Lords of the land are always looking to expand the land in their domain. In Kingdomino you are trying to expand the land you hold, but must choose to land carefully as your neighboring Lords are trying to do the same.
Game Overview
- Publisher: Blue Orange Games
- Ages:8+
- 2-4 Players
- Playtime: 15 minutes
- Game Mechanic: Tile Laying
Game Components
- 4 starting tiles
- 4 castles (3D)
- 48 dominos (a number on one side and land on the other side)
- 8 wooden kings (4 colors)
Gameplay
Set Up
Each round dominos player lay out, three in a 3 player game and four in a 2 or 4 player game, and placed face down with just their number showing and ordered in ascending order. Next, players flip them to show the land. The meeples are shuffled in a players hand and randomly pulled for the first turn order. Player choose in the order their meeple appears their tile for the first round. Once all players select their tile for the round, player place another row a tiles following the same guidelines. The meeple on the tile closest to the box places their land first and selects their next tile for the next round.
On their turn a player completes two steps. First they place their tile according to connection rules (explained below). Then move their meeple to the next row of tiles to make their selection for the next round. There are 12 rounds in a 3 or 4 player game and 6 rounds in a two player (since players take two turns per round)
Connection Rules
- Players must build a 5×5 grid, and each domino is considered two squares.
- The domino may connect to their starting tile (which is consisted a “wild ” and any landscape can connect) or another domino that has one or both landscapes matching. These can connect horizontally or vertically.
- If a domino can not be placed to either the starting tile or a tile with one landscape matching it is discarded and cannot score points.
Scoring
The areas of the same type of land only score if there is a crown (or crowns) on one or more of the tiles. To calculate the score players take the number of land tiles of that type and multiplying my the number of crowns in the same land area. The player with the highest score wins.
Family Game Assessment and Final Thoughts
Kingdomino is a award winning game for a reason, simply it is an amazing game. It won the 2017 Spiel des Jahres (Game of the year) among an impressive list of nominations and awards across multiple countries. This is a game that is easy to learn and hard to master. The rules are simple and easy to teach a child or novice in just one turn.
While Kingdomino lists the target age of players as 8 and up, there is no reading involved in gameplay. We found that it scales down to about age 6, especially if the child have experience playing a range of games. The 15 minute play time helps for younger children too.
This is also a versatile game to travel with. The tiles are nice and heavy making it a good game to take to a picnic or camping. The box is on the smaller size, and while not pocket or purse size, it is easy to pack for a trip or game day. The short play time and simple rules also help to make this game is a great addition to any game collection.
What do you think? Sound off in the comments and let us know your thoughts!
Make sure to keep your eyes on Engaged Family Gaming for all of the latest news and reviews you need to Get Your Family Game On!
- Video Games for kids on Xbox One
- Video Games for kids on PS4
- Video Games for kids on Nintendo Switch
- Board Games for kids
Follow us on Facebook!
Like us on Twitter
Follow us on Instagram!
Subscribe to our Newsletter!
Subscribe to our Podcast!
Guest Writer