Goal
Build the richest realm. Each realm starts as a single keep. You add land dominoes to it until it's a 5×5 square. The highest score wins.
Dominoes
Each domino has two squares of land. There are six kinds of land:
Some squares show crowns (up to three). Every domino has a number from 1 to 48. Higher numbers are worth more: they tend to have rare land and more crowns.
Game size
- 2 players: 24 dominoes. Each player has two tokens, so 4 dominoes come out each round.
- 3 players: 36 dominoes, one token each, 3 per round.
- 4 players: all 48 dominoes, one token each, 4 per round.
Either way, everyone gets 12 dominoes, which is exactly enough to fill a 5×5 realm.
A round
- A new line of dominoes is turned face up and sorted from the lowest number to the highest.
- Players take turns in the order of their tokens on the current line (the Now row), lowest number first.
- On your turn you place the domino your token is on. Then you move your token to any unclaimed domino in the next line (the Next row).
First round: nobody has anything to place yet. Players claim dominoes from the first line in a random order.
Last round: there's no new line, so players only place.
The trade-off: a high-numbered domino is usually better, but taking it means you act later next round and get fewer choices. Low numbers let you act first.
Placing a domino
- At least one of its squares must be next to (not diagonal to) your keep or to a square of the same land. The keep counts as every kind of land.
- It can't overlap anything.
- Your whole realm must fit inside a 5×5 square. It isn't pinned in place: it can grow in any direction, as long as the outer edges end up at most 5 squares apart.
- If a domino can't be placed legally, you must discard it.
Scoring
- Each connected area of one kind of land is a region. It scores squares × crowns in that region. A region with no crowns scores nothing.
- +10 Centred keep: your realm is a complete 5×5 square with the keep in the exact middle.
- +5 No discards: you never had to discard a domino.
- Ties go to the player with the largest single region, then to the one with the most crowns.
On screen
- Claim: tap a domino in the Next row, then tap it again (or ✓).
- Place: tap a glowing square. A preview appears: outlined when it fits, striped red when it doesn't. Tap a neighbouring square to aim the second half there, or use Rotate and Flip (swap the halves). Then tap ✓ Place.
- If nothing fits anywhere, a Discard button appears instead.
- The chips at the top show everyone's score. Tap a rival's chip to see their realm. The menu's Game info has score breakdowns and the full chronicle.
- Keys: R rotate, S flip, Enter place, Esc cancel.
Tips
- A couple of crowns on a huge region beats many crowns spread thin.
- Plan the shape of your space. A single empty square boxed in on all sides can never be filled, so it costs you both bonuses.