Tigris & Euphrates - FAQ Back to FAQ

 
Domaine™
Can you control enough territory to become the most prestigious duke before the king's return?
(Learn More...)
  
Players: 2-4, Ages: 10+
Playing Time: 60-120 minutes

MFG4102
$49.00

  

 
  Setting up the Game:
  Q: In a four player game, do you really only set up 3 castles and 3 knights? Why do I have 4 castles?
  A: Yes. When four people are playing, each player gets 3 castles and 3 knights at the beginning of the game. You will not use the fourth castle at all in a four player game. You need the fourth castle for 2 or 3 players games.
  Q: When I place my castles at the start of the game, does “6 spaces apart” mean that my castles have to have 6 spaces between them, or does it mean that there must be 5 spaces between them? The illustration on page1 of the rules shows the castles with 6 spaces between them.
  A: The illustration is a good guide. You must have 6 spaces between all your castles.
  Q: In a 2-player game, you and your opponent place a third set of “neutral” castles. Does this “neutral” player take turns, and if so, what do they do on their turn? If not, are these castles only used during the set-up and get removed, or do they stay on the board for the whole game?
  A: When you are playing with two players, you use a third set of "neutral" castles. This "neutral" player never takes any actions. The neutral castles do not play any cards, they do not draw a hand, and they do not receive income from any mines that they might control.

The neutral castles exist only to make it harder to create your domains. Since a domain can never have more than one castle in it, you will have to place your borders to separate your castles from the neutral ones, just like you must separate your castles from your opponents.
  Domains and Control:
  Q: Is there any way to “control” and earn income from a mine that is not part of a domain (such as surrounding it with knights)?
  A: You may only control a mine if it is inside a domain that you control. The same holds true for any other kind of space. If it is not inside a domain, it is “neutral.”
  Q: What happens if you run out of wall pieces? Does that mean that you can’t take any action (such as placing walls or expanding a domain) that would require walls?
  A: This is an extremely rare situation, but it is possible. If this happens, you will need to find an alternative wall piece. The game will not work properly if there are no wall pieces. It is highly unlikely that this situation will occur, fortunately.
  Alliances:
  Q: If I have used an “Alliance” card to make peace with an adjacent domain, can I still use the “Deserter” card to take away one of my friendly neighbor’s knights?
  A: The only thing that the alliance prevents is the "expand" action. You may still play a deserter to "steal" a knight from your "ally."
  Q: If two domains are allied (by the “Alliance” card), and a third domain (using the “Expansion” card) separates the two allies (by taking over all the spaces between them). Are those two separated domains still considered “allied” even though they are no longer adjacent?
  A: There is no way to break an alliance once it is formed. Even if a third domain separates the two allies, they remain friends. If they later come into contact again, they will still be unable to expand into the territory of the ally. The rotation of the border marker is used only as a reminder of which domains are allied.
  Q: I have made an “alliance” with an adjacent domain (by playing the “Alliance” card). Can my domain still expand into other territories? Can I expand into territories that are part of a different (unallied) domain, or only neutral territories? What about domains that belong to the player who owns my “ally?”
  A: The only restriction that the alliance has concerns the two domains expanding into each other's territories. They do not prevent the allied domains from expanding into neutral territories, unclaimed territories, or even territories belonging to other domains (even if the third domain belongs to the "allied" player!).
  Knights:
  Q: If I play the card that lets me add two knights, do I have to put both knights in the same domain (attach them to the same castle)?
  A: Just like placing borders, if you're able to place more than one knight they do not have to be placed together. You can place one knight adjacent to one castle, and the other adjacent to one of your knights at the opposite end of the board.
  Q: If I play a “Deserter Card,” do I HAVE to place a knight in my own domain? Or can I use the card just to force an opponent to remove a knight from the board?
  A: When you play the “Deserter,” you must play one of your own knights in your domain. If you have no legal location to place him (or if you cannot pay the 1 ducat to place him in a forest), then you cannot play the “Deserter.” After all, you have to give the traitor somewhere to live!
  Q: Can I use a “Deserter” card to remove the last knight from a castle? If so, what happens if I completely surround his lone castle with walls (so that it could never add any knights or expand)?
  A: You can never take the last knight away from a castle. There must always be at least one knight attached to each castle. Of course, one might argue that having a lone castle and knight completely surrounded isn’t really any better than just the castle, at least he can hold out hope of someday being able to expand his territory!
  Q: Can I play a “Deserter” on a domain that is not adjacent to one of my domains?
  A: You can only play the “Deserter” on a knight in a domain adjacent to one of your domains. You also cannot play it on the last knight in a domain. In the illustration on page 4, these domains are adjacent:

The red 3-knight domain is adjacent to the yellow 2-knight domain and the blue domain.
The yellow 2-knight domain is adjacent to the red 3-knight domain, the blue domain, and the yellow 1-knight domain (but not the red 1-knight domain).
The blue domain is adjacent to both red domains and the yellow 2-knight domain (but not the yellow 1-knight domain).
The yellow 1-knight domain is adjacent to the other yellow domain and the red 1-knight domain.
The red 1--knight domain is only adjacent to the yellow 1-knight domain and the blue domain.
In order for two domains to be adjacent, they must share at least one common border piece. The shape of the domains doesn’t matter.
  Q: Since it is legal to add knights to a castle that is not in a domain, can I play a “Deserter” card to take a knight away from a castle that is not in a domain? Can I use a “Deserter” card to take a knight away from a domain and add it to one of my castles that is not part of a domain?
  A: You may only play a “Deserter” card on a knight that is in a domain, and you may only choose a domain adjacent to one of your domains. If you look at the picture at the bottom right of page 1, you'll see that only the blue player has a domain. So, no one could play a deserter card. There must be two adjacent domains in order to play the deserter.
  Q: If I play a “Deserter Card,” do I HAVE to place a knight in my own domain? Or can I use the card just to force an opponent to remove a knight from the board?
  A: When you play the “Deserter,” you must play one of your own knights in your domain. If you have no legal location to place him (or if you cannot pay the 1 ducat to place him in a forest), then you cannot play the “Deserter.” After all, you have to give the traitor somewhere to live!
  Action Cards and the Chancery:
  Q: What happens if the Chancery is full (there is no more space to add cards)? Does that mean that you cannot sell any more cards? Are you required to draw cards from the Chancery instead of the deck?
  A: It does not matter if the Chancery is "full." There is no limit to the number of cards that can be sold to the Chancery. If you run out of space on the board, just make a second row, or stack similar cards together, or whatever works for you. As long as all the players can see what cards are available to draw, it does not matter if they are all in the Chancery box or not.
  Expansion Actions:
  Q: On page 3 of the rules, the illustration shows orange expanding into a village, and then into the forest just beyond it. Could the orange player instead expand into the village, and then into the forest to the left instead of the forest beyond the village?
  A: Absolutely. When you expand your domain, you get to take over two spaces. The two spaces can be together (like the village and forest to the left), or they can be in a line (like in example 2), or they can be completely separate (like example 1). As long as it is only 2 spaces, it is a legal expansion.
  Q: Is there any limit to the number of times I can expand a particular domain? For example, I play an “Expansion” card this turn, and expand my domain. Can I play another “Expansion” card next turn and expand the same domain? Does it matter if I am expanding into “neutral” territory or into an opponent’s domain?
  A: There is no limit to the number of times you may expand a given domain. Each time you play an “Expansion” card, you can choose any of your domains to expand. There is also no limit to the number of times you may expand into the same neighboring domain, as long as you still have enough knights to overpower the defenders. It is not uncommon for a player to expand only one of his domains during the entire game.