm »
First of all, many thanks to the creators of this awesome extension!
This might be a minority opinion here, but would it be possible to add an option to hide the Game Log after start? I am more of a casual gamer and most of the time I do not need the exact tracking, as I am playing duels against bots. Still, I love the option to have some control over the chosen cards in these Quick Matches. So I was wondering, if it would be possible to get the best of both worlds.
This might be a minority opinion here, but would it be possible to add an option to hide the Game Log after start? I am more of a casual gamer and most of the time I do not need the exact tracking, as I am playing duels against bots. Still, I love the option to have some control over the chosen cards in these Quick Matches. So I was wondering, if it would be possible to get the best of both worlds.
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