Domination (1982) Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Object
• Contents
• Basic Game Set-Up
• The Game for Two Players
  • How to Set Up the Game
  • How to Play the Game
• The Game for Three Players
  • How to Set Up the Game
  • How to Play the Game
• The Game for Four Players
  • How to Set Up the Game
  • How to Play the Game (cont.)
• Strategy Hints

Object

Dominate the entire gameboard so your opponent cannot make a move.

Contents

• Plastic gameboard unit
• 62 plastic playing pieces
• Colorful instruction booklet
• Label sheet

Basic Game Set-Up

Gameboard Placement. Position the gameboard unit on a flat surface so it's accessible to all players.

Label Application. Peel off the name labels and carefully apply them to the unit as shown in the front cover package picture.

Distribution and Positioning of Playing Pieces. The color, number and placement of the plastic playing pieces differ in a 2-player, 3-player and 4-player game.

In a 2-player game, only the red and green pieces are used and each player is given 18 of each color to play with. In a 3-player game, 3 colors of playing pieces are used and each player is given 13 of each color to play with. In a 4-player game, all 4 colors of playing pieces are used and each player is given 13 of each color to play with. See individual set-ups for a 2-player, 3-player and 4-player game for more details.

Note to players: The instruction booklet is divided into 4 sections: "The Game For Two Players"; "The Game For Three Players"; "The Game for Four Players"; and "Strategy Hints." Read the rules carefully before attempting to play. Refer to the colorful illustrations to learn how to stack, attack and "Dominate" the gameboard. Have fun!

The Game for Two Players

How to Set Up the Game

The Playing Pieces — Their Number and Placement

1. Only the green and red playing pieces are used... 18 of each color.
2. You and your opponent pick a color to play with.
3. To determine who plays first, put a green piece in one fist and a red piece in the other fist. Have your opponent tap a fist... the color chosen plays first.
4. Position yourselves around the gameboard as shown in Figure 1.
5. Set up the gameboard as shown in Figure 1. The unique stacking pieces fit right over the domed gameboard spaces.

[Figure 1: the octagonal gameboard with the Red Player sitting at the top and the Green Player at the bottom; the domed spaces hold the initial pieces.]

How to Play the Game

The Playing Pieces — How to Move Them. The basic move in "Domination" is to pile up your playing pieces onto other playing pieces to form stacks. If your color playing piece is on top of a stack, you control that stack... you "Dominate" it; only you can move it! If your color is on top of all the stacks or piles on the gameboard and your opponent cannot move, then you'll win the game. There are two basic moves you can make on your turn. Each is explained below.

The Two Basic Moves. On your turn, do ONE of the following moves. Once you make a move, your turn is over and play proceeds to your opponent. Alternate turns throughout the game!

1. Either make a single move by moving one of your color playing pieces one space. Move it vertically, horizontally, but NOT diagonally one adjacent space either onto an empty, domed game space or onto a playing piece or stack of playing pieces. See Figure 2 for a graphic illustration of a single move...

   Here are 4 possible moves for your single, green piece in the center...

   • A. Move it north vertically one adjacent space onto an empty domed game space.
   • B. Move it south vertically onto an opponent's single red piece to form a 2-high pile.
   • C. Move it west horizontally one adjacent space onto one of your own single, green pieces to form a 2-high pile.
   • D. Or move it east horizontally one adjacent space onto a 2-high pile controlled by an opponent's red piece to form a 3-high pile.

   [Figure 2: diagram of a single piece with the north, south, east and west moves marked.]

2. Or make a multiple move by moving a pile of playing pieces or parts of a pile. To make a multiple move, you can only move a pile that has one of your color playing pieces topping it. You can only make a multiple move vertically and horizontally on the gameboard, NEVER DIAGONALLY. You can also jump over other pieces while moving and not affect them. The most important rule to remember when making a multiple move is the number of pieces you pick up in a pile to move determines how many spaces you can move on the gameboard. See the following graphic illustrations of possible multiple moves on pages 5, 6, and 7. You are the green player in the example!

Multiple moves with a 3-high pile. Making a multiple move with a 3-high pile: you control the 3-high pile because your green playing piece is on top. On your turn, you may make any of the following moves.

• A. Moving the entire pile: move the entire 3-high pile 3 adjacent spaces to the left to land on this 2-high pile (pictured) to form a 5-high pile that looks like this (pictured).

  Important: In the example shown, the maximum number of spaces you can move is 3, since there are 3 pieces in your pile. Remember, the number of pieces in a pile determine the maximum number of game spaces you can move.

  Please Note: The playing pieces you passed over or jumped over on your move are not affected in any way. They remain untouched and in place.

• B. Moving the entire pile: move the entire 3-high pile 3 adjacent spaces to the right to land on this single, red piece (pictured) to form a 4-high pile that looks like this (pictured).

• C. Move the top 2 pieces of a 3-high pile 2 adjacent spaces to the left to land on an empty, domed space to form a 2-high pile that looks like this (pictured).

• D. Move the top 2 pieces of a 3-high pile 2 adjacent spaces to the right to land on this 2-high pile (pictured) to form a 4-high pile that looks like this (pictured).

• E. Move the top piece of a 3-high pile 1 adjacent space to the left to land on this single, green piece (pictured) to form a 2-high pile that looks like this (pictured).

• F. Move the top piece of a 3-high pile 1 adjacent space to the right to land on an empty adjacent game space to form a 1-high pile with a single, green playing piece.

  Please Note: In examples C, D, E and F, the remainder of the original stack is dominated by a red piece!

Moving part of a 3-high pile. If you wish, you may move less spaces than the total number of pieces in a pile determine... this is called moving part of a pile. To move part of a pile, lift off as many pieces from the top of the pile as the spaces you wish to move. Then move them. The remaining piece or pieces in a pile remain where they are. Here are some examples of moving parts of a 3-high pile... (Examples shown in the booklet illustrations, pages 5 and 6.)

Reserve and Captured Pieces — Special Pieces Resulting From A Move. When making either a single move or a multiple move, you may create a pile that is more than 5 pieces high. If you do so, any pieces in excess of 5 must be removed from the bottom of that pile, for no pile on the board can be more than 5 pieces high.

These excess pieces are then captured, that is either removed from play permanently, or kept in reserve to be played at a later time, depending upon who the pieces belong to and what color they are. See below and page 8 for more details on captured and reserve pieces.

Which piece is a reserve? Which piece is a captured piece? If you form more than a 5-high pile on a move, any excess pieces of your own color become valuable reserve pieces for you to use at a later time; any excess pieces of your opponent's color are captured pieces and are permanently put out of play.

Here's a graphic example of how to capture and reserve pieces... [Figure 3]

The green player moves the entire 4-high pile 4 adjacent game spaces to the right to land on the indicated 3-high pile to form a 7-high pile that looks like this...

The green player then removes 2 excess pieces (indicated by the bracket above) from the bottom of the pile so the stack is the maximum 5-high. This pile remains where it was moved. The 2 excess pieces then either become captured or reserve pieces.

The 2 pieces in the above example are 1 green one and 1 red one. The green piece is a reserve because it matches the color pieces of the player who initiated the move (the green player). This reserve piece is placed on the board itself, off the playing field (on top of the "Domination" label directly in front of the green player) so everyone can see it — it is a valuable piece to be used later in the game. The 1 red piece, belonging to the green player's opponent, is the captured piece — it is set aside, away from the board and is out of play.

The Use of the Reserve Pieces. Reserve pieces are powerful pieces to own. On your turn, instead of making a single or multiple move, you may choose to play one of your reserve pieces. This is done by taking one of your reserve pieces and placing it anywhere on the gameboard — on an empty space, on a playing piece or on a pile of playing pieces. Once you play a reserve piece, your turn is over. You cannot play a reserve piece and move in the same turn!

Strategy Hint: reserve pieces can be played anytime during the game. You may wish to amass reserve pieces and wait until the end of the game to play them and to top off strategically positioned stacks to control them and the gameboard.

Recap of Movement Rules

1. On your turn, you do one of the following...
   • A. Either make a single move
   • B. Or make a multiple move
   • C. Or play one of your reserve pieces.
2. A move, whether it be single or multiple, can only be made in a straight line either vertically or horizontally... never diagonally!
3. When making a single move, you can only move a playing piece of your own color. When making a multiple move, you can only move a pile or part of a pile that has your color playing piece on top.
4. In a multiple move, the number of pieces in the pile you wish to move determines the maximum number of spaces you may move that pile. You may, however, choose to move only a part of a pile.
5. In a multiple move... other playing pieces, piles of playing pieces, or empty game spaces, jumped over or passed over are not effected in any way and remain untouched.
6. A move may end either on one playing piece, a stack of playing pieces or on an empty space.
7. If a pile is formed with more than 5 pieces, any excess pieces over 5 are immediately removed from the bottom of the pile and become either captured or reserve pieces.

How to Win a Two-Player Game. Play as outlined above, alternating turns after each move until one player cannot move a pile or piece on the gameboard and has no reserve pieces. The game is then over! The winner is the player whose color "dominates" the gameboard... that is, he or she controls all the piles and pieces on the board.

Alternate Win Situation — Fast Two-Player Game: The first player to capture 6 or more of his or her opponent's pieces wins the game.

The Game for Three Players

How to Set Up the Game

The Playing Pieces — Their Number and Placement

1. The green, red and blue playing pieces are used... 13 of each color.
2. To determine who plays first: take one playing piece of each color, mix them up and pick one without looking at it. The chosen color plays first.
3. Position yourselves around the board and set up the pieces on the board as shown in Figure 4. Each player positions 12 pieces on the board and keeps 1 off-the-board, as shown.
4. ORDER OF PLAY: play proceeds clockwise around gameboard to the left of the first player.

[Figure 4: the octagonal gameboard with the Blue Player, Green Player and Red Player sitting positions and the Off-The-Board pieces marked.]

How to Play the Game

The Playing Pieces... How to Move Them

1. First move: each player, on his or her first move, must play his or her 13th playing piece... the off-the-board piece. They may be played on any EMPTY gameboard spaces — NOT ON OTHER PIECES!
2. Subsequent moves: the 3-player game is played exactly like a 2-player game. On your turn, you may either make a single move, a multiple move or play one of your reserve pieces.

How to Win a Three-Player Game. Play as above until two players cannot move a pile or piece on the gameboard and have no reserve pieces. The game is then over! The winner is the player whose color "dominates" the gameboard and he or she controls all the piles or pieces on the board.

Alternate Win Situation — Fast Three-Player Game: The first player to capture at least 3 pieces from each opponent wins the game. Or the first player to capture at least 10 pieces of any color, including his or her own reserve pieces, wins the game.

The Game for Four Players

Playing Individually or as Partners

How to Set Up the Game

The Playing Pieces — Their Number and Placement

1. The 4 colors of playing pieces are used... 13 of each color.
2. Individual or partner play: decide whether you wish to play individually with each challenger playing against all others, or as partners with one team of 2 players against another team of 2 players.
   • Individual play: if you're playing this version each player chooses a color to play with.
   • Partner play: if you're playing partners, pick a teammate and your colors. The team colors are... green and yellow versus blue and red. Each partner chooses one of the team colors for his or her own.
3. To determine who plays first: take a playing piece of each color, shuffle them around in a pile and have one player pick one without looking. The chosen color plays first.
4. Position yourselves around the gameboard as shown in Figure 5. When playing partners, notice that teammates sit opposite one another. Set up the gameboard as shown.
5. Order of play: when playing individually or as partners, the order of play is the same. Play proceeds clockwise around the gameboard to the left of the player chosen to play first.

[Figure 5: the octagonal gameboard with the Yellow Player, Blue Player, Red Player and Green Player sitting positions marked.]

How to Play the Game (cont.)

The Playing Pieces — How to Move Them

The 4-player game, both the individual and partner versions, is played exactly like a 2-player game with the following additions:

1. When playing partners, if your teammate makes a capture and reserve play and if any excess pieces match your color, these pieces are given to you as reserves.
2. When playing partners, you may only move your own color playing pieces or piles topped with your own color pieces. You never can move your partner's color pieces.
3. During the game, it is possible that you will not be able to make a play... either move a piece or pile on the gameboard or position a reserve piece. If this happens, you're still in the game. Just "pass" and wait until your next turn hoping that you can play then. You might be able to play on your next turn if part of a pile is moved by another player leaving one of your color pieces on top of the remaining pieces in that stack... or if your teammate makes a capture and reserve play and gives you a reserve piece of your own color.
4. Players decide before play if "table-talking" is allowed so certain plays can be initiated or stopped with prompting from other players. Of course, a no table-talk rule heightens the intensity of play!

How to Win a Four-Player Game. When playing partners, the game is over if both teammates cannot make a move on the gameboard and have no reserve pieces. The winner is the team whose colors "DOMINATE" the gameboard... that is, their colors control all the piles and pieces on the board.

When playing individually, the game is over when all other players except one cannot move a piece or a pile and have no reserve pieces. The winner is the player whose color DOMINATES the gameboard... that is, his or her color controls all the piles and pieces on the board.

Alternate Win Situation When Playing Individually — Fast Game: The first player to capture at least 2 pieces from each opponent wins the game. Or the first player to capture at least 10 pieces of any color, including his or her own reserve pieces, wins the game.

Strategy Hints

1. In "Domination" contact with other playing pieces is immediate. In the beginning of the game, you will stack up many 2-high piles. Try to arrange your 2-high piles in converging rows 2 spaces apart so they can quickly be stacked together to form a large pile that you control.

2. Avoid moving into spaces between two or three of an opponent's single pieces. Single pieces are dangerous... for they are just one jump away from controlling a stack.

3. Two large piles in the same row can be an interesting situation. Beneficial to you if you can move first, attacking the other stack to make a capture and reserve play. Dangerous to you, if your opponent can attack first!

4. Moving parts of piles can be advantageous to you. Move part of a pile when it is being threatened by attack from an opponent... remember, any part moved off remains in position on your next turn to be moved back onto the stack to control it (if an opponent doesn't interfere with this moved-off part).

   Also, by breaking up a large stack, you could ruin your opponent's chance to make a capture and reserve play.

   Sometimes, moving part of a pile will help you make a capture and reserve play... if you move the piece or pieces to form more than a 5-high pile! Since reserve pieces are wise to own, it is recommended that you try to make capture and reserve plays even if breaking up a large stack would leave an opponent in control of a broken stack.

5. Towards the end of the game, sometimes it is wise to try to concentrate on amassing reserve pieces rather than attacking an opponent. Reserve pieces are valuable pieces to own and can help you win the game.

6. One valuable stack to be on the lookout for is a 5-high pile controlled by an opponent with one of your color pieces on its bottom. Play one of your reserves on such a stack — you'll gain control of the stack and win back a reserve piece, too. Depending on the arrangement of the pile, your opponent may make a similar play! Eventually, however, one player will stop getting a reserve piece from such a move. Experience will teach you who will finally dominate.

7. When playing partners, try the divide and conquer play in which both you and your teammate attack one and the same opponent... a player attacked by two challengers stands little chance of fending off his or her attackers.