Kingdomino Duel
Overall Rating: 10/10
Age: 8+
GLAM Age Range: 8-Adult
Number of Players: 2
Playing Time: 20 min
Publisher: Blue Orange Games
Complexity: Medium
Available At: Amazon.com
Quick Take: I would call Kingdomino the new Settlers of Catan for people who want a great strategy and kingdom building game in a short amount of time. Like Settlers, the Kingdomino universe now includes several spinoff games like Queendomino and Kingdomino Duel. Kingdomino Duel is a great choice for someone who loved the original game and is looking for something that is at about the same difficulty level but provides a fun twist on the original game. Use dice to create your dominos and use some magic spells that are easy to understand and learn how to use. They provide some strategic choices to make over the course of the game. My main complaint is having to laminate more of these game sheets, we like this game a lot and are using them up rather quickly!
How to Play: Your goal is to have the most points at the end of the game. You earn points the same as you do in standard Kingdomino except you use crests instead of types of land and crosses instead of crowns. You roll four dice in order to create your domino piece each round. The first player selects one die, the second selects two dice, and the first player selects the final die. You then play your dice as a connected piece starting from the center of your playing sheet. Dominos must be played so that at least one side matches a new domino once they play out from the castle center point. There is a magical spellbook sheet on which players get to mark off squares whenever they select a die without any crosses on it. These give players the opportunity to compete for special powers that can be used once, like playing two dice independently of each other on the board or being able to select two dice instead of just one when you're the player who has rolled first. Play until the board is filled and then tally up the points to see who has the most prestige points and has won the game!
Variations: We don't use any for this game! It's quick, well-balanced, very well done. My main complaint is like Qwixx, we like this game a lot and have been burning through the provided sheets. If you get this game you're probably going to have to laminate a few sheets.
Similar Games To Check Out: Patchwork, Kingdomino, Queendomino, Dragonwood