Plot Your Victory

• What: Kingdomino
• When: 6 years and up
• Why: Fun, boosts math skills, multiple ages
• Where: Amazon

Looking for a fun twist on the classic domino game? Want a game that you can enjoy playing with your kids, instead of suffering through yet another round of Candy Land? Grab your copy of Kingdomino from Blue Orange Games.

Kingdomino Board Game on Amazon

In this game of strategy, players take turns using various dominos to create their kingdom. The player with the most points when the dominos run out wins. Instead of numbers, each domino comes with two of the six types of lands: field, forest, swamp, mountain, water, and wheat. Instead of connecting each domino end to end, players start with a castle in one of four colors, either pink, blue, yellow, or green. They build a five by five grid in any direction around their starting castle square, acquiring one domino per turn.

On each round, four dominos get pulled from the pile and laid out in ascending numerical order on the table. A number on the back of each thick cardboard domino tile lets kids practice sequencing. Each player then takes a turn choosing a tile that best goes with the pieces they already own. But be careful. The tile you choose also determines the order for the next round. So a player who chooses the domino in the last position (with the highest numerical value) will get to choose last in the following round.

Some sides of the domino have crowns printed on them. To earn points, players connect the same type of terrain with as many crowns as possible. Points are calculated at the end of the game by multiplying the number of crowns times the number of squares in each type of territory. For example, a player with four squares of connected water with a total of three crowns will earn twelve points for that section. Add the total for each area together to calculate the final score.

The game works well for kids and adults alike. While the box says it works best for ages eight and up, all three of my kids, ages six, eight, and ten, enjoy playing this game. The last time we played with two kids and two adults, my six year old won with a score of 32. The easy to match pictures work well for a lot of ages, and the numbers on the back of the tiles coupled with the math required to calculate points at the end means my kids get lots of math practice on multiple levels.

If you want a game the whole family can enjoy, get your own copy today.