Eminent domain board game strategy

The Influence Point tokens, starting planets, and player reference cards were a joy to punch from their cardboard sheet; some even fell out out on their own, impatient to play. When I first open up a brand new game and find that the cardboard pieces are difficult to punch, causing them to split or tear, it makes me anxious and affects my enjoyment of the game.

Spaceships — When first opening Eminent Domain , one finds carefully packaged in a baggie, inside of a small box, a set of small, black, plastic spaceships. The spaceships come in three different shapes, with each shape a differing size. It could be argued that wooden cubes or cardboard tokens would serve the purpose just as effectively as these little plastic fighters, but during play, little touches like this really help reinforce the theme.

It is a bid odd though that the ships come in three sizes, because the size of the ship has no relevance in gameplay. Seth Jaffee was kind enough to talk to me about these interesting components, and I came out of the exchange with much more information about the ship tokens came to be, and what the future holds for them — You will have to wait till the conclusion of this review for that juicy info though!

Rulebook — The rulebook is very colorful, and has large, detailed illustrations of the game components. There are three major classes of cards: Role cards, Planet cards, and Technology cards. Each type of role card has two distinct abilities printed on it; one for the Role phase, and one for the Action phase. Once sorted, the role cards are placed in piles indicated on the game board, and each player is dealt a hand of 10 predetermined Role cards that will make up his starting deck.

After the role cards are set up, the technology cards are separated by type and placed next to the board, as well as the planet cards which are shuffled together and placed face down in a pile. The resource markers, spaceships, and influence tokens are then placed in piles near the play area. Each player starts the game with a random unexplored starting planet in his play area. These starting planets are easily differentiated from the other planets by the fact that they are printed on a thick cardboard tile.

Once the game has been set up, players shuffle their deck and then draw 5 cards to make up their starting hand. Play is ready to begin. Play in Eminent Domain is deceptively simple.

Each gameplay turn is separated into 3 distinct phases: Action, Role Selection, and Cleanup. This action is restricted to the current player, and unlike the Role phase that will be described next, it is not performed by other players in the game.

The action phase is optional, and a player may find himself forgoing an Action phase and saving his cards to take better advantage of the Role phase. After a player has performed his action phase, the mandatory Role phase begins. This is where the deck building portion of Eminent Domain really becomes apparent. When you select a Role in the Role phase, the card you take makes its way into your discard pile, and eventually your deck. This means the more you select a certain role, the more likely those Role cards will be in your hand, and the more cards you will have available to enhance the effect of a particular role.

Survey — The Survey card allows the player to draw cards from the planet deck, and place it unexplored in his tableau. Planets do not score points, or give effects to players until they have been explored, so this is just the first step in expanding an empire.

Since planets have differing abilities, having a larger number to choose from allows the player to better select planets that align with his larger strategy. Similar to the colonies in the colonization role, a player may use the warfare role to amass ships to conquer planets. Like the colonize action, only the current player can attack a planet, but all players may discard Warfare cards, and use planet abilities to gain more spaceships.

If he produces, he may place a little wooden resource disk on a production planet; by boosting the role, he can produce on more than one planet. If the player chooses the Trade role, then the opposite of Produce occurs, and the player may remove a resource from the planet, return it to the supply, and gain an influence point in return. By boosting the Trade role, the player can perform this action on more planets. The research role breaks this predictable cycle up a bit, and is really what adds character to the game.

The research role serves two purposes: The first is to allow the player to purchase technology cards with special actions that are much stronger than the base role cards; the second is to allow the player to tailor his deck by removing unwanted role cards from his hand. The research role may be the most complicated to understand for new players, because it has an action that allows players to remove cards from the game entirely.

Because of this ability, the research role actually becomes one of the most important roles in the game. The technology cards that can be purchased with the research role are also very important.

Most of the technology cards act like super-powered role cards, with expanded actions that are stronger than their simple role counterparts. In conjunction with the research ability to remove cards, players can trash the more basic role cards, and increase the likelihood that one of the powerful technology cards will be drawn. The player may also choose to discard any number of cards from his hand, before drawing his hand back up to 5 cards. When the player runs out of cards in his deck, he shuffles his discard pile to create a new deck.

While this is the basic flow of the game, there is a bit more depth when actually looking at the special powers of the planets and the different technology cards. Many technology and planet cards have icons on them that correspond to a particular role. A card with one of these icons can be used just like a role card when boosting the matching role. Planets may also give other abilities, such as allowing a player an increased hand size.

I wanted to wait until after I had described general gameplay before discussing this iconography, not because it is difficult to understand in fact, it is very simple , but because Eminent Domain shares a lot of mechanical similarity to another icon heavy game: Race for the Galaxy. Simply put, if there is an icon on a card in Eminent Domain it means one of two things: either it increases your hand size, or it can be used like a Role card when boosting a role effect.

I enjoyed playing Eminent Domain. Where some games may mire the various actions in complexity, the purpose of the various roles in Eminent Domain are clearly defined, making it easy to create and execute a strategy.

The addition of Technology and Planet cards add spice to the game by introducing some rule changing properties and effects which keep Eminent Domain from growing stale, and keep players on their toes. Deck building as a game mechanism has been polarizing gamers lately. With a large number of games trying to jump on the Dominion bandwagon, many people have become fatigued with the idea.

But, those gamers who dislike deck building games may not want to discount Eminent Domain out of hand. While Eminent Domain does contain a deck building mechanism, it is not presented in the same manner as most deck builders. Players who own Race for the Galaxy may find Eminent Domain jockeying for the same spot on the game shelf. Eminent Domain has unique mechanics that allow it to easily stand on its own, but with such a similar theme, and role selection mechanism, both titles may feel like they scratch the same itch.

As a result, the Eminent Domain player may feel more empowered, and have more control than the Race for the Galaxy player. By the same stroke however, Eminent Domain can feel like it lacks breadth of content, with the handful of planets appearing somewhat anonymous, and without personality.

Eminent Domain is a very approachable game, which can be both a blessing and a curse. Its gameplay is simple; perhaps deceptively so. The choices that can be made, and they way different actions interact with each other, appear straightforward and understandable. While this is great from an accessibility standpoint, it also means that players may feel they have a handle on the game after the first few minutes of play, and mistakenly think that it lacks depth.

Given a few games however, it becomes apparent that the workable strategies in Eminent Domain are much more varied and subtle than first glance. Understanding how to use the Research cards is a big part of opening up the greater depth of Eminent Domain , and may take a few plays before it really clicks. Once it clicks though, Eminent Domain changes from an entertaining diversion, to a truly fun game teeming with strategic choices. There are many different paths to victory in Eminent Domain , but some strategies might seem overpowered to the new player.

Take Warfare vs. Colonization as an example: When a player uses a colonization strategy, his colony cards are tied up during use, because they must be placed under the planet to be colonized. Only when the planet is settled are those returned to the deck. Warfare, on the other hand produces spaceship tokens which can be stockpiled to attack a planet later. This is assumption that Warfare is unbalanced is deceptive, though, and one of the situations where the subtlety of strategy in Eminent Domain really shines.

Although a Warfare strategy will generate lots of ships for the player, the player may instead chooses to settle planets with colonization icons on them. Using this alternative strategy the player will find that the number of colonies needed to settle each planet decreases with each new planet. Pursuing this strategy far enough, with enough icons in his tableau, the player can settle a planet in a single action without having to first add any colonies to it.

This means that a player using the colony strategy is able to take over planets in less turns than a player using the warfare strategy. A player using a colony strategy may also choose to keep colonies out of play, under unsettled planets, as a strategy to change the distribution of cards in his deck. Strategies like these add a subtle balance to the different roles, and may not be apparent at first glance. But, as players become more familiar with the game, the possibilities unfold into a very rich game-space.

While most of the design in Eminent Domain is surprisingly elegant, there are a few parts of the design that seem almost superfluous. The two that immediately come to mind are the plastic spaceships, and the resource counters. It feels like the different ships should each have a unique purpose, and not just act as simple counters. The colored resource disks also seem out of place.

Whether a planet produces water or silicon is largely irrelevant. I thought that perhaps these components were added to the game in anticipation of an expansion that would more appropriately use them, and the mere presence of the different sized ships and different types of resources made me wonder whether there is added depth just beyond their painted surfaces. Instead of speculating about this, I went straight to the horses mouth and contacted game designer Seth Jaffee.

The story behind the components in Eminent Domain actually turned out to give an interesting glimpse into the game development and production process. Eminent Domain originally called for small back disks to represent the warfare counters, But as it became apparent that Eminent Domain would exceed its Kickstarter funding goal, Seth Jaffee and Tasty Minstrel founder Michael Mindes wanted to add some cool bits to the game that would add to the theme and increase the production value.

The original plan was to design custom fighter tokens, but the cost of making the molds was prohibitive. They did, however, have access to the ship molds that were used in the game Galactic Emperor, and decided that using these ships would add to the theme of the game I agree that it does!

These molds happened to have all three sizes of ships in each mold, and as a result, every copy of Eminent Domain comes with those three different types of ships. Seth Jaffee is currently designing an expansion for Eminent Domain , however, and he tells me that he has some ideas for utilizing the different types of ships. In his own words:. Some time next year you will probably have an expansion that makes them different!

As for the differing planet resources: that was a design decision to add a bit more theme to differentiate the planets, and also give players more strategy when utilizing technologies. While it may seem that the game should support planets or tech that require specific types of resources in their purchase price, in practice, those choices unbalanced the game.

Eminent Domain is a game that seems to exist to defy preconceptions; no matter what you may think about the individual game mechanisms that make up the game, Eminent Domain is sure to surprise you, and may just sneak up on you to become one of your favorites. Eminent Domain does very little that is new, but sort of like a Stefan Feld game, it takes disparate game mechanics and puts them together to form a synergy: they add up to a better game than they were apart. The designer, Seth Jaffee, posted an article discussing his design process and influences here :.

The game play is fast and light, with some tough decisions, and there are many different strategies. The rules are simpler than the source games, and the game comes with good player aids which also act as the starting player selection.

Starting planets are different for each player, and are randomly determined with extra planets for added variety. Planets typically score between two 2 and five 5 influence a piece. Goods and sometimes fighters score typically one influence a piece and are renewable. Researched technologies scores two 2 or five 5 for intermediate and advanced cards. Gameplay At the start of the game and the end of your turn, you are dealt a hand of cards from your deck. Review your cards in front of you to ensure you are getting the most of your turn Action phase On your turn, you may first take an Action.

Role phase After your action, you then take a Role. Cleanup phase After you have played a role, you must discard your hand down to your current card limit starts at 5 or less. Game end The game ends after the turn that follows the depletion of a number of role card stacks 1 stack for player game, 2 stacks for player game , or when the influence token supply is exhausted. Actions Survey Draw 2 cards from your deck to your hand.

Warfare Collect 1 fighter token or attack 1 planet use as many fighters as the planet fighter cost to flip it over. Only planets with a filled slot may Trade Produce a single good on an available slot, different slots represent different commodities or Trade a single good on a filled slot for one influence. Research Remove up to two 2 cards in your hand from the game and effectively your deck. Roles When you play a role you may also play cards with that symbol to give more strength to that role.

Roles as leader Note that the leader will also get a card from the role stacks which is played on that turn so they gain an additional symbol for the role of their choice. Survey Look at one planet card per survey symbol played. Warfare Collect one fighter per warfare symbol played or Attack one planet in the same way as when done as an action. Colonize Settle one 1 planet. Your surveyed world requires four colonies to settle.

You have already colonized a world with colonize symbol and also have the Fertile Ground technology. You need only have two colonies on the surveyed world in order to settle it.

These cards will not return to your deck until the world is colonized or conquered. Research Buy a technology card with Research at minus one cost. The starting technologies 1 world give an enhanced action or may act as either symbols. The intermediate technologies 2 matching type worlds are worth two 2 influence.

Those that have an action associated must be played during the Action phase to get their benefit. The advanced technologies 3 matching type worlds tend to give significant game altering rules and are also worth five 5 influence. Intermediate and Advanced Technologies are double-sided so once one side is taken the other side becomes unavailable Roles for following players Survey Look at one planet card per survey symbol played minus one so you need at least 2 survey symbols to make it worth following a survey role.

Warfare Collect one fighter per warfare symbol played. Colonize Place as many colonize cards as played on a planet. Research Buy a technology card. Planet cards Planet cards have a cost in colonies or warfare.

You can turn the planet over by paying either of these costs' Once a planet is turned over, it may have resource slots s which allow you to produce on and trade from it.

Technology cards Technology cards have a cost which is paid with research symbols and require a certain amount settled worlds of the same type. How to Use Technology Cards User Interface A Permanent Technology refers to a card that does not get shuffled into your deck but instead is placed face up and available during the appropriate phases. One World Type Cards Improved Colonize - Play during your Action Phase You may settle one world if it is colonized then you may place this card on another world that still needs to be colonized as a Colonize -or- You may settle a second world Improved Production - Play during your Action Phase You may immediately produce twice on your choice of planets with available slots or any planet with more than one slot or any combination thereof Improved Trade - Play during your Action Phase You immediately gain one influence - you do NOT need a good to trade to get this benefit.

Trade different goods for more influence - you must use multiple Trade in your Role phase to get this benefit. The card does NOT provide an additional Trade to the Leader role only the additional scoring Data Network - Play during your Action Phase Immediately draw two more cards to your hand and choose to remove any cards in your hand and in front of you from the game similar to Research action.

You will get information that you still have actions left just select the card you want to remove before continuing Specialization - Play during your Action Phase Plays like Diverse Markets this will affect your Role phase.

Trade the same goods for more influence - you must use multiple Trade in your Role phase to get this benefit. For each good you produce you get an influence. If the world can be settled with the addition of up to two colonies it is automatically settled, otherwise it is played as if two Colonize have been provided to the planet This card does NOT provide the Settle benefit if it is used during any Colonize Role phase' Fertile Grounds - Permanent Technology - Works during any Production or Research role All your planets require one less to Settle and during any Production or Research roles this counts as those symbols Abundance - Permanent Technology - Works during any Settle or Attack Planet actions Upon taking this you immediately gain four resources.

Whenever you settle a Planet or Attack a Planet you immediately produce two resources. Scenarios Variant: If you start with this upon your first two worlds attacked or settled they have room for a second resource. At the end of your Role phase select the Mobilization card then choose which planet you wish to attack.

You can still perform a Warfare role as normal for two attacks in the turn Survey Team - Play during your Action Phase You immediately draw the next world in the deck and add it available worlds to attack or colonize War Path - Play during your Action Phase You may attack two worlds immediately and still choose Warfare during your Role phase for a third attack this round if you desire.

If you also have Scorched Earth policy the reduction applies only to one of the attacks. Imperialism - Permanent Technology - Works during any Survey, Trader or Warfare role You have an additional symbol in each of the above when you are Leader or follow Scorched Earth Policy - Works during any Attack Planet action You use up to two less fighters to attack a Planet, planets attacked may not store any goods.

If the planet has two slots only the first one will be unusable. The bonus applies only to each Warfare played not every attack. At the end of the game take one more turn. Other players may still follow the role you choose during this extra turn. Escalation Expansion There are a number of additions in Escalation including the ability to attack other players. Additional Actions In addition to a card's action available each player has an additional action which affects their fleet A player may convert three fighters to a destroyer A player may convert two destroyers to a Battlecruiser If the player has upgraded to the Improved Fleet The player may convert two fighters to a destroyer multiple times A player may convert two destroyers to a Battlecruiser Having a Battlecruiser in your fleet reduces the amount of fighters needed in an attack planet by two fighters, a Battlecruiser may also be used to attack and win against any planet, however to attack another player's world you will need the matching Action card Additional Worlds Hostile Planets - Show the Destroyer Symbol and NO Colonize symbol These worlds may be only taken over by the player using a Destroyer and may not be colonized.

Bustling Planets - Show the Destroyer Symbol and Colonize symbol These worlds may be only taken over by the player using a Destroyer and they may be colonized as per usual instructions. Civilized Planets - Show the Battlecruiser and Colonize Symbol These worlds may be only taken over by the player using a Battlecruiser for warfare they may be colonized as per usual instructions. They all have the Peace Treaty ability.

Additional Symbology Some technology cards shows the fighter symbol or a resource symbols, these cards may be used as additional fighters or the resource they represent by selecting them during the appropriate phase. Competitive modes and rankings have been disabled for this game read more. Challenge the best players in the world Become the next champion of Eminent Domain.

My Arena history. My Arena history Competitive modes and rankings have been disabled for this game read more. You haven't tried this game yet How to play? Winnable trophies. Arena Champion. Arena Runner-up. World ELO leader. Commander in Chief. Eminent Premium member. Nobel Prize. All-time specialist. War Hero. Marathon olympic winner. Eminent specialist.

Elite league. Tutorial Grand Master. Loyal Premium member. Happy Premium member. Marathon champion. World class specialist. Diamond league. A HUGE thank you! Tutorial Master. Marathon runner. Premium member. Senior Specialist. Babel Fish. Diamond Ambassador. Tutorial Maker. Or maybe you try to do more of a balancing act between two or three different actions and you have to carefully curate your mix of cards to try to craft the best draws possible.

All of this is disrupted by the role-following. Since role actions are strengthened by playing multiple copies of the associated card, if you have a fair number of a particular role you might get, effectively, a free turn from this. But you are also draining your hand, which could make your turn anemic. A good test for determining if you might like Eminent Domain: there are two ways to acquire planets—colonization and warfare. Colonization sets aside cards from your hand until you have enough to colonize the planet.

That thins your deck out while you accumulate enough. Warfare cards give you little ship tokens that you can later spend to attack a planet and conquer it. The cards never leave your deck, but you can obviously use them to follow a warfare role from an opponent and get more ships.

If exploring the strategic implications of these subtle differences excites you, then this might be your kind of game. The art and presentation is rudimentary at best. It feels like the game could be more immersive and expansive, but with the stoicism of a stern schoolmaster it snaps at your knuckles to get back to work calculating deck construction ratios and plotting modest tech paths.

Every time I play I get pulled into its technical way of thinking. At first I held that things I find interesting are, almost by my own definition, enjoyable. After thinking about this more, I think Matt might have a bit of a point.