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May 20, 2007 Re: Windows XP Problems WITH Solutions Hi all I need help with DS9 Harbinger game, dose anyon know how to adjust the graphics with Dosbx 0.65? In the game when the cinimatics play the movie is pixceld (looks lik a messed uo checker board) and the refresh rate seems a little slow. The rest of th game works just fine, I use windows XP. Oct 18, 2011 no matter what patch i download, system compatibility i change it to, or the resolution/color of the screen I STILL GET THIS FRUSTRATING MESSAGE ABOUT DRIVER ENUMERATION.i don't even know what.
I have been a Dominion fan for many years now; I have accumulated all but two of the expansions personally, but have played through every expansion, from the sluggish and somewhat confused Cornucopia, to the well-crafted and creative Seaside. I have devoted many a free evening to deck building and trying to beat my teenage son (who has a knack for acquiring lots of money rather quickly). Empires, with all of my anticipation, turns out to be an excellent addition to the Dominion family with great cards, interesting conventions, and well-manufactured game components (metal tokens).The artwork, of course, is above reproach. The images and attention to detail is awesome, making these as worthy as any cards to be in the deck-building genre.But, it is the additional conventions that make Empires stand out. There's nothing earth-shattering in mechanics for most of the cards, but then you get to Debt. Debt is a convention that is broached in Empires that allows one to purchase cards without money, by taking Debt tokens (copper octagons). Once these tokens are in front of a player, that player cannot purchase anything else until the tokens have been paid off during a player's subsequent Buy phase and available money.Some of the cards available with Debt are powerful as well, such as Overlord, which mimics the capabilities of any card in the Supply.
Another one is Royal Blacksmith which allows a player to draw an additional five cards, then discarding the coppers. This card quickly became a favorite of mine, allowing me to double my Hand and burn through Coppers quickly. And, anyone who has played Dominion understands how fast Coppers (and Estates) bog down your playability.Another game mechanic that was introduced was split decks. There are several cards that are split, five and five (instead of one deck of ten), between two different cards: Settlers/Bustling Village, or Catapult/Rocks.
So, after five cards, you have an additional card available - almost like having a Supply of eleven decks instead of ten.But, as if those weren't enough new things coming your way, Empires added Castles, a Victory card deck for the Supply made of several different types of Castles - each with different capabilities. For instance, starting at a cost of '3', the Humble Castle is worth one money, and is also worth one Victory Point per Castle owned at the end of the game; further, at the cost of '8', the Sprawling Castle is worth four VPs, and awards the player either a Duchy or three Estates when it is gained.Lastly, Events and Landmarks are the final elements that are noteworthy.
Events were introduced in other expansions, and follow the same mechanics here: instead of purchasing a card during one's Buy phase, the player can purchase the use of an Event. But, Landmarks are different and add further victory conditions to the game. I found that Landmarks helped us morph our strategies as the game progressed, by trying to hit other VP targets instead of swarming after Provinces or Colonies exclusively.In conclusion, Empires is a welcome expansion to the Dominion universe! I foresee great replayability, especially when combining those elements of Empires with others from other expansions. I went into the game already a fan of the franchise, and was not disappointed at all!My vote: five stars!
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