Review of Kingdomino: Create Your Kingdom

Kingdomino is a strategic board game created by French designer Bruno Cathala and published by Blue Orange Games. It was first released in 2016 and has since garnered critical acclaim, winning several awards, including the Spiel des Jahres in 2017, a prestigious German board game award.

The idea behind Kingdomino is to blend elements of dominoes with kingdom-building games. The game is designed for 2 to 4 players and is relatively quick, with sessions typically lasting around 15 to 20 minutes.

Kingdomino features some simple yet strategically challenging mechanics.

Domino Selection (Draft)

Before each round, players choose dominoes from the common pool. The order of selection is crucial as it determines the sequence for the next round. This adds a strategic element to the game, as players must balance choosing desired dominoes with their position in the selection order.

Domino Placement

After selecting dominoes, players place them in their kingdoms. Each domino must be placed adjacent to at least one existing domino in the kingdom, forming a rectangular grid.

Scoring

Scoring is calculated by multiplying the number of terrain squares in a region by the number of crowns present in that region. This encourages players to create large, densely populated areas with crowns to maximize their score.

Kingdom Building

Players build their kingdoms by expanding them with the chosen dominoes. They need to balance the desire to obtain areas with many crowns for high scores with the need to efficiently fill their kingdom without leaving empty spaces.

5x5 Bonus

At the end of the game, players receive extra points for filling a 5x5 square in their kingdoms. This adds another strategic layer, as players must consider optimizing their kingdoms to achieve this bonus.

Multiplayer Experience

The game supports 2 to 4 players, making it suitable for various group settings. Player interaction occurs mainly during the domino selection phase, where the competition for choosing the best dominoes is intense.

These simple mechanics contribute to the accessibility of Kingdomino, making it easy for casual players to learn while still offering strategic depth for more experienced players. The combination of draft, placement, and scoring creates a captivating dynamic that contributes to the game's broad appeal.

Kingdomino is a strategic board game where players compete to build the most valuable kingdom.

Choose Wisely at the Beginning

At the start of the game, choose pieces that provide a good combination of terrain and crowns. This will help establish a solid foundation for your kingdom.

Prioritize Crowns

Try to acquire pieces with crowns, as they multiply the terrain score in that region. Having a high crown count is essential for high final scores.

Connect Terrain Types

Connecting areas of the same terrain type increases the score. Plan well to ensure you have continuous terrains and maximize your score.

Pay Attention to the Selection Order

Keep an eye on the order of piece selection. In future rounds, you may have a better choice if you had a worse initial selection position.

Flexibility and Adaptation

Stay flexible. Sometimes, it's better to adjust your strategy based on the available pieces than to insist on an initial plan that may not be working.

Watch Your Opponents

Observe your opponents' choices. If they are focusing on a specific terrain type or crowns, you may want to adjust your strategy to compete or avoid direct confrontation.

Plan for the Future

Always think ahead. Evaluate how the pieces you choose will impact your kingdom in the following rounds.

Don't Neglect Bonuses

Some special bonus squares provide additional points if you have certain types of terrains adjacent. Try to incorporate these bonuses into your kingdom whenever possible.

Kingdomino has received several awards since its release, including the Spiel des Jahres in 2017, one of the most prestigious awards in the board game industry. This award recognizes games that are easy to learn, provide lasting fun, and have broad appeal.

Its success has led to the development of expansions, such as "Queendomino," which adds new mechanics and challenges to the original game. These expansions offer new strategic layers and keep the game fresh for players already familiar with the basic rules.

The game is called Kingdomino because its rectangular pieces resemble dominoes. However, instead of numbers, these pieces represent different types of terrains, providing a unique twist to the domino concept. It is praised for its ability to be played quickly, often in about 15 to 20 minutes. This feature makes it a popular choice for shorter gaming sessions and for introducing new players to the world of board games.

These trivia highlights how Kingdomino is not just an award-winning game but also a title that has made its mark in the board game industry, offering a unique and engaging experience.

The end of the game in Kingdomino is triggered when all players have completed their kingdoms by filling the available space or choosing not to add more dominoes. When this happens, the final scoring phase begins. Here are the final steps of the game:

5x5 Bonus: Players who successfully filled a 5x5 square in their kingdoms receive additional points. Each complete square is worth a specific amount of points, and this can be a crucial part of the final score.

Final Scoring: Each player counts the number of squares in each region of their kingdom and multiplies this number by the number of crowns in that region. They then sum all the region scores to get their final score.

Determination of the Winner: The player with the highest score is declared the winner of the game. In case of a tie, the player who chose the domino with the highest selection order in the last round is considered the winner.

Kingdomino is designed to be a quick and strategic game, and the scoring process is relatively straightforward. The combination of domino choice, efficient placement, and crown pursuit creates an engaging dynamic, and players must balance expanding their kingdoms to achieve the best possible score. The 5x5 bonus adds an additional element of strategic planning for players to consider as they build their kingdoms throughout the game.

This game has pedagogical elements that can be explored in educational contexts. While the game was primarily designed for entertainment, some aspects can be applied in pedagogical environments to promote the development of cognitive and social skills.

Spatial Reasoning

Kingdomino involves creating a kingdom by positioning domino pieces, requiring spatial reasoning. Players need to plan and visualize how different dominoes will fit into their kingdoms, developing spatial organization and perception skills.

Strategy and Planning

The game encourages strategic decision-making during domino selection and placement in the kingdom. Players need to consider not only the available dominoes but also anticipate opponents' choices. This strategic approach promotes critical thinking and short- and long-term planning.

Learning Rules

Kingdomino is relatively easy to learn, making it suitable for younger children. Playing the game can help develop the ability to follow rules, improve understanding of instructions, and foster respect for established procedures.

Basic Mathematics

The game involves a light form of mathematics as players multiply the number of terrain squares by the number of crowns to calculate the score. This offers an opportunity for practical and contextualized multiplication practice.

Social Skills

Kingdomino, especially during the draft phase, encourages social interaction. Players need to consider others' choices, communicate their strategies, and deal with inevitable tough choices. This promotes social skills such as communication, empathy, and conflict resolution.

Adaptation to Different Ages

The game has versatility that allows it to be adapted for different age groups. Simplified versions can be used for younger children, while the basic version or expansions can be explored by more experienced players, allowing effective adaptation to the target audience.

In addition to the base game of Kingdomino, several variations and expansions have been developed to enrich players' experience by introducing new mechanics, challenges, and strategies.

Queendomino

This expansion is a more complex variation of Kingdomino. It introduces buildings, taxes, and castle construction, adding strategic layers and additional scoring opportunities. Additionally, there is a new piece called the "queen" that affects the domino selection order.

Age of Giants

This expansion adds giants to the game, which can be used to block other people's scores as well as force additional strategic choices. It also introduces new challenges and scoring opportunities.

Kingdomino Duel

This is a standalone version of Kingdomino designed specifically for two players. It features new rules adapted for a two-player format while maintaining the essence of the original game.

Age of Kingdomino

This expansion includes more domino pieces and an additional board, allowing games with up to six players. It also introduces new pieces featuring two different landscapes, providing more challenges in choosing and placing dominoes.

Harmony

This expansion brings a new layer to the game, introducing elements of harmony. Players now earn bonus points for having certain types of terrains in their kingdoms.

In conclusion, Kingdomino is more than just an award-winning board game; it is an experience that combines simplicity and strategic depth in a remarkable way. Its creation by Bruno Cathala and publication by Blue Orange Games has resulted in a title that captivates a wide range of audiences, from casual players to more experienced ones.