你是位小国的君主，继承父母传下的弹丸之地，坐拥这片满布河川与绿意的风光。

但这并不能满足你的野心！你想要更大、更富庶的国土，扩及更远的江河，以及一望无际的树林。你想要一统疆域！将你四周的每一寸土地，不论是小领主的领地，或是无主的荒原，通通与以征服，为其上的人民带来文化与繁荣，并将他们纳入旗下。

但且慢！事情没那麽简单；其他敌对的君主们，也在打着相同的算盘。你必须抢在他们之前，攻下最多的土地，并在同时修筑防御工事。为此，你会需要招募随从，大兴土木，翻修城堡，并充实国库。可能你的父母会对你的努力不以为然，但你的列祖列宗在天之灵，势必会引以为傲！

这是款构筑套牌的游戏。玩家各持有一副套牌，代表各自的国土，其中包含玩家的国库、分数、以及可以执行的行动。在游戏之初，玩家只有少得可怜的几块庄园与几枚铜钱，但随着游戏进行，玩家将可以陆续充实自己的王国，获得金币、行省，与更多的国民和国家建设。

游戏结束时，套牌中分数总额最高的玩家获胜！

"You are a monarch, like your parents before you, a ruler of a small pleasant kingdom of rivers and evergreens. Unlike your parents, however, you have hopes and dreams! You want a bigger and more pleasant kingdom, with more rivers and a wider variety of trees. You want a Dominion! In all directions lie fiefs, freeholds, and feodums. All are small bits of land, controlled by petty lords and verging on anarchy. You will bring civilization to these people, uniting them under your banner.

But wait! It must be something in the air; several other monarchs have had the exact same idea. You must race to get as much of the unclaimed land as possible, fending them off along the way. To do this you will hire minions, construct buildings, spruce up your castle, and fill the coffers of your treasury. Your parents wouldn't be proud, but your grandparents, on your mother's side, would be delighted."

In Dominion, each player starts with an identical, very small deck of cards. In the center of the table is a selection of other cards the players can "buy" as they can afford them. Through their selection of cards to buy, and how they play their hands as they draw them, the players construct their deck on the fly, striving for the most efficient path to the precious victory points by game end.

Dominion is not a CCG, but the play of the game is similar to the construction and play of a CCG deck. The game comes with 500 cards. You select 10 of the 25 Kingdom card types to include in any given play—leading to immense variety.