In case you're wondering, no, Dominion is not a Cactus game. Dominion is a card game designed by Rio Grande Games, and is my favorite game ever (sorry Redemption). The gameplay is rather unique, and very fun, and if you want to check out the rules (which I suggest you at least have a general feel of before reading the rest of this thread), you can do so
here.
But the reason I posted this thread is not to praise the game, but in fact to sort of rebuke it. Dominion is slightly contaminated with provocative cards such as Harem (with a discreetly suggestive image), and more recently magic/demon-promoting cards such as Scrying Pool and Possession. These elements make the game something that I'm sure many Christian (and even non-Christian) parents would not want their children getting into. And I'd bet the general morality of cards will not improve as the game grows, either.
I think a Christian version of this game should be made, and I think Cactus is the right company to do it.
At first I felt like it would be kind of cheap to rip off Dominion, but there is really a lot of opportunity for originality here, as the game type of Dominion is a pretty new and un-pioneered one. I mean, Redemption was originally based off the same general TCG/CCG concept as Magic: The Gathering (which was original at the time), and yet it's fun, it's original, and it's still alive. In fact, "copying" MTG probably made it stronger. This probably wouldnt be that different. I seriously think Cactus should jump on something like this.
A few of my brainstormed ideas:
The name could be something like Evangelism or Salvation.
Instead of trying to have lots of victory points by buying estates and duchies and provinces, the object of the game could be to save souls (like in Redemption), or maybe to be the first to gain a Christ card or something.
A distinction between good and evil cards should be made, and the two should be treated differently (a mechanic which I think hurts Dominion to lack). For example, it could take different "currencies" to buy each of them, and good cards could help you, while evil cards could hurt others (like attack cards in Dominion).
Although specific Bible characters might not make the best cards, generic characters or some things that would be identifiers on Redemption characters could be cards in this game, for example Deacon, Prophet, Magician, Tribal Elder, Sabbath Breaker, etc. At least, that would make the game more similar to Dominion, although it might be cool to have specific people like in Redemption. Also, any locations or building types (like sites and fortresses in Redemption) could be fair game for cards in this game. It also might be cool to have miracle cards, like Parting the Sea or Water to Wine.
For originality, some kind of currency other than coins should be used, like faith or maturity points (or maybe something slightly less sappy
), or maybe we could have a two-dimensional pricing system (a trail which Dominion has begun to blaze), in that money can be used to buy location/building/employee-type cards and something else can be used to gain action/miracle/lost-soul-type cards. Maybe there could even be like a good currency and an evil currency.
So what do you guys think? Any ideas at all? I know a few people on here have played Dominion before. What do you think about Christianizing it?
