There’s nothing quite like Dominion, the popular deck-building card game that offers a ton of exciting variability thanks to its enormous catalog of expansions that you can try via the game’s digital app. There are numerous kingdoms to explore, from the forums and temples in the Empires box to the islands and outposts of the Seaside expansion. However, you might also feel like trying a new game instead. In this list, we’re highlighting ten great board games like Dominion that utilize similar gameplay mechanics and themes.
1. Aeon’s End: 2nd Edition
In Aeon’s End, you and your fellow players are some of the last defenders of an underground city that’s about to be destroyed by a monstrous demon. To begin the game, you’ll select a nemesis enemy and a character, and then put together a starting deck. Where the game is especially similar to Dominion is in its shared marketplace in the middle of the table. You’ll have three gems, two relics, and four spells to choose from when building up your deck throughout the game. Your goal is to use these cards to eliminate the enemy before the city’s strength reaches zero.
2. Legendary: A Marvel Deck Building Game
Assemble your favorite superheroes and take down some of the most iconic comic book villains in history with Legendary: A Marvel Deck Building Game. Loki, Dr. Doom, Red Skull, and Magneto are the available masterminds in the base game. To oppose them, you’ll mix together different hero decks. There are fifteen total options, plus a few more if you purchase the game’s expansions, which means there are a ton of fun and thematic team-up combos to tinker with.
3. Star Realms
If you’d like to try a more portable deck builder than Dominion, I’d recommend Star Realms. You and your opponents duel with space-themed cards, and attempt to reduce each other’s authority score to zero. To build up combat strength and economic might in your intergalactic kingdom, you will need to purchase cards from the trade row, which rotates randomly, with the exception of one stack. With one copy of the base game, you can play with two players, but if you purchase more, you can fit up to six at the table. With four or more players, you can also face off as opposing teams.
4. The Quest for El Dorado
The Quest for El Dorado is a deck-building race through the jungle to the golden city, which lies on the far side of the game board from your starting position. To get to the end, you’ll need to purchase cards from the market that let you bypass the various terrain types on the map. When you land on spaces with hidden tiles, you might get a bonus, or you might encounter a dangerous hazard. The board has a variable layout that ensures that no two games are quite the same. The most recent version of the game also includes a mini-expansion that adds caves to the landscape.
5. Furnace
If you enjoy the engine-building aspects of Dominion, then you’ll love Furnace, which has approximately the same level of complexity. Each round you’ll need to purchase cards at auction by prioritizing which of their actions you need most and placing a numbered disc on them. Then, the player who placed the highest value token on a card gets to take it and use it during their production phase. Careful resource management is just one of the keys to success. Make the most money by the end of the fourth round to claim victory.
6. Dune Imperium Uprising
In Dune Imperium Uprising, you are the leader of one of the Imperium’s great houses and must increase your political influence and military might to wrest control of the desert planet Arrakis from the other players. Throughout the game, you’ll gather spice from the sands, purchase a seat on the Great Council, and ally yourself with the Fremen to collect water. You’ll also need to spend your persuasion points to purchase iconic characters for your deck, and trash cards with the help of the Bene Gesserit. It’s a mix of deck building and worker placement that hits all the right notes, even if you’re not familiar with the source material.
7. The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game
Explore Middle Earth, fight epic battles, and relive the best moments from J.R.R. Tolkien’s books in The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game. This cooperative tabletop experience takes players to every corner of the map, from the fields of Rohan to the Iron Hills. Before you attempt any of its scenarios, you’ll need to build a custom deck of heroes, allies, attachments, and events. You’ll then use these cards to face off against the encounter deck, which contains all kinds of orcs, trolls, and dangerous locations for you to conquer. There are a ton of exciting LOTR LCG expansions, and the recently revised content releases have an excellent campaign mode.
8. Rune Stones
Rune Stones is a deck-building board game that forces you to make interesting decisions about which of your powerful cards you’ll use and which you’ll save. Instead of playing one action at a time, you’ll play a pair instead. However, each card has a number on it, and you’ll need to trash the card in your action pair with the higher number after you play it. This game also has an interesting purchasing system, in which the cards in the market get cheaper for every round that they’ve been available. You’ll need to predict what your opponents are planning to purchase and piece together rare artifacts in order to reach 65 points before anyone else does.
9. Wingspan
The relaxing tableau builder Wingspan is all about building a beautiful array of birds that will draw you cards, give out food, and lay eggs with high-scoring efficiency. No two bird cards in the deck are the same, and your strategy can shift significantly depending on which bonus cards you have in hand. End-of-round effects can also change your approach, but you’ll need to keep an eye on what your opponents are doing to make sure you can outpace them. There’s a ton of replay value, the components are high-quality, and the artwork is gorgeous.
10. Evolution
In Evolution, you control an unknown, indistinct species without any definable features at the beginning of the game. Then, to ensure the survival of your species, you’ll use unique trait cards that let you gather as much food as possible. Perhaps you’ll give your species fat tissue to store nutrients, or a long neck to reach leaves at the top of the trees. If one of the other players turns into a carnivore, you’ll also need to give yourself an evolutionary advantage that allows it to evade extinction, such as camouflage or horns. The core engine-building aspect of Evolution will appeal to anyone who likes Dominion.
Published: Dec 3, 2024 12:06 pm