What You're Trying to Do
Win by having the most Victory Points when the game ends. Points come from Victory cards you buy — but those cards do nothing while you hold them, so most of the game is spent improving your deck's buying power, then switching to points at the right moment.
The game ends the instant either of these happens:
- The Province pile (the big 6-point cards) runs out, or
- Any three supply piles run out at once (any three, your choice of which).
Setting Up
- Give everyone a starting deck of 7 Coppers and 3 Estates. Shuffle it and draw 5 cards as your opening hand.
- Lay out the basic supply in the middle: the Treasure piles (Copper, Silver, Gold), the Victory piles (Estate, Duchy, Province), and the Curse pile.
- Choose 10 Kingdom cards. Pick 10 different Action-card piles from your box (or use a recommended set) and place 10 of each in the middle. These 10 are the entire flavor of this game — they change every time you play.
- Set the Trash aside — a spot for cards permanently removed from the game.
The Supply at a Glance
| Card | Cost | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Copper | 0 | Worth 1 when played |
| Silver | 3 | Worth 2 when played |
| Gold | 6 | Worth 3 when played |
| Estate | 2 | 1 at game end |
| Duchy | 5 | 3 at game end |
| Province | 8 | 6 at game end |
| Curse | — | −1 VP (only gained via attacks) |
A Turn: Three Phases (A · B · C)
On your turn you always go in this order — Action, Buy, Cleanup. Remembering "A-B-C" is genuinely all you need.
Action
Play one Action card from your hand and do what it says. (Some Actions give you extra actions, letting you play more.) You may skip this phase.
Buy
Play Treasure cards for coins, then buy one card from the supply, paying its cost. Gained cards go to your discard pile.
Cleanup
Discard everything you played and everything still in hand, then draw a fresh 5 for next turn. Reshuffle your discard if the deck runs dry.
The Four "+" Effects
Almost every Kingdom card is described in terms of four resources. Learn to read these instantly:
- +1 Card — draw a card from your deck into your hand.
- +1 Action — you may play one more Action card this turn.
- +1 Buy — you may buy one more card this turn.
- +1 Coin — extra coins to spend during your Buy phase.
Card Types
- Treasure — played in your Buy phase for coins (Copper, Silver, Gold, and fancier ones from expansions).
- Victory — worth points at game end; does nothing while in play. Clogs your hand, which is the whole tension.
- Action — played in your Action phase; the engine parts of your deck.
- Curse — worth −1 point; forced into your deck by attack cards.
- Reaction — can be revealed out of turn, often to defend against attacks (e.g., Moat).
- Duration — stays in play and keeps working on your next turn too (from the Seaside expansion onward).
A Sample Opening Turn
Your hand: Copper, Copper, Copper, Estate, Estate.
- Action: no Action cards in hand — skip it.
- Buy: play your 3 Coppers for 3. Buy a Silver.
- Cleanup: discard your hand, draw 5 new cards.
That Silver is now in your deck, making future hands richer. Do this a few times and you'll afford Gold, then Provinces. That's the whole loop — everything else is refinement.
Beginner Tips
- Don't hoard Victory cards early. They only clog your hand. Buy them mainly in the back third of the game.
- Money is never wrong. When in doubt, a Silver or Gold improves your deck reliably. Fancy engines are optional; income is not.
- Count your terminals. An Action with no "+Action" ends your Action phase. Too many of them and they collide uselessly in the same hand — pair them with Villages.
- Watch the piles. Track the Provinces and any near-empty piles; the game can end suddenly on a three-pile clear.
- Trashing is upgrading. Cards that remove your starting Coppers and Estates (like Chapel or Remodel) make your deck leaner and more consistent.