Game Objective

Hey there, future king or queen! In Kingdomino, your objective is simple yet challenging: expand your kingdom and build the most impressive territory you can. You'll connect your dominoes to form an empire in a 5 by 5 square space, aiming to accumulate the most prestige points. Get ready to explore wheat fields, lakes, and mountains, but keep an eye out, as other nobles are also eyeing the best lands!

Preparation (Setup)

Let's set up the table and prepare your kingdom for glory! First of all, detach and assemble the 4 castles. Now, follow these steps:

1. Place the game box in an accessible location for everyone.
2. Each player chooses a color and takes:
   • In 2-player games: two wooden kings of their color.
   • In 3 or 4-player games: one wooden king of their color.
3. Each player takes a starting tile (a square) and the castle of their chosen color. Place the starting tile in front of you, face up, and the castle on top of it.
4. Shuffle all the dominoes with the numbers face up and place them inside the box insert to form a draw pile. The number of dominoes varies according to the number of players:
   • With 2 players: remove 24 tiles (set them aside) and use the other 24 tiles.
   • With 3 players: remove 12 tiles (set them aside) and use the other 36 tiles.
   • With 4 players: use all 48 tiles.
5. Now, draw from the draw pile a number of dominoes equal to the number of kings in play (three dominoes for 3 players and four dominoes for 2 or 4 players).
6. Leave these tiles face up, near the box, with the numbers showing. Position them in ascending order (smallest number first).
7. Flip the dominoes to show the landscape side.
8. One player takes all the kings, shuffles them, and draws one at a time, handing it to the corresponding player so they can place it on an empty domino in the row. When your own king appears, also place it on an empty domino. Remember: each tile can only have one king. (In 2-player games, each player will choose two dominoes, one for each of their kings).
9. When all dominoes have been chosen, form a new row by drawing new tiles from the draw pile, as was done before.

The Game Turn

The order of play is determined by the position of the kings in the domino row. The player with the first king in the row starts and must perform two crucial actions:

1. Add the chosen domino to your territory: You must connect the domino your king is occupying to your kingdom, following the connection rules.
   • You can connect the domino to your starting tile (it acts as a wild card, any landscape can be connected to it).
   • Or you can connect the domino to another existing domino in your kingdom, provided that at least one of the squares of the new domino matches the landscape of an adjacent square (vertically or horizontally) of an already placed domino.
   • Important: All your dominoes must fit within a 5 by 5 square area. If you plan poorly and a domino doesn't fit, it will be discarded and you won't earn points for it.
   • If you cannot add a domino to your kingdom following the connection rules, it will also be discarded.
2. Choose a new domino from the new row: After placing your domino, you must choose a new domino from the newly formed row and place one of your kings on it.

After the first player performs their two actions, it's the turn of the player with the second king in the row, and so on, until the last player. In two-player games, each player will perform these two actions twice, once for each of their kings.

When all players have performed their actions, a new row of dominoes is formed, and a new turn begins. The game is played over 12 turns with 3 or 4 players, and only 6 turns with 2 players (since each player plays twice per turn).

End of Game and Scoring

The game approaches its end when the last dominoes are placed in the row. Players will have one last turn, but will only perform the action of adding the domino to their territory (action 1). In the end, each player will have a kingdom in the shape of 5 by 5 squares (some kingdoms may be incomplete if tiles were discarded).

Now it's time to calculate your kingdom's prestige points:

• A kingdom is composed of different properties, which are groups of squares with the same landscape type connected horizontally or vertically.
• Each property generates prestige points equal to the number of squares it comprises, multiplied by the number of crowns that appear on that property.
• You can have multiple properties of the same landscape type in your kingdom.
• A property without crowns grants no points.
• Each player sums the points from all their properties to get their final score.

The player with the highest score is the winner! In case of a tie, the player with the largest property (with or without crowns) wins. If the tie persists, the player with the most crowns wins. If there is still a tie, the players share the victory.

Tips for Winning

To become a true Kingdomino master, consider these tips:

1. Plan your 5x5 board: From the start, visualize how your kingdom will fit into the 5x5 grid. Dominoes discarded due to lack of space are worth no points, so avoid losing precious tiles!
2. Focus on crowns and size: Look for dominoes that not only expand your properties but also have crowns. Remember that the number of squares in a property is multiplied by the number of crowns. A large property without crowns is worth nothing!
3. Utilize the starting tile: Your starting tile is a wild card! Use it strategically to connect landscapes that would otherwise be difficult to link, especially early in the game, to shape your kingdom.