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How to play Dominion (2026): Dominion is the deck-building card game that started a whole genre. Two to four players begin with identical small decks and spend each turn buying better cards from a shared supply. Your deck grows into a personal engine of actions and treasures, and the player with the most victory points when the game ends wins. This guide follows the official Rio Grande Games rulebook for the second edition.
The game you need: Dominion (2nd Edition)
The box holds 500 cards: 130 basic treasures (60 Copper, 40 Silver, 30 Gold), 48 basic victory cards (24 Estate, 12 Duchy, 12 Province), 30 Curses and 26 different kingdom card piles.
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Dominion setup
- Deal each player 7 Coppers and 3 Estates. They shuffle these 10 cards as their starting deck and draw 5.
- Place the remaining Copper, Silver and Gold in the supply.
- Set out Estate, Duchy and Province piles: 8 of each in a two-player game, 12 of each with three or four players.
- Add Curses: 10 for two players, 20 for three, 30 for four.
- Choose 10 kingdom card piles. For a first game, the rulebook suggests Cellar, Market, Merchant, Militia, Mine, Moat, Remodel, Smithy, Village and Workshop.
- Put the trash mat near the supply and choose a starting player at random.
Your turn: A, B, C
A: Action phase
You may play one action card from your hand and follow its instructions. Cards that give +Actions let you play more action cards this turn, which is how combos are built.
B: Buy phase
Play any treasure cards from your hand and add up their value: Copper is worth 1, Silver 2 and Gold 3. You may then buy one card from the supply that costs no more than your total, unless a card gave you +Buy. Bought cards go to your discard pile.
C: Clean-up phase
Discard every card you played and every card left in your hand, then draw a fresh hand of 5. When your deck runs out, shuffle your discard pile to make a new deck.
Victory points and costs
| Card | Cost | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Copper | 0 | 1 coin |
| Silver | 3 | 2 coins |
| Gold | 6 | 3 coins |
| Estate | 2 | 1 VP |
| Duchy | 5 | 3 VP |
| Province | 8 | 6 VP |
| Curse | 0 | −1 VP |
How Dominion ends
The game ends at the end of any turn in which the Province pile is empty, or any three supply piles are empty. Players count the victory points in their entire deck. If players tie, the one who took fewer turns wins. If they also took the same number of turns, they share the win.
Key ideas for new players
- Victory cards clog your deck. They do nothing during play, so buy them late.
- Trash weak cards. Chapel, Remodel and Mine help you remove Coppers, Estates and Curses.
- Balance actions and draws. Villages give actions, while Smithies draw cards. You need both for big turns.
- Buy Gold at 6 and Province at 8. This simple rule wins plenty of beginner games.
- Weighing other deck-builders? Our gifts for board game lovers list includes more card games like this.
Your first two Dominion hands
Your opening hand of five might hold 4 Coppers and an Estate. With no actions to play, you skip straight to the buy phase, play the Coppers for 4 coins and buy something useful, such as a Smithy or a Silver. Your next hand will hold the remaining 3 Coppers and 2 Estates, giving you 3 coins for another Silver or a Village. Because your opening two hands always split your 10 starting cards, these first two buys shape the rest of your game.
Choosing kingdoms after your first game
The box includes randomizer cards, one for each kingdom pile. Shuffle them and draw 10 to set up a random market, or pick a themed set from the rulebook. Changing the kingdom every game is what gives Dominion its huge replay value, since a strategy that wins with one set of cards may fail completely with another.
Attacks and reactions
Some kingdom cards are attacks that affect other players, such as Militia, which makes everyone else discard down to 3 cards, or Witch, which hands out Curses. Reaction cards like Moat can be revealed from your hand to block an attack. If your group dislikes attacks, simply choose kingdoms without them.
Dominion rules questions
How many players can play Dominion?
The base game plays two to four.
How many cards do you start with in Dominion?
Ten: 7 Coppers and 3 Estates.
When does a game of Dominion end?
At the end of a turn when the Province pile or any three supply piles are empty.
