Kingdomino

Kingdomino is a tile-placement board game designed by Bruno Cathala and published by Blue Orange Games in 2016. The game combines domino drafting with territory-building as players seek to craft a coherent kingdom on a personal 5x5 grid. Each domino-like tile has two terrain halves and a number of crowns, which contribute to scoring.

Gameplay centers on drafting and placing tiles to extend a player’s kingdom. A row of domino tiles is laid out, and players take turns selecting one tile to place on their board. Each placed domino must form connected regions of the same terrain, and crowns on the tiles determine scoring potential. The aim is to create large, well-crowned regions of varied terrain while filling the 5x5 grid.

Scoring occurs after all tiles have been placed or no further placements are possible. For each connected area of the same terrain, the player scores points equal to the number of crowns contained within that area. The total score is the sum of all such regions. The simplicity of rules combined with strategic choice of tiles has made Kingdomino popular for casual and family play, as well as for more experienced players.

Kingdomino has been well received for its accessibility and depth. It won the Spiel des Jahres in 2017, one of the most prestigious awards in board gaming. A standalone sequel, Queendomino, was released the same year, offering expanded rules and an alternative path to combat-based elements and castle-building.