Beginner's Guide

What is Dominion?

Dominion is a 2–4 player deck-building card game. Players buy cards from a shared Supply and grow their own decks while accumulating victory points. First published in 2008, it is widely regarded as the game that established the deck-building genre.

Turn Structure

Every turn follows exactly three phases in order.

A. Action Phase

Play one Action card from your hand. Cards that grant "+Actions" (like Village or Festival) let you keep playing additional Action cards. Treasure cards and Victory cards cannot be played during this phase.

B. Buy Phase

Spend Treasure cards to buy one card from the Supply. If you played a card that granted "+Buy" earlier in your turn, you may purchase additional cards this turn. Purchased cards go directly to your discard pile.

C. Clean-up Phase

Discard all played cards and remaining hand cards, then draw 5 new cards from your deck. When your deck is empty, shuffle your discard pile to form a new deck.

Starting Deck and Basic Cards

Every player starts with the same 10-card deck.

Card	Qty	Cost	Effect
Copper	7	0	+1 Coin
Estate	3	2	1 Victory Point

Basic Treasure cards (shared Supply):

Card	Cost	Effect
Silver	3	+2 Coins
Gold	6	+3 Coins

Basic Victory cards (shared Supply):

Card	Cost	Effect
Estate	2	1 VP
Duchy	5	3 VP
Province	8	6 VP

Game End Conditions

The game ends at the end of the current player's turn when either:

1. The Province pile is empty
2. Any 3 Supply piles are empty

The player with the most victory points wins. Ties are broken in favor of the player who took fewer turns.

Core Strategy: Big Money

The first strategy every new player should learn is Big Money. It minimizes reliance on Action cards and focuses on accumulating Treasures to buy high-cost cards consistently.

Big Money steps:

1. Early game (turns 1–5): With 3–4 coins, buy Silver.
2. Mid game (turns 6–10): With 5–7 coins, prioritize Gold over Duchy.
3. Late game: With 8+ coins, buy Province. As Provinces dwindle, consider Duchy and Estate.

Your starting deck of 7 Coppers + 3 Estates rarely produces 5+ coin hands early on. Focus on getting 2–3 Silvers first.

When to Buy Victory Cards

One of the most common beginner mistakes is buying Victory cards too early.

Victory cards (Estate, Duchy, Province) produce no coins and no actions — they are "dead cards" that dilute your deck. Buying them too early weakens your buying power and prevents you from reaching $8.

Practical guidelines:

• In 2-player games, start thinking about Victory cards when about 4–5 Provinces remain
• In multiplayer games, watch the Province count and track pile depletion
• When you can afford Province ($8), buy it without hesitation — this is the safest default for beginners

Reading the Kingdom Cards

Each game uses 10 randomly chosen Kingdom cards. Always scan them before your first turn.

Are there +Actions cards?

Village-type cards (Village, Festival, etc.) with "+2 Actions" let you chain multiple Action cards. Without them, you can only play one Action card per turn.

Are there +Card draw cards?

Draw cards like Smithy (+3 Cards) or Laboratory (+2 Cards) let you cycle through your deck and accumulate more coin each turn.

Are there Trashing cards?

Cards like Chapel and Remodel remove cards from your deck permanently. Use them aggressively to trash your starting Coppers and Estates — a leaner deck reaches $8 hands far more consistently.

Are there Attack cards?

Attacks like Militia and Witch steal coins or add Curses to opponents' decks. When strong Attacks are present, check whether any Reaction cards (e.g. Moat) are available.

Recommended Beginner Kingdom

The official First Game Kingdom from the rulebook:

Cellar / Market / Merchant / Militia / Mine / Moat / Remodel / Smithy / Village / Workshop

This set includes all core deck-building elements: +Actions (Village), +Draw (Smithy), trashing (Mine, Remodel), and defense (Moat).

Common Beginner Mistakes

Mistake	Fix
Buying Provinces too early	Secure Gold first, then pivot to Victory cards
Stacking Coppers	Trade up to Silver and Gold aggressively
Over-buying Action cards	Limit to 1–2 unless you have Village-type support
Ignoring trashing opportunities	Use Chapel/Remodel to thin your starting deck
Not tracking end conditions	Always count remaining Provinces and near-empty piles

Summary

1. Early game: Stack Silvers to strengthen your economy
2. When you hit $8: Buy Province without hesitation
3. Use trashing cards to keep your deck lean and efficient
4. Always watch the end conditions — Province count and 3-pile depletion

Master these basics and you will win consistently as a beginner. Once comfortable, try Engine strategies where you draw your entire deck every turn for explosive turns.