Kingdomino rules: how to play and how to score

Kingdomino quick rules

The goal

Each player builds a kingdom with dominoes of two terrain squares, some showing Crowns. The kingdom must fit in a five by five square, castle included. At the end, each territory scores based on its size and its Crowns, and the most points wins.

A turn

Two lines of dominoes lie next to the box, from lowest number to highest. Players go in the order of the kings on the first line: on your turn, you add your domino to your kingdom, then place your king on a free domino in the new line. When all kings have played, a new line is made.

Choosing a domino

In general, the lower the number, the less a domino is worth. But the king on the lowest number plays first next turn. With 3 players, the domino nobody took is discarded.

Placing a domino

Your domino touches your starting tile, which accepts any terrain, or another domino with at least one matching terrain square, along a side. The whole kingdom fits in a five by five square. A domino you can’t place is discarded; a domino you can place must be placed.

End of game and scoring

When the draw pile is empty, everyone places their last domino. A territory is a group of matching terrain squares connected along their sides: it scores its squares times its Crowns, and nothing without Crowns. Most points wins; on a tie, the biggest territory, then the most Crowns.

Optional rules

The Middle Kingdom scores 10 points if your castle is in the center of your kingdom, even an incomplete one. Harmony scores 5 points if your kingdom is complete, with no discarded domino. Decide before the game whether you play them.

With two players

With two players, you play The Mighty Duel: each player has two kings and builds a seven by seven kingdom, with all 48 dominoes. Each player plays twice per turn, once per king.

Beginner traps

Don’t rush to an edge: going past the square forces discards. Big territories are worth far more with several Crowns. And sometimes it is better to take the domino an opponent needs.

With Age of Giants

Five can play, with lines of five dominoes. A Giant domino makes you cover one of your Crowns with a Giant meeple, so it no longer counts; a footsteps domino lets you pass a Giant to an opponent. Two Quest tiles give bonuses and replace The Middle Kingdom and Harmony.

How to score Kingdomino

Territories

For each territory: its number of squares multiplied by its number of Crowns. A territory without Crowns scores 0, and two separate territories of the same terrain score separately.

Harmony (optional rule)

5 points if your kingdom is complete, with no discarded domino.

The Middle Kingdom (optional rule)

10 points if your castle is in the center of your kingdom.

Age of Giants (expansion)

The bonuses from the two Quest tiles; a Crown covered by a Giant doesn’t count.

Ties

The biggest territory, in squares, Crowns or not; then the most Crowns; otherwise, a shared victory.

Worked example

Emma has a 6-square forest with 2 Crowns (12), a 4-square lake with 1 Crown (4), a 7-square wheat field with 1 Crown (7), a 3-square grassland with 2 Crowns (6) and a 2-square mountain with 3 Crowns (6): 35 points from territories. Her castle is in the center and she discarded nothing: 35 + 10 + 5 = 50 points.

Common mistakes

• Adding up the Crowns of the whole kingdom: each territory scores on its own.
• Scoring a big territory without Crowns: it is worth 0.
• Merging two territories of the same terrain that don’t touch.
• Forgetting that a discarded domino loses Harmony.

How to set up Kingdomino

Setup takes 2 minutes. It changes a little with the player count; with Age of Giants, follow its steps too.