This came out of a conversation I had with myself: What if Dominion had been created at the same time Monopoly was? Then I went off on this daydream about being sent back in time, and recreating and publishing Dominion, and how I might re-theme it to fit the time period. I've put a bit of thought into it off and on, and I thought I would throw my thoughts out there and see if they resonate with anyone else.
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Imagine, if you will, a game where you play as a humble farmer, tending your crops and taking them to market. Each turn of the game represents a season. You start the game with a deck of ten cards, representing your initial stake, and each turn, you draw five cards representing the season's harvest. Some seasons are leaner than others, of course, but you have faith that your hard work will not go unrewarded.
There are three primary different types of cards, representing the different aspects of farming life. There are your Fields, from which you harvest your crops. There are Occupations, representing the different actions and activities on which you can spend what time and effort you can spare from the crops. And lastly, there are Homestead cards, representing your home itself. Most Homestead cards don't improve your farm's productivity, but they make your family's life more comfortable, and truly, that is the goal of life.
On your turn, you may play a single Occupation, showing what you will focus your efforts on this season. Then play any number of Fields, providing you with goods to sell. Then you take your goods to the market and Buy a single new card, whether that be a new Field, training in a new Occupation, or an addition to your Homestead. Then you draw a new five cards and pass the turn to the next player while reviewing your upcoming season's fortune.
Now that you know how to play the game, let's take a look at some of the cards.
Occupations: These cards represent anything you might do to improve your life and livelihood. For example,
Mule and Plow
Occupation - 4 Goods
+3 Cards
a Mule and Plow will certainly accelerate your ability to work your fields, letting you harvest more in a single season. Of course, more than one would be of no use to you, unless you had someone else to apply them for you:
Farmhand
Occupation - 3 Goods
+1 Card
+2 Occupations
A loyal Farmhand will be little good without a Mule and Plow of his own, after all.
Fertilizer
Occupation - 5 Goods
Trash a Field card from your hand. Gain a Field card costing up to 3 Goods more, put it into your hand.
Perhaps you could spend your time improving your fields,
Day Labor
Occupation - 3 Goods
+2 Goods
+1 Buy
or working in town?
Sorcery
Occupation - 5 Goods
+2 Cards
Each other player gains a Curse.
Or other, more sinister Occupations? After all, the worse your neighbors Homesteads appear, the better yours will look by comparison...
Fields:
Most fields are unremarkable; neither exceptionally poor nor exceptionally bountiful. You can purchase Barren, Average, or Verdant Fields, each quality costing 3 goods more than the smaller. Of course, there are other Fields that may be more or less bountiful:
Whiskey Still
Field - 5 Goods
+3 Goods, +1 Buy
When you play this, the player to the left names a card. You can't buy that card this turn.
Surely, an upright fellow such as yourself would never be caught dead trading in contraband goods such at these. One of your neighbors may even inform the authorities where you might be attempting to pass these goods.
Homesteads:
Homestead cards, like Fields, come in three qualities. The victor of the game is whoever has the greatest total quality of Homestead, whether that be spread out in a sprawl of small buildings, or a few greater ones. Most Homestead cards don't affect the working of your farm, but of course, some do.
Barn
Occupation/Homestead - 6 Goods
Choose one: +2 Occupations, or +3 Cards.
Worth 2 Quality
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So yeah, mostly I just wanted to get this out of my head so that I wouldn't forget bits and pieces over time. There are lots of rough spots (I really need a better word than occupation), but the basic tenets I'm shooting for are: you're a farmer; using an action is you actively doing something; cards that give you +2 actions are you directing a crew of workers, cards that give you +1 action don't take all season's focus, cards that don't give an action take a season to see results; treasures are fields or other permanent sources of income over time, and Victory Points are building a big impressive household to impress the neighbors.
Please feel free to critique and criticize, or even retheme some cards if you want. Some of them don't even need a new name (like Chapel).
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Topic: What if Dominion was published in 1935? (Read 3864 times)