The king shall return... But before he does, the realm falls into anarchy and chaos. The lords of the kingdom struggle to improve their place and standing. New borders are drawn, and expanded through strength of arms and subtle maneuver. Each duke seeks to establish a claim over the most valuable parts of the kingdom before the king finally returns. In the dark of the Middle Ages, control of the land was the key to wealth and power. Can you control enough territory to become the most prestigious duke before the king’s return?
In Domaine, players form domaines by placing walls on the modular board to enclose territory. Completed domaines can then be expanded, even into your opponents'. Protect domaines by placing knights, which resist expansion.
Actions are taken by playing cards that have a cost associated with them. Gain money by selling cards and controlling mines. Sold cards can be acquired by other players.
Players score points based on the quantity and type of terrain enclosed in their domaines, as well as by controlling many mines of a single type. The winner is the first player to cross a specific point threshold or the player with the most points when the card deck runs out.
- quick teach
- interactive and engaging
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Hexagon Grid — players move on a central hex grid; highly interactive; quick to teach
- highly interactive Euro with a hex-grid — players move on a central hex grid; highly interactive; quick to teach
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- two-thirds of the games that I've played over the last 14 years I can go on to YouTube and see what I thought back when I actually played it
References (from this video)
- dynamic, player-driven economy with aggressive interaction
- fast decision space with meaningful consequences
- some players dislike mean competition
- box size and weight can be unwieldy
- mean area control and auction-like action selection
- territory control with walls and domains
- Lowenherz
- Magnagia
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- area/territory control via walls and domains — Players place walls to enclose domains and score based on enclosed areas; mines provide income.
- auction-like action selection — Players buy or cycle actions and place walls; actions impact future turns and scoring.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- the rules are super simple
- it's a mean game
- a dynamic economy where everything that you do will ripple out and have positive or negative effects on everybody else
- it's a 60-minute game
- I wrote the rule book
- this is an incredible design and it deserves a reprint
References (from this video)
- No.
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- So, the highest ranked game I haven't played is Eclipse: Second Dawn.
- Each year I play more more games and each year I have played fewer of the top 100. BGG's top 100 is turning into heavy game central, for sure.
- Daydream is a cozy roll and write.
- Stop telling me your games are cozy.
- Terraria on the box says 45 minutes per player. I don't even know what what was going on there because someone was like, you lots of publishers lie about time. No one lies that that egregiously. It is not even remotely 45 minutes a player.
- I don't like Imperial at all. There's my review of
- Wise Wizards definitely said they're kind of on the uh that they're that they're struggling with a lot of stuff. So, I hope it works out pretty well.
- That was Zen Camilla, and they said it was really really hard, which made me not really particularly want to play it that strongly. I like to play games that are easier, not as difficult.
- Um, there's there's always things we're working on. Uh there's something small bag that we're working on. I can't really talk about that. Um, yet, but you'll know about that in a few weeks.
References (from this video)
- Great concert
- Crowd was engaged
- Band members were a-holes
- Complained about the venue
- Complained about the city
- Punk Rock
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- Can we have the 90s back, please? Can we like start can like rewind back to like 89 90? Like just start there and like I'll take 10 years of the 90s again.
- The songs that remind us of the best times. The songs that remind us of the bad times.
- I drink a whiskey drink. I drink a vodka. I drink a drink. I drink a drink.
- I want to get out of here.
- They're still going around.
- What a [ __ ] horrible song.
- It's so really terrible. Like, but it was so great. Like, at the time it was like everybody listened to it was like that's the song. So catchy though. So catchy. So good.
- Doesn't have to be good. It just has to sell.
- You're an idiot then.
- I mean, no, he's uh the John Spencer Blues Explosion uh album Orange uh was R was rated by I think it was I think it was Playboy rated it the number one album to have sex to.
- Everybody should listen to the Reverend Horton Heat.
- That's fair.
- And I am whenever nobody's like I've never even heard of the replacements. I was like, are they on someone's roof?
- Well, you [ __ ] suck.
References (from this video)
- Adorable art and theme
- Unique ice-cream cone scoring mechanic with toppings
- Cute, whimsical, dessert-themed card play
- Trick-taking with an ice-cream theme
- Light and thematic
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- set collection / scoring via scoops — Winning a trick yields ice-cream scoops with flavors that drive scoring
- Trick-Taking — Players follow suit and win tricks; some tricks influence scoring
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- the gallerist was my number one for February
- it's a trick-taking game that has a solo mode and I am so intrigued to see how that game plays solo
- I really enjoyed laav ... it's absolutely beautiful
References (from this video)
- thematic, bread-production flavor
- tightly paced round structure
- rule clarity issues in first play
- not widely known or widely supported by publishers
- beige euro with a pastry flavor
- medieval bread-making economy in Europe
- economic management with thematic baking goals
- Beefed euro bread games (generic comparison)
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Resource Management — balance flour, water, and other inputs to bake bread types
- Worker Placement — place workers to gather ingredients and bake bread
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- remember it's only a game
- two heroes not difficult to manage solo
- i am enjoying my time with it
- it's not without its problems