Stats:
No. of players: 2-4
Amount of time to play: 30 minutes
Age requirements: 10+
Set-up time: 5-10 min

Description of Dominion Alchemy:

Dominion Alchemy expands the Dominion series by adding new cards and a new Treasure type. This expansion is about actions and stringing actions together.

First let’s focus on the new Treasure card: Potions. They cost 4 Treasure and are used to buy cards with a Potion symbol in their cost. Some of the cards in Alchemy are more powerful versions of older cards and for game balance they are cheaper but you must have a Potion in play to buy them.

The Alchemy card list is as follows:
Alchemist, Apothecary, Apprentice, Familiar, Golem, Herbalist, Philosopher’s Stone, Possession, Scrying Pool, Transmute, University, Vineyard

A Quick Review of Dominion Alchemy:

I have played a lot of Dominion over the last few months. I have played the expansion Alchemy with the base game, Intrigue, Seaside and every combination of the sets available. It plays well with the other sets and adds variety with new actions and Potions. It is fun and I recommend it to anyone who likes to play Dominion.

Alchemy is very good at its theme; stringing actions together. This has some good and bad affects. It is always fun when you are able to have actions that let you move through your deck and get to all the goodies you want. That being said this can set up some long turns and more downtime than usual for Dominion.

The extended turn time isn’t too bad, but I have to say Philosopher’s Stone is a little annoying. Waiting for a player to play out their turn then count most of their deck is not fun. In fact the more players with Philosopher’s Stone the worse this gets. The card is actually pretty good, but the having to count my deck is annoying.

Attacks that chain one after another can be devastating. Ask anyone who has played against someone who has drawn three Familiars. Again this is not a bad thing but can be tough to overcome.

When mixing Alchemy with other sets, a few people I play with do not even bother buying Potions. They feel they can win without investing in a totally different treasure type. I would have to say. as usual, it depends on the Supply.

Like I said above I recommend Dominion: Alchemy to anyone who enjoys the base game. This expansion joins the party and plays nice with the other sets. So party on and enjoy!

Score and synopsis: (Click here for an explanation of these review categories.)
Strategy 4 out of 6
Luck 4 out of 6
Player Interaction 3 out of 6
Replay Value 5 out of 6
Complexity 3 out of 6
Fun 6 out of 6
Overall 5 out of 6