Dominion: Empires Rules

Official-rulebook flavor excerpt: “The world is big and your kingdom gigantic.”

Empires moves Dominion from building a kingdom to administering something much larger. Its central ideas are Debt, Victory Point tokens, split Supply piles, Events, Landmarks, and cards that reward building up or cashing in shared resources.

Setup

Use the Basic cards and normal Dominion rules and choose 10 Kingdom piles. Events and Landmarks do not replace Kingdom piles; keep turning over randomizers until you have 10 Kingdom piles. The official rules recommend using no more than two Events and/or Landmarks in a normal game.

Some Kingdom piles are split piles. Put the named cards in their specified order; only the top card can be bought or gained. The Castles pile is also ordered and contains several differently named Castle cards. A split pile or the Castles stack is still one Supply pile for game-ending purposes.

Debt

When you buy something with Debt in its cost, take that many Debt tokens instead of paying that part with coins. Debt stays between turns. During your Buy phase, after playing Treasures, you may pay one coin per Debt token to remove Debt. Paying Debt does not use a Buy and may be done before or after purchases, but you may not buy cards or Events while you still have Debt. Debt does not reduce your score and cannot be taken voluntarily or used as an Overpay.

Victory Point Tokens

Victory Point tokens are worth points at the end of the game and never enter your deck. Keep each player's total public. Some cards and Landmarks hold a supply of VP tokens that players can take; when that pool is empty, no further tokens can be taken from it.

Events and Landmarks

Events are bought during the Buy phase. Buying one uses a Buy, pays its cost, and resolves the Event without gaining a card. Landmarks cannot be bought; they change scoring or add a rule that applies throughout the game. Landmarks that begin with VP tokens use six tokens per player unless their setup says otherwise.

Kingdom Card Clarifications

Archive

Set aside up to the top three cards of your deck face down. Put one into your hand immediately, one at the start of your next turn, and one at the start of the following turn. If fewer than three are available, set aside what you can; Archive simply finishes sooner. Separate Archives keep separate groups of cards.

Capital

Capital is a Treasure that produces a large amount of coin and an extra Buy. When you discard it from play during Clean-up, take the specified Debt. After taking that Debt, you may immediately use any remaining coins from the turn to pay Debt before the turn fully ends.

Catapult / Rocks

Catapult: Trash a card from your hand. If the trashed card is a Treasure, each other player discards down to three cards. If it meets Catapult's cost threshold, each other player gains a Curse. A single trashed card can trigger both attack effects.

Rocks: Rocks is a Treasure. When you gain or trash it, gain a Silver if possible; the Silver's destination depends on the phase specified by Rocks, so announce whether it goes to your deck or hand/discard location as applicable. Only the currently exposed half of this split pile is available from the Supply.

Chariot Race

Draw a card and receive +1 Action. You and the player to your left each reveal the top card of your deck. If your revealed card costs more than theirs, receive the bonus coin and VP token. Compare full costs, including special cost components; return both revealed cards to their owners' decks afterward as instructed.

Charm

When played as a Treasure, choose one of its modes. Its gain mode creates a delayed effect for your next card purchase: when you buy a card, you may gain a differently named card with exactly the same cost. The extra card is gained before the bought card is gained, which can matter for gain reactions.

City Quarter

Receive +2 Actions, then reveal your hand and draw one card for each Action card revealed. Multi-type cards that include Action count as Actions.

Crown

Crown is both an Action and Treasure. If played during your Action phase, it plays an Action from your hand twice. If played during your Buy phase, it plays a Treasure from your hand twice. The phase in which Crown is played determines which mode it uses, even if another effect allowed you to play Crown unusually.

Encampment / Plunder

Encampment: Draw two cards and receive +2 Actions. Unless you reveal a Gold or Plunder from your hand, set Encampment aside and return it to the Supply at the start of Clean-up. A set-aside Encampment is no longer in play.

Plunder: This Treasure produces its coin value and gives a VP token when played if tokens are available.

Enchantress

Until your next turn, the first Action each other player plays on their turn is replaced by Enchantress's simple card-and-Action effect instead of that Action's printed instructions. At the start of your next turn, Enchantress gives its own draw bonus. Replaced Actions are still played and remain in play normally.

Engineer

Gain a card within Engineer's cost limit. You may then trash Engineer; if you do, gain another eligible card. Because the second gain depends on actually trashing Engineer, an effect that prevents or moves Engineer before the trash can stop the second gain.

Farmers' Market

If the Farmers' Market Supply pile has fewer than the specified number of VP tokens, add a token and receive the normal coin/Buy benefit. Once the pile has accumulated the threshold number, a later play takes all of those VP tokens and trashes that Farmers' Market instead of producing its ordinary reward.

Forum

Draw three cards, receive +1 Action, then discard two cards. When you buy Forum, receive +1 Buy. The on-buy benefit happens even though the Forum itself is not yet in your discard pile.

Gladiator / Fortune

Gladiator: Reveal a card from your hand. The player to your left may reveal a copy. If they do not, Gladiator gives its bonus and may remove a Gladiator from the Supply according to its instructions, potentially exposing Fortune sooner.

Fortune: Fortune is a powerful Treasure with Debt in its cost. Its coin-doubling effect applies to the coins you have at the moment Fortune resolves and happens only once per turn even if Fortune is replayed. Buying Fortune can also gain Golds according to the number of Gladiators you have in play.

Groundskeeper

Draw a card and receive +1 Action. While Groundskeeper is in play, whenever you gain a Victory card, take a VP token. Multiple Groundskeepers stack, so one Victory gain can award several tokens.

Legionary

Receive its coin bonus. You may reveal a Gold from your hand to attack: each other player draws a card, then discards down to two cards. Drawing before discarding can matter for Reactions and for what choices are available.

Overlord

Play Overlord as though it were an eligible Action card from the Supply. The chosen Supply card does not move; Overlord takes on that card's instructions and identity while it remains in play. If the copied card would remain in play as a Duration, Overlord remains too. It cannot copy a card outside its cost/type restrictions.

Patrician / Emporium

Patrician: Draw a card and receive +1 Action, then reveal the top card of your deck. If it meets the cost condition, put it into your hand; otherwise return it to your deck.

Emporium: Gives its printed card, Action, and coin benefits. When you gain it, if you have enough Action cards in play, take VP tokens. Count all Action cards currently in play, including qualifying multi-type and Duration cards.

Royal Blacksmith

Draw five cards, then reveal your hand and discard every Copper from it. Coppers drawn by the card itself are included in that discard.

Sacrifice

Trash a card from your hand and receive every reward matching that card's types. Multi-type cards can therefore give several rewards at once. If you cannot trash a card, no type-based reward occurs.

Settlers / Bustling Village

Settlers: Draw a card and receive +1 Action, then you may reveal a Copper from your discard pile and put it into your hand.

Bustling Village: Draw a card and receive +3 Actions, then you may reveal a Settlers from your discard pile and put it into your hand.

Temple

Take a VP token, then trash one to three differently named cards from your hand and add a VP token to the Temple Supply pile. When you gain a Temple, take all VP tokens currently on that pile. The gain can therefore award tokens accumulated by several players' earlier Temple plays.

Villa

Villa gives Actions, a Buy, and coin. When gained, put it into your hand and receive +1 Action. If it is gained during your Buy phase, return to your Action phase; after finishing that Action phase you return to the Buy phase and may play Treasures again. A bought Villa still uses the Buy spent on it.

Wild Hunt

Choose one mode: draw three cards and add a VP token to the Wild Hunt pile, or gain an Estate and, if you actually gain it, take all VP tokens from the Wild Hunt pile. The pile can accumulate tokens across many plays before someone cashes them in.

Castles

The Castles pile is arranged in its prescribed order; only the top Castle can be gained. All Castles are Victory cards, and several have additional types or gain/trash abilities.

Humble Castle is also a Treasure and scores according to the Castles you own. Crumbling Castle gives VP tokens and a Silver when gained or trashed. Small Castle can trash itself or another Castle to gain a Castle. Haunted Castle gives Gold and disrupts opponents when gained on your turn. Opulent Castle can discard Victory cards for coin. Sprawling Castle gains either a Duchy or multiple Estates. Grand Castle awards VP tokens based on Victory cards in your hand and in play. King's Castle scores heavily according to the number of Castles you own.

Event Clarifications

Advance: Trash an Action from your hand to gain a more expensive Action within the Event's limit; if you cannot or do not trash the required card, no gain occurs.

Annex: Take Debt, choose up to five cards in your discard pile to leave there, shuffle the rest into your deck, then gain a Duchy.

Banquet: Take Debt and gain two eligible non-Victory cards.

Conquest: Gain two Silvers, then take VP tokens based on Silvers you have gained during the current turn, including the two just gained.

Delve: Receive +1 Buy and gain a Silver. Multiple Delves can be bought in one turn if you keep having Buys and money.

Dominate: Gain a Province; if you actually do, take the Event's large VP-token reward.

Donate: After the turn ends, gather your deck and discard pile into your hand, trash any number of cards, shuffle the remainder into a new deck, and draw five. Cards set aside or otherwise outside those zones are not included.

Ritual: Gain a Curse, then if possible trash a card from your hand for VP tokens based only on the coin portion of its cost. If the Curse pile is empty, Ritual cannot proceed as written.

Salt the Earth: Take a VP token and trash a Victory card from the Supply. Trashing a Supply card can trigger that card's “when trashed” ability.

Tax: Add Debt to a Supply pile. When a player buys a card from that pile, that player takes the accumulated Debt and removes those tokens from the pile.

Triumph: Gain an Estate, then if you gained it, take VP tokens based on the number of cards you have gained this turn.

Wedding: Take VP tokens and Debt, then gain a Gold.

Windfall: If your deck and discard pile are both empty when you buy the Event, gain three Golds.

Landmark Clarifications

Aqueduct: Moves VP tokens from Silver/Gold piles toward the Landmark when those Treasures are gained; gaining Victory cards can claim the accumulated Aqueduct tokens as specified.

Arena: At the start of your Buy phase, you may discard an Action to take VP tokens from Arena while any remain.

Bandit Fort: Penalizes each Silver and Gold you own at final scoring.

Basilica: When buying a card while you have enough coin left over, take VP tokens from Basilica while available.

Baths: At the end of a turn in which you gained no cards, take VP tokens from Baths while available.

Battlefield: When you gain a Victory card, take VP tokens from Battlefield while available.

Colonnade: When you buy an Action card while you already have a copy of it in play, take VP tokens while available.

Defiled Shrine: Places VP tokens on non-Gathering Action piles during setup. Gaining those Actions moves tokens to the Shrine; buying a Curse lets you take the accumulated Shrine tokens.

Fountain: Awards a scoring bonus if you own the required number of Coppers.

Keep: Scores each Treasure type for the player or players who own the most copies of that Treasure.

Labyrinth: The second card you gain on a turn can earn VP tokens from Labyrinth while any remain.

Mountain Pass: After the first Province is gained, players conduct the special bidding sequence described by the Landmark; the winner takes Debt equal to the bid and receives the VP award.

Museum: Scores according to the number of differently named cards you own.

Obelisk: During setup, mark an eligible Action Supply pile. Cards you own from that pile are worth additional points at final scoring.

Orchard: Scores sets of three or more copies of differently named Action cards.

Palace: Scores matched sets of Copper, Silver, and Gold.

Tomb: Whenever you trash a card, take a VP token.

Tower: At final scoring, cards you own from empty non-Victory Supply piles are worth additional points.

Triumphal Arch: Scores the second-most-common Action card name in your deck, following the Landmark's tie rules.

Wall: Gives a base scoring bonus but penalizes owning too many cards.

Wolf Den: Penalizes card names of which you own exactly one copy.

Accessibility Notes

Keep Debt and VP-token totals public and announce every change. For split piles and Castles, announce the new top card whenever a card is removed. If a Landmark stores VP tokens, announce the remaining token count after each transfer. For Obelisk, clearly identify the marked pile during setup. For Mountain Pass, conduct bidding verbally in player order and restate the winning bid and Debt taken. When Villa returns play to the Action phase, explicitly announce the phase change.

Source

This accessible rules page is based on the current Rio Grande Games Empires rulebook and retains additional accessibility guidance for mixed blind and sighted play. Official Rio Grande Games Empires rulebook PDF.