Stats:
No. of players: 2-4
Amount of time to play: 45-60 min
Age requirements: 10+
Set-up time: 5 minutes

Eminent Domain Rules Description:

Eminent Domain is a sci-fi themed, civilization-building, card game. It combines deck-building, role selection and tech improvements. You must score more influence points than your opponents by having planets, technology or trading goods.

Each player begins the game with a random start planet and the same 10 cards. You shuffle the cards and draw five cards to start. On your turn you may play one card for its action and draw a card to execute its role. Cards chosen for your role are added to your deck via the discard pile. After that you may discard any number of cards and draw back up to five.

When it isn’t your turn you may follow the current player’s role by discarding the same cards from your hand. If you don’t want to follow or are unable to you draw one card from your deck.

There are six types of cards: Survey, Warfare, Colonize, Produce/Trade, Research and Politics. Each card may be used as an action or your role. Survey allows you to draw cads or draw new planets. New planets (including your starting one) are placed face-down and do not score you influence points. Warfare allows you to collect fighters or attack a planet. Colonize allows you to colonize and eventually settle a planet. Produce/Trade cards are used to either produce a good on an eligible planet or trade a good for one influence point. Research allows you to remove 2 cards from your tech or gain new technology. Lastly Politics can only be used as an action lets you choose any role and add it to your hand. You then remove the Politics card from the game.

The cards you chose for your role whether leading or following can be boosted by cards currently in your hand. When you take a card form the center stacks you simply add any number of the same cards from your hand.

If you attack or settle a planet it will be turned face-up. Some planets allow you to generate resources while others add boost to a specific role. All planets are worth influence points.

The technology you are able to Research depends on the type of planets you have conquered or settled. There are three types Fertile, Metallic and Advanced. In order to develop higher level tech you need to have two or three planets of the same type. These higher level techs are worth influence points.

The games ends once two of the center piles are empty in a four player game. In standard two or three player games it is over once one pile is empty.

Quick Eminent Domain Review:

Eminent Domain feels like it was born out of Race for the Galaxy, Glory to Rome and Dominion. It has a unique blend of mechanics and while similar to these games it stands out on its own. I have found teaching to game to be easy since you can refer to these other game to explain Eminent Domain.

The game looks great and the components and rulebook are top-notch. I wish the box fit everything better (it is a too big). But that is a small quibble at best.

There are many paths to victory in Eminent Domain. A group of people that have a decent knowledge of the tech cards should make for a very competitive game. If one or two players are unfamiliar with the tech cads they may suffer some losses until they know them better.

I really like the way your deck can be honed to a specific strategy. It offers you a way to specialize in a specific role that complements and drives your strategy.

I like this game and know it is good but it feels a bit dry to me. It is not bad or boring but is not as exciting as I thought it would be. Maybe it was all the hype from its excellent kick-starter campaign. Maybe my expectations are too high. I also wish the four player game was a bit longer. It always seems to end once I get my engine going.

Even still I think anyone who enjoys space empire games or role selection games should try Eminent Domain out.

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 4 out of 6
Complexity 4 out of 6
Fun 4 out of 6
Overall 4 out of 6