# Any Dominion players here? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [August 6, 2011, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-dominion-players-here/591660 "2011-08-06T00:25:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Chipacabra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e19b73/32.png) [@Chipacabra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chipacabra)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2011, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-dominion-players-here/591660/41 "2011-08-23T00:26:21Z")
> [@Kingspades](#): > > [li]Only play with ten copies of curse, instead of all thirty.[/li] > Our first game we accidentally played with all thirty curses, and by the end of the game I’d put practically all of them into her deck. It’s a wonder she ever played with me again. Just as a note, that’s not a special rule for 2-players. The rule for curses is always 10 per player beyond the first. So 10 in 2 players, 20 in 3 players, 30 in 4 players. ---
**Author:** ![Chipacabra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e19b73/32.png) [@Chipacabra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chipacabra)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2011, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-dominion-players-here/591660/42 "2011-08-23T00:27:58Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Just finished our first game. > > Wow, that was a lot more fast paced that we expected. Once we had a handle on the 10 Kingdom sets we had in game, we started flying through our turns. > > Question, though. > > If a card say something like: > > +1 Buy > +2 Coin value > Does this mean that only your first buy is +2 in value, or does it mean that both your buys are +2 for that turn? Neither. It means that you have 2 additional coins to spend on your turn. You can spend them both on the first card, both on the second, or split them up. ---
**Author:** ![Hawkeyeop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/958977/32.png) [@Hawkeyeop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hawkeyeop)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2011, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-dominion-players-here/591660/43 "2011-08-23T02:17:24Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > All the Victory Cards, but pull out 4 per kind. Just to be sure when you say all the victory cards, you aren’t including the Gardens right? Gardens are only used when they are one of the ten kingdom cards selected. > [@](#): > > Does this mean that only your first buy is +2 in value, or does it mean that both your buys are +2 for that turn? Think of it like you have a pool of money to spend each turn, and each +money or coin increases that pool. So if you have a Woodcutter, two copper and a silver in play, you will have a total of up to 6 money that can be divided into up to two buys. ---
**Author:** ![Mosier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ea924/32.png) [@Mosier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mosier)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2011, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-dominion-players-here/591660/44 "2011-08-23T02:49:15Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Just finished our first game. > > Wow, that was a lot more fast paced that we expected. Once we had a handle on the 10 Kingdom sets we had in game, we started flying through our turns. > > Question, though. > > If a card say something like: > > +1 Buy > +2 Coin value > Does this mean that only your first buy is +2 in value, or does it mean that both your buys are +2 for that turn? You might be confusing the buy process. For example, if you have a gold and two coppers in your hand, and you have already a played a card that says “+1 buy” that means you may buy up to 2 cards, for a combined total of up to 5 coins. You may NOT buy two things that each cost 5 coins. If you had also played a card that says “+2 coins” during your action phase, you would then have 7 total coins to spend. You could buy a market and an estate, but not two markets. If you somehow had 10 coins total, you would then be able to buy 2 markets. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2011, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-dominion-players-here/591660/45 "2011-08-23T20:14:25Z")
> [@Chipacabra](#): > > Neither. It means that you have 2 additional coins to spend on your turn. You can spend them both on the first card, both on the second, or split them up. Thanks, this helps a ton. > [@Hawkeyeop](#): > > Just to be sure when you say all the victory cards, you aren’t including the Gardens right? Gardens are only used when they are one of the ten kingdom cards selected. I haven’t used Gardens yet and I do get that part(thanks). > [@Mosier](#): > > You might be confusing the buy process. > > For example, if you have a gold and two coppers in your hand, and you have already a played a card that says “+1 buy” that means you may buy up to 2 cards, for a combined total of up to 5 coins. You may NOT buy two things that each cost 5 coins. If you had also played a card that says “+2 coins” during your action phase, you would then have 7 total coins to spend. You could buy a market and an estate, but not two markets. If you somehow had 10 coins total, you would then be able to buy 2 markets. No, I got it. At least I think I do. If my hand is: 3 Coppers = 3 1 Silver = 2 2 Golds = 6 I could buy a Card worth 4 and one worth 5. 2 separate purchases. In fact, if you want, can’t your second purchase just be a Copper(costs 0) if you so choose? Or, heaven forbid, a Curse? ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2011, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-dominion-players-here/591660/46 "2011-08-23T20:18:50Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > In fact, if you want, can’t your second purchase just be a Copper(costs 0) if you so choose? Or, heaven forbid, a Curse? Yes, that’s exactly right. ---
**Author:** ![MilTan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@MilTan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MilTan)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2011, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-dominion-players-here/591660/47 "2011-08-23T23:14:30Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Or, heaven forbid, a Curse? Amusingly, there are a few game situations where buying a Curse is the right move. Spoilered, in case you want to figure it out yourself: 1. Buy a Curse to empty the curse pile and end the game on three piles when you’re ahead by more than 1 VP. 2. Buy a Curse to put yourself just over the next level for Gardens, raising the value of all of them. There are other situations, too, but I think they’re much rarer, and won’t come up with just the basic set. ---
**Author:** ![moi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c2a13f/32.png) [@moi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moi)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2011, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-dominion-players-here/591660/48 "2011-08-24T16:53:57Z")
> [@Septima](#): > > Most people I know buy a game because they’ve played it at someone elses house, and know they like it a lot and want to have it available themselves. It would never occur to me to spend that kind of money on a game I wasn’t 100% sure I’d like. How on earth “most” people would get it into their heads to just buy the game cold, I can’t even imagine. > […] > Games are a social thing. If you’re learning it cold, from a box, who are you going to play with? For what it’s worth, my husband and I got original Dominion, plus two additional sets (Intrigue and something about the Sea/Harbor?), all in one fell swoop as a gift. He had the original game on his wishlist due to positive reviews on BoardGameGeek and elsewhere, and we had never played it before. So, while we were both learning it cold from the box, the game was still social, no? For awhile, we lived quite a distance from his game-playing friends and family, so we had to explore things on our own (hence an interest in the reviews at BGG). While I don’t assume all people buy or receive games in this fashion, I wouldn’t assume it was none or an insignificant amount. Just like any other purchase, people can get taken in by an attractive box (and the game illustrators hope you do!), and it seems to be a reasonable expectation that the rulebook makes it possible to learn a game cold without any experienced player talking you through it. Back to the subject of Dominion, I think it’s a great game. I’ve heard others not like it because it feels too much like you’re playing solitaire (ie, your actions don’t always impact the other player(s)), but I’m okay with that pretty much because it’s the only game we have like this. So, for me, rather than a criticism of the game, it’s a novelty. ---
**Author:** ![gonzoron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a6a055/32.png) [@gonzoron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzoron)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2011, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-dominion-players-here/591660/49 "2011-08-25T02:56:56Z")
> [@MilTan](#): > > Amusingly, there are a few game situations where buying a Curse is the right move. Spoilered, in case you want to figure it out yourself: With the expansion cards, there are even more reasons sometimes. 2 of my favorites: [spoiler]1. In a lean deck with an Ambassador, buy a curse to send curses to your opponents (remember, returning the curse to the pile is optional). 1. With a Watchtower in hand, and extra buys but no coins, buy curses and immediately trash them with the Watchtower, thus depleting the curse pile so you don’t get hit with them later. [/spoiler] ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2011, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-dominion-players-here/591660/50 "2011-08-25T03:14:10Z")
> [@moi](#): > > For what it’s worth, my husband and I got original Dominion, plus two additional sets (Intrigue and something about the Sea/Harbor?) [Seaside](http://www.google.com/products/catalog?q=dominion+seaside&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=shop&cid=9891648331230411263&sa=X&ei=8r1VTtLHI6rQiALj5-m1CQ&ved=0CD8Q8wIwAQ) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-dominion-players-here/591660.md?page=2)