Dominion: Dark Ages

2012 · Card Game

Dominion: Dark Ages

Players contend with a ruined, resource-scarce setting where salvaging and scavenging matter. The expansion introduces cards that interact with the discard/trash pile, provide weak “Ruins” that can be inflicted on opponents, and offer alternative starting Shelter cards instead of Estates. Gameplay focuses on trashing and upgrading: some cards trigger effects when trashed, some gain power based on what has been trashed, and others upgrade themselves or other cards. The set adds new card types and synergies that encourage deliberate destruction and replacement of cards to build a more efficient deck over the course of the game.

Players
2–4 best 3
Playing time
30 min
Age
13+
Complexity
2.7 / 5
7.8 on Ludoyafrom $28.95Expansion for Base-gameMedievalHand ManagementDelayed PurchaseDeck, Bag, and Pool Building

On Ludoya's tables

Full stats in Ludoya
20
Plays logged
24
Players
47m 50s
Average play
49
In collections
4
On wishlists

7.8/10

from 10 Ludoya reviews

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Rules questions

Answered from the rulebook by Ludoya's rules assistant.

Do Shelters replace my starting Estates, and can I buy or return Shelters to the Supply?

Shelters replace starting Estates in some games as described under Preparation, but they are never part of the Supply and cannot be bought or returned with Ambassador; they can, however, be trashed by effects that trash cards (and Overgrown Estate is a Victory card worth 0 VP). (pages 4, 6, 14)

When a card tells me to "gain" a card, where does that gained card go?

Unless a card specifically says otherwise, a gained card comes from the Supply and is put into your discard pile; some cards explicitly change this (for example Armory gains to the top of your deck). (pages 7, 16–17)

How do Ruins work — are they in the Supply, can they be bought, and how many are there?

If the Ruins pile is used it is part of the Supply: shuffle the mixed Ruins, include 10 per player, place the pile face down with the top card face up, and only the top Ruins can be gained or bought; Ruins are Action cards and may be played, and the Ruins pile being empty counts toward end-game pile conditions. (pages 5, 18)

If a card says "when you trash this," does that ability trigger if someone else trashes it, and who gets the effect?

Yes: a "when you trash this" ability triggers no matter whose turn it is and regardless of who trashes it, and the player who owned the trashed card is the one for whom the ability functions; these effects happen immediately after the card is put into the trash. (page 5)

What does it mean when an effect "loses track" of a card — what happens then?

If an effect expects to move or find a particular card but that card has been moved or covered up, the effect fails to move it (it "lost track"), but everything else still resolves; see the Procession/Madman example for how this can affect multi-step plays. (page 7)

How exactly does Procession resolve — do 'when trashed' effects happen before you gain the new Action, and can the gain fail?

Procession plays the chosen Action twice, then trashes it; any effects that happen when that card is trashed resolve before you gain the new Action, and you must then gain an Action from the Supply that costs exactly 1 more (gaining fails only if no such card exists). (pages 16–17)

Opens Ludoya's rules assistant, which reads this game's rulebook.

Game facts (players, playing time, age, credits) from BoardGameGeek.