Dominion: Intrigue (Card Game) Catch All

Hopefully this is worth mentioning on the boards but I'm totally hook on Dominion thanks to the recommendations from these forums. Dominion: Intrigue is the expansion of the card game Dominion.

From BGG:

You are a monarch, like your parents before you, a ruler of a small pleasant kingdom of rivers and evergreens. Unlike your parents, however, you have hopes and dreams! You want a bigger and more pleasant kingdom, with more rivers and a wider variety of trees. You want a Dominion! You will bring civilization to these people, uniting them under your banner.

Dominion: Intrigue adds rules for playing with up to 8 players at two tables or for playing a single game with up to 6 players. This game adds 25 new Kingdom cards and a complete set of Treasure and Victory cards. The game can be played alone by players experienced in Dominion or with the basic game of Dominion.

Basic premise of Dominion is building your deck while you play the game. You buy victory points, treasure, and action cards to win the game but you need to decide wisely what to put in your deck. Basically it's a probability game, fill up your deck with awesome cards. Simple to learn, tough to master.

Here are the cards.

Here is a nice preview.

Word on the street is that the game is coming to stores this week. Anybody excited and have their preorders ready?

Wow didn't realise it was going to hit stores so soon. I had been tracking it on Board Game Geek for a while, so it is great to see it will be available soon.

Does mean I'm going to have a real problem storing and transporting the base game and expansion together now. I currently use a Magic the Gathering long card box which is excellent, and even has some room remaining. Not sure It will be able to handle another 250 kingdom cards plus blue backed selector cards. God forbid the extra sleeves I'll need...

Ya, at least you wont be using the chips! I can't imagine how much space that takes! I've seen people turn dominion into a chip game which is quite clever without all the mixing of decks. Just put it in a bag and draw from there. Good idea, but takes a lot of space.

I'm interested in Intrigue and some of the new cards look like fun. At the same time I've barely played the original game enough; certainly don't feel like I need an expansion yet. Will probably grab this at some point down the road though. Dominion is a fantastic game, I just hope they don't expansion it to death.

Think there's any chance that they'll box the game and expansion together? I'd like to get it in time for a big gaming get-together in the fall, and adding the capability for more people to play sounds great.

I don't think so but I'm sure there will be a bundle deal out there. The expansion is also a stand alone so yo don't need the original.

Crockpot wrote:

The expansion is also a stand alone so yo don't need the original.

Huh. I had no idea. I'll be curious to see the reviews. Thanks!

Just played Dominion Intrigue last night, it was a blast. There are some very sweet cards. I played with new players so the games were longer than expected but still very sweet.

Dreaded Gazebo wrote:

Dominion is a fantastic game, I just hope they don't expansion it to death.

The game practically screams expansion. I would expect them to continue at the pace of 1-2 expansions a year, plus promos/extras similar to the cards currently available through BGG (black market plus another, can't remember the name).

Poppinfresh wrote:
Crockpot wrote:

The expansion is also a stand alone so yo don't need the original.

Huh. I had no idea. I'll be curious to see the reviews. Thanks!

This has me more intrigued at the prospect.

Would a 1st-time player be able to learn the game using the expansion just as easily as with the core set?

Having neither, it would seem smarter to get the expansion with new cards than the base set, as long as they don't expect you to have a working knowledge of the series going in.

The cards are a bit more complicated than the base set but if you took your time you could learn it pretty easy (30 minutes or less).

There is one card in the base set that I strongly suggest using with the expansion, which is "moat" which prevents all attacks against you if it is in your hand. I can't imagine not playing with that card with some of the attack cards in Intrigue.

Also Intrigue has a lot of aggressive cards, so keep that in mind for those who like to keep to themselves might have a hard time enjoying their experience. The base has like only 4-5 attack cards compare to i think 8-9 cards... I can't remember but there is a lot of attacking going on.

Ultimately I think you will enjoy the game so much that you will buy both. Its just that good. Every person I played with (mostly casual people) LOVES the game and most of them plan on buying the game.

Is Dominion a good game with 2 players, or do you need more for a proper experience?

I've had a lot of fun with it with only 2 players. It can be better with 3 or 4, but it's one of the best 2 player games I've played.

Mr Crinkle wrote:

Is Dominion a good game with 2 players, or do you need more for a proper experience?

kaostheory wrote:

I've had a lot of fun with it with only 2 players. It can be better with 3 or 4, but it's one of the best 2 player games I've played.

I had a great time at the Austin S&T playing Bang!, and I'm looking for good 2-player card games to get my wife into (besides the obvious). Any recommendations?

Bonus_Eruptus wrote:

I had a great time at the Austin S&T playing Bang!, and I'm looking for good 2-player card games to get my wife into (besides the obvious). Any recommendations?

Dominion, perhaps? My wife and I are big fans of San Juan which has been mentioned here on the board several times. For an interesting twist on the usual rummy game, check out the Mystery Rummy series. I have Mystery Rummy: Jack the Ripper and it is really interesting. Haven't played others in the series but they all seem to be pretty good. My wife and I also really like Shazaam! and I'm a fan of Scarab Lords/Minotaur Lords for something really quick and easy.

For more ideas, check out the Kosmos 2 player series. I think Jambo and Lost Cities are typically considered two of the best in the series. I haven't played Jambo but a friend and his wife have it and really love it. I'm a fan of Lost Cities but my wife hates it so your mileage may vary.
The Settlers of Catan Card Game is pretty clever although a little bit more involved. Blue Moon is supposed to be quite good too.

Finally, while not card games, Lord of the Rings: The Confrontation is an awesome Stratego-like game that plays really quickly and has asymmetrical sides and Dynasties is a really cool two player area control game.

Mr Crinkle wrote:

Is Dominion a good game with 2 players, or do you need more for a proper experience?

I think it's still very fun. However I find the optimal experience is 3-4 players. Intrigue plus core game lets you do up to 6, but I found that 5 (with new players mind you) took longer than 45 minutes (games are usually 20-30).