| Recommended Age: | 8+ |
| Our Recommended Age: | 6+ |
| Players: | 2-4 |
| Play Time: | 15-30 minutes |
| Skills: | Strategy Problem Solving |
| Company Site: | www.blueorangegames.com |
| Cost: | King - $21.99 Queen - $29.95 |
| Contents: | King - 4 3D Castles
48 Dominoes
8 Wooden King Tokens
Illustrated Rules Queen - 4 Starting Tiles 4 3D Castles (1 orange, 1 purple, 1 white, 1 red) 48 Dominoes 32 Building Tiles 1 Builders’ Board 8 King Meeples in 4 colors (2 orange, 2 purple, 2 white, 2 red) 22 Knight Meeples (black) 15 Towers (grey) 42 Coins (12 worth 1, 18 worth 3, 12 worth 9) 1 Queen Meeple 1 Dragon Meeple 1 Scoring Pad Illustrated Rules |
Normally I focus on one game per post but this time I am going to cover two amazing games by Blue Orange Games. Kingdomino and Queendomino are both excellent games, can be played separate but most amazingly you can combine them for an even greater gaming experience! Yes I’ll cover how to do that, don’t worry!
First let’s talk about these boxes. Both Kingdomino and Queendomino have boxes with beautiful inserts that you can actually use during game play! ONLY downside is you cannot combine the boxes but otherwise these are amazingly organized and I love the inserts! Sturdy and beautiful and everything has a place.
The games play similarly but Queendomino has a bit more to it. Both games are recommended for 8+ but I’d say a seasoned gamer kid around 6+ would be fine playing either or both together with a little help at first. Kingdomino has a playing time of about 15 minutes while Queendomino is 25 minutes but both games are designed for 2-4 players.
Blue Orange Games is known for their quality games and both Kingdomino and Queendomino games show that quality beautifully. From the lift top box with it’s gorgeously organized insert, to the wonderfully detailed chipboard dominoes. The game pieces are wooden and of good quality as well and I love the castles which are also chipboard and wonderfully detailed. Overall both of these games are very well made and of a quality I have come to expect and appreciate from Blue Orange Games.
Yes, you can absolutely combine the games but you can also play various versions of combining the games like teams! Love that. I’ll explain Kingdomino first and then touch on the differences for Queendomino and then I’ll go over a little bit about combining them. I don’t want to play the game for you here but I do want to give you an idea of how they work.
Kingdomino – 4 player
Objective:
Be the royal with the most points when the tiles run out.
Setup:
On the first game you’ll have to assemble the castles and pop out pieces which some people love doing more than others. My husband for example loves to pop out pieces. If you have done this or once you have, choose your color and take the castle and one of the two King meeples of the same color. The other one can go back in the box. Take a starting tile, the square ones, and put your castle in the middle.
Now shuffle the dominoes! Put them back in the box so that you cannot see either side and then prepare to play! You read that right, the box is more than just pretty! Take four tiles from the box and put them in a line in number order with the terrain side facing down. Make a vertical line with them and the smallest number on top which is shown in the instructions. Then you can flip them over once you are ready to select tiles.
I love the way they have you choose first player! Take all the King meeples in one hand, shake them up and then pull one out at a time. This is the order for selection! We love unique rules like that!
Play:
In the order that was already determined each player selects which domino they want to claim by putting their King meeple on it. Once all the dominoes are claimed grab 4 new tiles and line them up in number order again number side up but this time next to the ones that were claimed.
Now you can flip them over and after that starting round each player will take two actions one right after the other on their turn.
Part 1 is taking the domino you have claimed previously and adding it to your kingdom. There are rules for adding to your kingdom though.
Rules:
- You HAVE to add dominoes to your kingdom within a 5×5 square dimension.
- Dominoes cannot stick out and if it doesn’t fit it doesn’t get added…so be careful.
- Dominoes can only be connected horizontally or vertically.
- When you place a tile you have to match up one side of the chosen tile with a tile already in place. The terrains have to be the same.
- Your starting tile is essentially wild on four sides and can match up to anything.
- Once you play it that tile is there forever, or at least until the end of the game. The Diva has a hard time with this rule.
- If you choose a domino that cannot fit into your kingdom or does not match a terrain type then you discard it from the game and no you get no points.
- If you can place it you have to place it. You cannot discard a tile if it can fit.
Part 2 is choosing a tile that is in the line and putting your King on it. After all tiles are claimed grab 4 more tiles and line them up and flip them over. From the second round onward though the order is determined by the order of the Kings in the line. So if you put your King on the first tile you go first but the higher numbers are worth more points so it is a trade off.
Winning:
The game ends where you cannot draw any more dominoes then add the last one to your kingdom and add up your points. I never win but my son has beat my husband a time or two which is always amusing.
For every territory, which is a group of matching terrain types that are connected, you add up the terrain parts and multiply it by the crowns in that same territory. No crowns, no points. Do this for all your terrains and then add up the totals. The highest score wins!
If there is a tie whoever has the largest territory wins and there is still a tie you both win, yay!
The instructions show how to play a 2 player game and a 3 player game as well which is awesome but they also give you ways to make the games more fun or challenging! I do love when games do that.
Now on to Queendomino!
So the game plays pretty much the same. Have the most points to win, use the box to hold the tiles, and you choose a color for your starting tile and King meeples and takes them.
The start is the same in that you take the first 4 from the box and line them up vertically with smallest number at the top and in number order. You even determine who goes first the same way!
Setup:
There are several differences though with the first being a Builders’ Board and Building Tiles. The Builders’ Board goes in the middle of the playing area so everyone can reach it. Now shuffle the Building Tiles and put them in a neat pile Gray side up on the red square on the Builders’ Board. Then take the top 6 and put them on the empty spots on the same board. The cost of each tile is shown below the spots starting with 0 and going up to 5.
There are coins, a Queen meeple and a Dragon one as well. The Queen goes to the right side of the Builders’ Board and the Dragon goes in the cave on the left. Put the Coins, Knights, which are also new and Towers to the side of this board as well. Each player will take a single-square Starting Tile and a Castle which they put in front of them with the Castle on the Tile.
Now players take one King of their chosen color, if you are playing a 4 player game but if you are playing a 2 player game you would take both just like in Kingdomino. Now take one Knight and a total of $7 in coins.
Play:
The game starts the same as Kingdomino with taking 4 Tiles from the box and line them up in Number order vertically and then flip them over. Determine the first round order in the same way by taking the Kings and pulling one out at a time from your hand and that is the order. Still love that way to see who goes first although my kids tend to prefer to try rolling meeples and seeing how many stand up.
Play continues the same as in Kingdomino with the order being determined each round by placement of Kings. As in Kingdomino you HAVE to add your chosen domino to your Kingdom in a 5×5 space and you have to select a new domino from the line up with your King. There are of course differences of course such as now you can choose to have 1 or 2 Knights collect a tax on a domino that you just put down, or build a building on an open red square on the Builders’ Board, or you can Bribe the Dragon to burn a Building Tile on the Board which is neat.
The rules are the same about domino placement so see Kingdomino above for those. The Knights and Towers rules are in the instructions but one thing is you can host the Queen thanks to Towers and she brings your building costs down by 1 Coin and she counts as an extra crown if you are lucky enough to host her at the end of the game.
Winning:
The game ends the same as Kingdomino but in Queendomino you get points for Coins and if you have the Queen. 1 point for every 3 Coins which isn’t too much but it is extra points and The Gentleman has won a time or two this way. You also get points for Building Tiles you built.
Combining Kingdomino and Queendomino is referred to as the Royal Wedding which is just fantastic.
First you need to choose which version of you want to play, King or Queen rules and parts but the games play the same except the first set of Tile you draw will come from the Queen (ladies first and all that) and the second set will come from the King. Then just alternate like that for the remainder of the game. My daughter prefers Queendomino because she beat her brother at it. He prefers Kingdomino because he didn’t lose at that one. Ah siblings.
This is an amazing feature and it opens up some fun options. The instructions in Queendomino also show you how you can play in teams! We haven’t done that yet as the kids main goal in any game is to beat dad.
Both games are fun by themselves and even more fun together. With so many ways to play one or both of them it will seem like a new game every time you play!
Show us your Royal Wedding! @MyGeeklings @BlueOrangeGames #Kingdomino #Queendomino #Review #FamilyGameNight
