Royal gaming -or- why Queendomino (@BlueOrangeGames, 2017) still reigns

I WASN”T FEELING THE GREATEST so instead of a “heavier” boardgame or wargame for the Family Game Night we chose some lighter fare. At the suggestion of RockyMountainNavy Jr., we played Queendomino (Blue Orange Games, 2017). Queendomino is an abstract, tile-placement puzzle game where one tries to build their kingdom using domino-style territory tiles. Unlike its predecessor Kingdomino, which exclusively uses the territory tiles, Queendomino introduces Knights for Taxing your territories and Towers to attract the Queen (and pay less for buildings). Oh yeah, don’t forget about a Dragon to burn down buildings you don’t like!

It was not until later that I realized we had not played Queendomino since December 2018. It really felt like it because we all played with much more hesitancy than I remember. I mean, we agonized over our moves. Whether it was deciding where to place the territory tile, or if it was the right time to Tax, which building to build, or which tile to chose next, each decision was sloooow.

Once the game ended and the points were counted, it was RockyMountainNavy Jr. with the win. By one point. He set the new Top Score for the game (after 11 recorded plays). RockyMountainNavy T now holds the Top Losing Score. On any other day his score would have won by some distance but today it was not enough. Oh yeah, how about RockyMountainNavyDad? My score was just above the Average Score for our recorded plays but today it was a distant third place. (Hat tip to the Board Game Stats app for helping track this).

Most importantly, we all thoroughly enjoyed the game. For a game that is so simple in concept it was mentally grueling in play. Not in a bad way, mind you. The decision space in Queendomino is near-perfect for a lighter family game playable is less than an hour. It was heartening to play a family boardgame that we all enjoy after my less-than-stellar recent luck with games like Cowboy Bebop: Boardgame Boogie (Jasco Games, 2019) or Star Wars: Outer Rim (Fantasy Flight Games, 2019).

In this age of FOMO or CotN* it’s great to rediscover great games. On BoardGameGeek, Queendomino is ranked #400 Overall and #71 in the Family Games category. That’s very respectable! This play of Queendomino reminds me that I already have some great games in my collection; buying one more is not what I need – I just need to play the great ones I have.

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Feature image Blue Orange Games

*FOMO – Fear of Missing Out; CotN – Cult of the New