Rio Grande Games Dominion: Renaissance

Pro: I like the new expansion. It adds some nice new options to an already full game. Con: The closest thing I have to a problem with this is that there are fewer cards than a box this size needs, so the extra cost involved is for the metal tokens, which a) although good quality, are the same tokens as were included in other expansions except for a few wooden cubes, and b) one could use a handful of mixed coins or other stuff found around the house just as easily. As of the writing of this review, the game is on sale at a discounted price, and that price (16% off) I feel is a more accurate value, due to there being fewer cards. Still, over all, that does not bring the review down a full star, and I would not have felt cheated if I had paid full price.

The Renaissance Dominion expansion goes back to the roots of what makes Dominion fun: namely, the cards are simple to play and understand, but they synergize with each other to create complex strategy. There is none of the extreme complexity that exists in some expansions (Empires, Nocturne). There is only one problem with this game, and that is the printing. Fortunately, for the copy I got, the backs are not noticeably different, so I will only take off one star. However, the front color printing differs drastically within the expansion and compared to other expansions. See attached photos.

This expansion is one of the best. Adds several exciting and interesting wrinkles, that make games more fun (as opposed to just tedious or complex). Great quality components, boards, etc. If I have one complaint, its that the card print quality is way off for my Cargo Ship card. Instead of orange, like the other duration cards, my cargo ship is beige, like the tavern mat cards. 10/10 Pure Class

This review is for the Renaissance expansion, as the Renaissance was listed together with the Second Edition base Dominion set. Dominion: Renaissance is great. It balances adding some clever mechanics that promote interesting and varied strategies while still remaining very approachable and fun to play. It will be equally fun for both high-level and casual play. Renaissance is quite possibly the best expansion created yet. Its easy enough to be a first expansion as well. If you have any interest in Dominion and are looking for more, I can wholeheartedly recommend this one (even over Prosperity and Seaside). I have a personal love for Adventures, Empires and even most aspects of Nocturne, but they are slightly more complex (especially Nocturne). The mechanics: The coin and action saving tokens (collected on your Coffers and Villagers mats, respectively) are great to use. Coffers return from the Guilds expansion. Having the ability to smooth out your purchasing power across turns or even save up for a big turn is very powerful and strategic. The Villagers can really get you out of a bind when you draw actions you couldnt otherwise play. They even allow you to use more cards that dont give +Action in your deck than you otherwise would. The provided cards also dole them out in interesting ways. The Artifacts are passive ability-granting cards that you hold on to that stay out of your deck. There is only one copy of each and players fulfilling certain conditions on the corresponding Kingdom card can take it away for themselves. Flag Bearer in particular seems to get stolen a lot, as the person holding it basically gets a 6 card hand instead of 5. They are fun and provide a interesting form of player interaction aside from Attack cards, though there are only 4 Kingdom cards that use Artifacts. This expansion is light on attack cards: there are only 2, which isnt really a problem due to the Artifacts. The Projects provide an extra ability for the rest of the game after you buy them, and are often very useful. Sometimes it comes down to when you should buy them, not if. Some are very fun, such as Citadel, thats like an automatic Throne Room at the start of each turn. There are 20 in total and youll want to include 1 or 2 in every game you play, whether or not you use the other Renaissance cards in a given game. There are also a fair number of Kingdom cards that dont use any of the new mechanics. Some use parts of mechanics from prior sets (e.g. Duration cards from Seaside, when-trash abilities from Dark Ages, and when-gain abilities from Hinterlands, cost reduction from Intrigue, etc.). These are also well put together and interesting without being overly complex. Even the most complex cards, (possibly Improve, Research and the Capitalism Project) arent that hard to understand. The components: The only slight issue is here are some slight printing coloration issues where the tint of the card fronts doesnt always match that of prior expansions - they are generally lighter. The backs are ever so slightly different as well, but not enough to notice unless youre looking. It hasnt been an issue in my play group yet. The other components (mats, tokens, and wooden project tracking cubes) are high quality and look nice.

If you play Dominion you know its a great game. Our earlier boxes all came with the card separators having labels and this one doesnt. Kind of disappointing on a quick organization front for repeated games being played. Nothing on the seller, they were great! Just would have liked to see the same quality as earlier products from the game company.

This is my new favorite set. I love all these cards. Strong trashers, good new mechanics. Buy it!

Ordered this as a gift for a friend. When they opened this today we were welcomed with what looks to be damaged cards. We didnt even unwrap it yet.

great additon the the main game! Fun cards that can mix with other king cards.

Bought over the holidays and have played it several times. What we like about it is that it offers a greater variety game styles and strategies for winning these games than many of the previous expansions.

100% my favorite Dominion expansion. Donald X finally stopped introducing new mechanics and wonky super-complicated cards, choosing instead to refine existing mechanics into simple cards. Coffers’ smoothing out of variance is extended into Villagers, and the States from Nocturne are expanded upon into Artifacts. The mechanics in this expansion are simple enough for a new player to pick up instantly, but add so much more to the game.