Dominion for iPhone alternative
April 9, 2013 7:48 PM   Subscribe

Dominion (the card game) doesn't seem like it's ever likely to come out for iOS. What are some alternative iPhone games that riff on Dominion style play that are can be played thru game center and are turn based (able to take hours to make a turn.) Thanks!
posted by Brent Parker to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (7 answers total) 6 users marked this as a favorite
 
I used to play a ton of Dominion on my iPad (there was an unofficial version that was pulled from the app store, but if you already had it, you got to keep it) and that's been supplanted by since December by playing a ton of Ascension. I think the game mechanics are similar -- you're trying to get cards that work together and balance buying more buying power with buying more killing power.

You can play it turn-by-turn through Game Center, though I mostly play against the AI.
posted by jacquilynne at 8:40 PM on April 9, 2013 [3 favorites]


There used to be a good Dominion app, made by Hammer Technology. It has been removed from the App Store, presumably at the request of Rio Grande. Might be available on a non-US iTunes store, if there is a way to connect to one?

You can play Dominion on the web at playdominion.com, but this official version is pretty lousy compared to the unofficial version at isotropic, which has now been shut down. Neither web version supported the long-pause turn-based gameplay you're describing, but don't give up just yet. While the cards version of Dominion is very housekeeping heavy, it goes much faster when the software does all the housekeeping for you. I used to play at isotropic with friends over our lunch breaks, and we could bang out a 4-player game in 10-15 minutes, easy. The official version isn't as easy to use, but is similarly speedy. With that in mind, perhaps the hours between turns thing may not be such a big thing?
posted by xedrik at 8:42 PM on April 9, 2013


And yeah, Ascension pretty much (but not totally, for me) scratches that itch. :)
posted by xedrik at 8:43 PM on April 9, 2013 [1 favorite]


Ascension thirded. Love the asynchronous multiplayer.
posted by ThatFuzzyBastard at 9:32 PM on April 9, 2013 [1 favorite]


Another vote here for Ascension. It's not quite Dominion, but it's pretty close.

Also the Dominion web app xedrik mentioned is going to be made into an official app available to download from the App Store, but there's no firm time-frame on that. I think Goko is still working on ironing out the bugs following the disastrous launch.
posted by Effigy2000 at 12:43 AM on April 10, 2013 [1 favorite]


I still have the unofficial Dominion app on my phone, but Ascension all the way. I can't stop playing it. Have been unable to get through a day in the past few months without going in for at least one game.
posted by Kitteh at 7:52 AM on April 10, 2013


I dislike Dominion but love Ascension, so YMMV. (Incidentally, Playdek, the company that produced the Ascension IOS port, does really outstanding work on all of their games; I'm currently hooked on Can't Stop, a dice game, and they have several other deck building games out.)
posted by Etrigan at 9:21 AM on April 10, 2013


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