mikedrys

I got a chance to play Eminent Domain at GenCon with Michael Mindes and his wife. I hadn’t really looked into the game too much, so I was just expecting to play another deck building game, but I was surprised at what the experience.

It wasn’t what I expected, thinking about Dominion and Ascension. In Eminent Domain it’s not, what I would call a “deck-building-fest.” I love buying up a lot of cards in Ascension. You have more to consider and think about in Eminent Domain. I like that about the game. You need to worry about producing and trading, surveying for new planets, researching to build up your tech, warring and settling. All of this requires cards, but I didn’t feel like I needed to focus so much on getting more and more cards into my deck each turn. There are more options, and therefore, more strategies in the game.

I very much enjoyed having the option to follow the role that other players take on their turns. This kept me engaged with what was going on and really added more to the strategies that I selected each turn. Being able to keep cards in hand was very helpful in setting up play options for future turns.

Overall, I was pleasantly surprised and very much enjoyed the game. I hope to add it to my collection of deck building games in the very near future.