Is Kingdomino good for kids? Age and difficulty

How do you set up Kingdomino?

Checked against the Kingdomino 2nd edition English rules from Blue Orange Games USA. Page numbers count the cover as page 1, so the contents and rules start on page 1. The main rules are written for 4 players, with changes for 2 and 3 players on page 4.

1. Before your first game, put together the 4 castles (page 2).
2. Each player takes a starting tile and a castle in the same color. Put the starting tile in front of you with the castle on it (page 2).
3. With 4 players, each player takes 1 king in their castle color, and the other kings go back in the box (page 2).
4. With 3 players, each player takes 1 king, 1 starting tile and 1 castle, and the rest stays in the box (page 4).
5. With 2 players, each player takes 2 kings, 1 starting tile and 1 castle, and the rest stays in the box (page 4).
6. Use all 48 dominoes. Each round, line up 4 at a time. After all players have chosen, discard the leftover domino into the box (page 4).
7. Use all 48 dominoes, lined up 4 at a time (page 2).
8. With 2 players, play with 24 dominoes picked at random. Take out the other 24 (page 4).
9. Shuffle the dominoes and put them in the box with the gap in the line facing away from the players, so nobody sees either side. This is the draw pile (page 2).
10. Take the first 4 dominoes from the box and line them up in number order, terrain side down, with the lowest number at the top. Then flip them over (page 2).
11. One player holds all the kings and pulls them out one at a time. The order they come out is the order in which players claim their first domino by putting a king on it (page 2).
12. When all 4 dominoes are claimed, take 4 new ones from the box and line them up, terrain side down, next to the first line. Then flip them over (page 2).

How do you teach Kingdomino to kids?

The box says 8 and up. We suggest 7 and up with an adult helping, and 8 and up on their own. It is a short game. Turns are simple, and the scoring is the only part that needs a grown-up.

Say this

1. We are building kingdoms out of dominoes. Each domino has two squares of land, and some squares have crowns.
2. Your kingdom can be at most 5 squares wide and 5 squares tall.
3. On your turn you add the domino you picked last time, and then you pick a new one by putting your king on it.
4. When you add a domino, one of its squares must touch the same kind of land, or your castle square.
5. The domino you pick sets when you go next round. Low numbers go first. Higher numbers tend to be worth more, but picking one means you pick later.
6. At the end, each patch of the same land scores its squares times its crowns. A patch with no crowns scores nothing.

The rulebook offers extra variants (page 4), but none is easier. It has no beginner variant, so every simplification below is a house rule.

First-game simplifications

• House rule Let a grown-up check each placement against the connection rule before the kid lets go of the domino.
• House rule Let a grown-up count the patches at the end, while the kids point out each patch, and use the scorer below.
• House rule Let a kid take back one placement per game, as long as the next player has not gone yet. The rulebook says a placed domino can not be moved (page 2).

Watch-outs for kids ages 7 to 8

• A domino must touch at least one square of the same land, or the starting castle square. The castle is wild on all four sides (page 2).
• Your kingdom can not go past 5 by 5 squares. A domino that does not fit, or has no match, must be thrown away, but only if it truly can not be placed (pages 2 and 3).
• You add your last-picked domino first, then pick a new one. Everyone picks next from the next line (pages 2 and 3).
• A patch must touch side to side. Squares that only touch at a corner are not connected (page 3).
• A patch with no crowns scores 0, however big it is (page 3).
• The player whose king is on the lowest numbered domino goes first next round (page 2).

Back for another game?

• Setup: each player has a starting tile with a castle, and a king (2 kings with 2 players). Line up 4 dominoes in number order and flip them. Players claim them in the order the kings were pulled (pages 2 and 4).
• Your turn: 1. Add your last claimed domino to your kingdom. 2. Claim a new domino from the next line with your king (page 2).
• Connection rule: your kingdom is at most 5 by 5. The new domino must touch the same land on another domino, or the starting tile, which is wild. Placed dominoes stay put (page 2).
• Can not place: discard the domino, for no points. You can only discard if it really can not be placed (page 3).
• Order: the king on the lowest number goes first in the next round (page 2).
• Players: with 3, 1 king each, and discard the leftover domino every round. With 2, 2 kings each and 24 dominoes, claiming 2 dominoes a round (page 4).
• Game end: when the draw pile is empty. Everyone adds their last domino (page 3).
• Scoring: each patch of connected same land scores its squares times its crowns. No crowns, no points. Add the patches. Highest wins (page 3).
• Tied? The largest patch wins. Still tied, you share the win (page 3).

How do you score Kingdomino?

For each player, add a territory for every patch of connected same land: its squares and its crowns. Each patch scores its squares times its crowns, and a patch with no crowns scores 0 (page 3). Press Who won? to see the winner. If players tie on points, the largest territory wins, and then they share the win (page 3). The two bonuses below are official variants and are off unless you tick them (page 4).