Rochester Gamers Community

The game of the month at IBM is Dominion. A proverbial favorite among many, and why not as it is an excellent game.

At the table were Brian (Vree), a certified veteran of the game, two new players who just heard of the game, and myself with only a single game under my belt (but with many hours of reading the rules).

The cards were played but I will only mention two of note, the Thief and the Witch, as they played the biggest roles (in my opinion) in the game.

The game started slow as the game was "taught" at the same time "played". The concept of Dominion and the rules are not hard to grasp, however, and soon everyone was up to speed.

The Witch came into play rather quickly, cursing those who were unlucky enough to be next in line. It didn't take long for other Witches to be drafted and soon everyone had curses on them. Needless to say, the Curse pile emptied quickly.

And here is where it gets interesting. Both Brian and I were counting points. In hindsight, I miscounted which led both Brian and I down very difference courses for the End Game.

Next up was the Thief that became popular. I used it mostly to simply kill the buying power of the other two new players as Brian quickly took note that the Thief was at large in multiple decks and started to buy Coin giving cards. Needless to say, the Thief was primarily just used to stab and grab, more times just to stab. In fact, it was always either the Militia or the Thief that primarily harried the players. To a point where when either card was played, a general groan was emitted from the lips of all who fell under the card's shadow.

Now recall, I stated that only two cards played a big role for me in this game. Those were, again, the Witch and the Thief.

The value of the Witch is that she slows down the decks, buying those who need it time. Time I needed to get myself in a position of stealthy buying power, while at the same time, encourage others to start buying non-point cards.

Through a clever ruse of playing "dumb" and distraction, I was able to get most of the players to buy up Copper, Moneylenders, and other + Action cards. All of which are fun to play, but none of the other players had the decks to do much with it. Combine that with my Thief who just whittled their decks down to actions instead of buying power, and I essentially was able to block them.

In truth, none of it would have been possible if it weren't for my real enemy at the table, Brian. He played his hand very well, dropping Coins for Coin giving cards, and bulked up on +Action and +Buy cards. This, I could not stop, but it did limit the ability of the other two players. Which, again, gave me time.

What was really keeping the game going was the unspoken race for points that both Brian and I were trying to count and outmatch the other with. We both had Curse cards in our hands, and we both believed we knew what the other was worth. If my calculations were right, I believed myself only slightly behind, but enough to warrant some concern.

This is where Brian, in my opinion, gave me an "in". His hand was revved up for multiple +Actions and +Buys, but his buying power was always limited by the cards he drew that "provided" Coins. This gave me what I needed to know. I knew, more or less, exactly what he could and could not buy at any one particular time, as he was able to play his entire hand during his turn. And with the Thief out, Brian was leaning in favor of Coin giving cards, versus Coins themselves. A smart move, considering that the Thief was available just about every other play.

Then the End Game kicked in. Two decks down and only a short stack left in a possible third. Here is where I (1) got lucky and (2) pulled ahead, psychologically speaking. I had enough high Coins to make a good buy if they played out. I was lucky that other cards before me gave me a bigger hand as I had all of my high Coin cards in hand when it came to my turn. I purchased the +6 Victory Points card and I could see Brian's face flinch. Ah-ha! He was counting, too! And from the look on his face and the loose math in my head, I just pulled ahead. Well, that told me what I needed to know. I quickly moved the discussion at the table to end the game, telling the new players how to do so.

Finally, the third deck drained, and the game ended. We all counted our cards, I taking special care to count them no less than three times. In the end, I had enough to outdo Brian, but just barely.

This game was an excellent example of table talk, simple math, and observation. Brian and I had played chicken for a long while and it was a blast. What makes a game is the people, not the mechanics. I have always said this and still believe it today. This session report only serves to strengthen my argument and resolve on this point.

I thank all those who played, but especially Brian, as he has always been an excellent opponent who keeps me on my toes.

Until our next match, Brian, beware the Thief and other players acting dumb. They might be Cylons. :)