Tabletop games
Kingdomino
Blue Orange GamesBruno Cathala2016
- players
- 2–4
- minutes
- 20
- years
- 8+
In the box
48 dominoes · 4 3D castles and 4 starting tiles · 8 wooden kings
Official rules (PDF, publisher's site)
Box details
- Designer
- Bruno Cathala
- Artwork
- Cyril Bouquet, Pauline Detraz, Charlotte Bey, Bruno Cathala
- Publisher
- Blue Orange Games
- Mechanics
- EnclosureMatchingOpen DraftingTile Placement
- Expansions
- Kingdomino: Age of Giants · 2018
- Kingdomino: The Court · 2020
- Kingdomino: Les Trésors Perdus · 2026
Where to buy it
Near you and online
In a shop
Within 50 km.
Online
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The basics
Each player assembles dominoes into a five-by-five kingdom that scores the most points. On your turn, place the domino you chose the previous turn against your starting tile or against a matching terrain, then place your king on a domino in the new row: the lower its number, the earlier you play next turn. When the last row has been played, each property scores its number of squares multiplied by its crowns, and the highest total wins.
Checked against the official rules · October 2026
The rules, step by step
Setup
1 starting tile, 1 king, 2 with 2 players, Row of 4 dominoes
- Each player takes a colour: a starting tile with their castle on top, and a king (two kings with two players).
- The 48 dominoes are shuffled in the box, which serves as the draw pile.
- Draw four dominoes, line them up side by side in ascending number order, the lowest nearest the box, then turn them landscape side up.
- The kings are drawn at random one by one; each player places theirs on a free domino in the row. With three players, the remaining domino is discarded.
How to play
Place your domino, Then place your king, 5 × 5 square
- A new row of four dominoes is drawn and arranged in the same way.
- Play follows the order of the kings on the old row, starting with the one on the lowest number.
- On your turn, first place your domino in your kingdom, then place your king on a free domino in the new row.
- A domino is placed against the starting tile, which accepts every terrain, or against a domino where at least one terrain matches, horizontally or vertically.
- The whole kingdom must fit within a five-by-five square, starting tile included.
- A domino that can be placed must be placed, even if it is awkward; one that cannot be placed is discarded and scores nothing.
- Choosing a low number means playing early next turn; taking a high-numbered domino, often richer in crowns, means playing late.
Scoring
Squares × crowns, No crown, no points
- A property is a group of squares of the same terrain connected by a side. There can be several of the same terrain.
- Each property scores its number of squares multiplied by the number of crowns it contains.
- A property with no crown scores nothing, however large it is.
- Optional rules: Middle Kingdom, 10 points if the castle is at the centre of your kingdom (even if incomplete); Harmony, 5 points if you have not discarded any domino.
End of the game
Last row played, Highest total, Tie: largest property
- When the last row is drawn, each player plays one last turn, only placing their domino.
- Add up the points of all your properties; the highest total wins.
- Tie: the player with the largest property wins, crowns or not; then the one with the most crowns; otherwise the victory is shared.
House rules and pitfalls
With two players, the new edition offers the Mighty Duel: each player plays with two kings…
- With two players, the new edition offers the Mighty Duel: each player plays with two kings, with all 48 dominoes, and builds a seven-by-seven kingdom. For the first pick, the player drawn takes one domino and the other takes two.
- The first edition of the game had different settings for two and three players: follow the rulebook in your box.
- The five-by-five square is the constraint that makes the last choices difficult: better to keep some room.
Going further
Frequently asked questions · Rules on video · In the same family
Frequently asked questions
Does a large property with no crown score points?
None. The score is the size multiplied by the number of crowns: with no crown, the result is zero. It does, however, count to break a tie.
Can you refuse to place an awkward domino?
No. If there is a legal placement, you must play it. Only a domino that cannot be placed is discarded.
Who plays first each turn?
The player whose king is on the lowest-numbered domino of the previous row, then the others in number order.
Rules on video
Videos in French, hosted on YouTube.