Dominations: Road to Civilization

The second game of the evening looked like the lighter option, until it started gently frying our brains. To me, it feels like the illegitimate child of Terraforming Mars and Domino from BizzaroWorld: a slightly odd picture at first, but a very enjoyable one once it starts coming together in front of you.

Its core is the placement of triangular dominoes. With them, I build my production across six different resources, trying to set up an engine that will keep giving me things as the game moves on.

At the same time, there is area control and a distinctly abstract civilization-game feel. I can approach it simply by placing tiles and collecting points, even if I have not fully understood where everything is leading; the game remains pleasant. It is just that, at the end, I may discover that someone who understood their engine better has left me behind by 150 or 200 points.

I would not call it fully polished. It has a chaotic, sprawling side, and the mere thought of its five expansions is enough to make the box feel even bigger. We did not play with them, but I read through them after the game and they look like proper expansions, with lots of additional material rather than tiny add-ons. Even so, the core experience was enjoyable enough that I am sure it will return to the table.

Updated session

Our second encounter was cut short halfway through by a power outage—and colour matching is not exactly a dark-room activity. Even so, my impression did not merely hold; it grew stronger: I like it a great deal, and it gives me the same engine-building satisfaction I look for in Terraforming Mars. If you come across it, I think it is worth a look.