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[WNxTyr4el]

Hey everyone!  I've recently started playing on Goko and REALLY love the game.  I need all the tips I can get though.  So can anyone give me some new player tips in terms of strategy?  I only have the base set!

[jsh357]

Have you checked the front page of dominionstrategy.com and the wiki?

Since you are new to the game, I recommend playing with all the expansions and getting a feel for all the shiny new cards before really delving in to strategy so much.  I would hate to take away the feeling of discovery from a new player. Ask questions here in the Game Reports forum and such if you have them.

If you have the time/interest, WanderingWinder's youtube videos are quite good for helping understand how a really good player approaches the game.

Here are some general tips I'll give you:
- Try to think of cards in terms of what they do, not what they cost.  Sometimes Silver is more valuable than a $5 action to you.  Not usually, but still.
- Don't forget you can always buy money and you don't need a copy of every card in the available Kingdom. 
- On the other hand, don't spend all of your buys on Gold--you have to start getting points eventually.
- Trashing your starting Copper and Estates is the key to building really powerful decks (engines).
- If you're playing somebody who's highly ranked (5500+) don't be too shy about asking for advice as long as they speak your language.  Most of us are happy to discuss strategy, but don't take up too much time on it.  I for one would prefer to help someone improve at the game rather than just stomp them. If someone doesn't respond, they may be playing on a tablet and can't.  If you have really general questions, post the game log on the forums and ask here.

[liopoil]

Since you are new to the game, I recommend playing with all the expansions and getting a feel for all the shiny new cards before really delving in to strategy so much.

I know when I was new to the game I wasn't even considering buying expansions - it seemed like the base set would be plenty to keep it fun forever. And it was fun, for a while. If I had bought expansions right away I don't think I would have enjoyed dominion any more just then. I think sticking with the base set for now is a good idea. Getting a grasp on all the basic strategies and facets of the game lets you appreciate how cool the expansion cards are a lot more.

I agree though, there's lots of great info for new players on the main page and wiki already, and all of jsh's general tips are good.

[jsh357]

Since you are new to the game, I recommend playing with all the expansions and getting a feel for all the shiny new cards before really delving in to strategy so much.

I know when I was new to the game I wasn't even considering buying expansions - it seemed like the base set would be plenty to keep it fun forever. And it was fun, for a while. If I had bought expansions right away I don't think I would have enjoyed dominion any more just then. I think sticking with the base set for now is a good idea. Getting a grasp on all the basic strategies and facets of the game lets you appreciate how cool the expansion cards are a lot more.

I agree though, there's lots of great info for new players on the main page and wiki already, and all of jsh's general tips are good.

I am different in that I started playing with everything at once and was immediately aware of the extent of Dominion's variety.  As a guy who enjoys variety in games, it was a huge factor in getting in to the game.  So I guess the moral for the new player is: if you want to take it slow, stick to base and slowly add expansions; if you want crazy and random and confusion, just go all out from the start.

[WNxTyr4el]

Have you checked the front page of dominionstrategy.com and the wiki?

Since you are new to the game, I recommend playing with all the expansions and getting a feel for all the shiny new cards before really delving in to strategy so much.  I would hate to take away the feeling of discovery from a new player. Ask questions here in the Game Reports forum and such if you have them.

If you have the time/interest, WanderingWinder's youtube videos are quite good for helping understand how a really good player approaches the game.

Here are some general tips I'll give you:
- Try to think of cards in terms of what they do, not what they cost.  Sometimes Silver is more valuable than a $5 action to you.  Not usually, but still.
- Don't forget you can always buy money and you don't need a copy of every card in the available Kingdom. 
- On the other hand, don't spend all of your buys on Gold--you have to start getting points eventually.
- Trashing your starting Copper and Estates is the key to building really powerful decks (engines).
- If you're playing somebody who's highly ranked (5500+) don't be too shy about asking for advice as long as they speak your language.  Most of us are happy to discuss strategy, but don't take up too much time on it.  I for one would prefer to help someone improve at the game rather than just stomp them. If someone doesn't respond, they may be playing on a tablet and can't.  If you have really general questions, post the game log on the forums and ask here.

I have looked at the dominionstrategy front page and wiki and gotten a good idea about the strategies.  My problem is...I keep losing several times during the campaign missions.  It's really quite sad.  I don't know when to pick certain cards, when to pick gold, and what cards to pick (even when going with a certain strategy).  That's really what I need help with.

I'll be sticking to the base game too btw.

[jsh357]

Generally: the campaign mode is not going to make you improve at Dominion.  It's a variant, and if anything it will make you understand the game less.  Also, bear in mind Goko said over a year ago they were going to edit the campaign and make it more balanced/interesting but they still have not.  That said, if you want to go through it and get the shields for promos and such, the best strategy is almost always to zap copper into silver and go for a Big Money strategy: http://wiki.dominionstrategy.com/index.php/Big_money

Silver is more important than extra points from zaps.  You should probably reduce any provinces the AI has down to at least Duchies, though.  To get more coins for zaps, you'll have to play multiplayer or "Play Bots."
PS: If you want to get all 5 promos, you should only buy Envoy, Governor and Walled Village with shields.  It's possible to purchase the other two with Gokoins.  No idea why they still haven't made it work both ways yet. 

[florrat]

Welcome to the forums!

Note that in the campaign your opponents might start with better decks than you. If you have enough zaps, I'd advise to zap both decks to the standard 7 Copper + 3 Estates and then play a fair game. In that way you'll learn the most.

Two suggestions if you want to improve faster.

* Read the articles about the 5 different types of decks. Those were quite the eye-opener for me
* Go to the Help! Forum and post one of your games where you lost but where you couldn't find big mistakes in your gameplay. Probably veteran players will find more mistakes in your gameplay than you can ever dream of, which is a very good way to learn.

EDIT: Out of curiosity; did you discover Goko / Dominion via TotalBiscuit's video's?

[WNxTyr4el]

Welcome to the forums!

Note that in the campaign your opponents might start with better decks than you. If you have enough zaps, I'd advise to zap both decks to the standard 7 Copper + 3 Estates and then play a fair game. In that way you'll learn the most.

Two suggestions if you want to improve faster.

* Read the articles about the 5 different types of decks. Those were quite the eye-opener for me
* Go to the Help! Forum and post one of your games where you lost but where you couldn't find big mistakes in your gameplay. Probably veteran players will find more mistakes in your gameplay than you can ever dream of, which is a very good way to learn.

EDIT: Out of curiosity; did you discover Goko / Dominion via TotalBiscuit's video's?

Thank you, I'll have to do that!  And yes, I did lol.  Why do you ask?

[2.71828.....]

Welcome to the forums!

Note that in the campaign your opponents might start with better decks than you. If you have enough zaps, I'd advise to zap both decks to the standard 7 Copper + 3 Estates and then play a fair game. In that way you'll learn the most.

Two suggestions if you want to improve faster.

* Read the articles about the 5 different types of decks. Those were quite the eye-opener for me
* Go to the Help! Forum and post one of your games where you lost but where you couldn't find big mistakes in your gameplay. Probably veteran players will find more mistakes in your gameplay than you can ever dream of, which is a very good way to learn.

EDIT: Out of curiosity; did you discover Goko / Dominion via TotalBiscuit's video's?

Thank you, I'll have to do that!  And yes, I did lol.  Why do you ask?

Because of this thread probably

[Awaclus]

Welcome to the forums!

Note that in the campaign your opponents might start with better decks than you. If you have enough zaps, I'd advise to zap both decks to the standard 7 Copper + 3 Estates and then play a fair game. In that way you'll learn the most.

Two suggestions if you want to improve faster.

* Read the articles about the 5 different types of decks. Those were quite the eye-opener for me
* Go to the Help! Forum and post one of your games where you lost but where you couldn't find big mistakes in your gameplay. Probably veteran players will find more mistakes in your gameplay than you can ever dream of, which is a very good way to learn.

EDIT: Out of curiosity; did you discover Goko / Dominion via TotalBiscuit's video's?

Thank you, I'll have to do that!  And yes, I did lol.  Why do you ask?

Because of this thread probably

Oh god, that thread. Don't worry WNxTyr4el, not every thread here is like that.

[manthos88]

I think sticking with the base set for now is a good idea. Getting a grasp on all the basic strategies and facets of the game lets you appreciate how cool the expansion cards are a lot more.

I'm pretty sure he can still buy Intrigue though. It has several thematic cards and terminal actions with character, that will make him know when to buy terminals and which terminal actions are strong.

[WNxTyr4el]

I think sticking with the base set for now is a good idea. Getting a grasp on all the basic strategies and facets of the game lets you appreciate how cool the expansion cards are a lot more.

I'm pretty sure he can still buy Intrigue though. It has several thematic cards and terminal actions with character, that will make him know when to buy terminals and which terminal actions are strong.

I've been thinking of buying Intrigue or Prosperity to start.  I'll probably go with Intrigue.  I've actually read all those articles and understand how the strategies work (i.e. big money goes for as much money as possible to rush provinces and engine uses other cards to really fuel another, etc.).  My main problem though is knowing how many of each card to buy, when to buy that card, and when to not.  Also when to buy situational cards or money even.  Do I buy a copper each turn if I can or do I end my turn even if I have a buy left (with not enough money to buy anything else).  These are the types of questions and problems I've been facing.  If I understand these, I may be able to understand how to play better.

[RTT]

generally Copper is a bad card to have and buy. As a beginners rule should be" never Buy a copper unless you have a good reason for it" (e.g gardens, counting house, duke,seahag or Ill-Gotten-gains games where a copper is better than the curses and green cards you have.)

also you should not buy villages if you dont have any action cards to play with. so you start with the terminals to build an engine and add villages when you have 2 or 3 terminals(smithy/witch/militia)

of course every of those beginners rules can be edge cased and im not asking for you to do that

also as for what expansion to get as a beginner i like seaside a lot. but thats on yourself to decide

[WNxTyr4el]

generally Copper is a bad card to have and buy. As a beginners rule should be" never Buy a copper unless you have a good reason for it" (e.g gardens, counting house, duke,seahag or Ill-Gotten-gains games where a copper is better than the curses and green cards you have.)

also you should not buy villages if you dont have any action cards to play with. so you start with the terminals to build an engine and add villages when you have 2 or 3 terminals(smithy/witch/militia)

of course every of those beginners rules can be edge cased and im not asking for you to do that

Sorry, but you used a few terms I'm not familiar with: "terminals" and "edge cased."  I have no clue what those mean .  But thanks for the tip!

[RTT]

terminal action card are action cards that dont give you at least +1action

edge cases are exceptions to the rules. i guess if you continue reading the forum you will get familiar with them

[WNxTyr4el]

terminal action card are action cards that dont give you at least +1action

edge cases are exceptions to the rules. i guess if you continue reading the forum you will get familiar with them

Ahh, okay got it.  Thanks.  Now I can understand the articles and people here a little better.

[hsiale]

When I started playing on Goko my experience was a few IRL games using Base + Intrigue. I played Base only for 2-3 days, then bought Intrigue+Prosperity+Seaside (they were selling it in a one cheap pack back then) and stayed with this for a while. After I got used to those I started buying everything as soon as Goko coded it.

[WNxTyr4el]

When I started playing on Goko my experience was a few IRL games using Base + Intrigue. I played Base only for 2-3 days, then bought Intrigue+Prosperity+Seaside (they were selling it in a one cheap pack back then) and stayed with this for a while. After I got used to those I started buying everything as soon as Goko coded it.

That's another option I've been considering.  I've been thinking of buying the Super Pack 1 for $20.  In comparison to the paper game that's really cheap lol.

[Polk5440]

Start with the forum FAQ:

http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=1994.0

The "getting better at dominion" link takes you to the strategy page of the wiki, too, which orders some of the articles from beginner to advanced.

Welcome!

[RTT]

also for you to understand articles better:

Cantrips: Cards that have at least +1card and +1action on them so you can play them everytime without loosing anything(handsize/actions)

Villages: often cards that give you +2 actions or more. most of them even draw you a card  or do something els for you.

terminal silver: a actioncard that gives you + 2$ but is terminal so it needs an action to be played where as silver does not.

terminal draw: best example : Smithy

Draw to X: cards that fill up your handsize to a exact amount of cards (like Library 7 cards)

[WNxTyr4el]

Start with the forum FAQ:

http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=1994.0

The "getting better at dominion" link takes you to the strategy page of the wiki, too, which orders some of the articles from beginner to advanced.

Welcome!

Very helpful, I'll check that out throughout the day today!  Thanks!

also for you to understand articles better:

Cantrips: Cards that have at least +1card and +1action on them so you can play them everytime without loosing anything(handsize/actions)

Villages: often cards that give you +2 actions or more. most of them even draw you a card  or do something els for you.

terminal silver: a actioncard that gives you + 2$ but is terminal so it needs an action to be played where as silver does not.

terminal draw: best example : Smithy

Draw to X: cards that fill up your handsize to a exact amount of cards (like Library 7 cards)

Also very helpful terms, thank you again!  Any other general tips any veterans can give? Like anything on what I had asked before about the total number of one card you should have in your deck at any time?  I'm sure there's some math involved, but without slowing the game down to do math is there a quick and dirty rule for that?

[RTT]

a quick rule in dominion : It depends on the board (Kingdomcards)

so the total number of a card you want in your deck depends on the board and on the card. there are some cards you want as many as possible like Laboratorium.
but if you have 8$ you might not want to buy a Labo but a Provinc instead.

Then there are cards you usually want just once like chapel

for an engine you should have at least as many villages as you want to play terminal actions.

[WNxTyr4el]

a quick rule in dominion : It depends on the board (Kingdomcards)

so the total number of a card you want in your deck depends on the board and on the card. there are some cards you want as many as possible like Laboratorium.
but if you have 8$ you might not want to buy a Labo but a Provinc instead.

Then there are cards you usually want just once like chapel

for an engine you should have at least as many villages as you want to play terminal actions.

I got it.  Now what about money cards like Silver and Golds?  Is there an ideal number or is it just as many as possible when nothing else is a better buy?

I also keep violating the PPR in my campaign because I can't keep track of how many stupid provinces the AI has taken lol.

[manthos88]

also as for what expansion to get as a beginner i like seaside a lot. but thats on yourself to decide

In my opinion, Seaside is not very good for beginners. It has some concepts that are rather difficult to understand when you don't have general experience of the game.

(Remembering myself, that didn't quite like Tactician and Haven when I first saw them, kinda thought that duration cards were not good for engine -what a hilarious mistake there! - and that Treasure Map and Embargo are for extremely rare cases. Also Native Village is generally quite hard to handle.)



I would recommend buying sets in the following order, starting from the Set that includes cards that are easier to understand and more fun to play with, and moving to Sets that include cards that are not so easy to understand and handle and can create some more complex strategies:

Dominion (Base), Intrigue, Prosperity, Hinterlands, Alchemy, Seaside, Cornucopia, Dark Ages, Guilds.

(Alchemy could possibly be any slot between Intrigue and Seaside on the list above. I remember that i liked very much, after trying out Base and Intrigue. I really liked the Potion theme. But, some of the cards are not so easy to play with, so i put it after Hinterlands on this list. But, this is generally the right order in terms of going from simplicity to complexity.)

[RTT]

generally yes silver and golds are pretty good cards if you want provinces for colonies(prosperity expansion) silver isnt that hot anymore except for the start.

when there is nothing better to get getting a silver or a gold is almost allways good. sometimes even getting a silver for 5$ can be right if there are no 5$ you need.