You are a monarch, like your parents were, a ruler of a small pleasant kingdom of rivers and evergreens. Unlike your parents, though, you have hopes and dreams! You want a bigger kingdom, with more rivers and a wider variety of trees. You seek a Dominion! In all directions are small bits of land, controlled by petty lords and verging on anarchy. You will offer civilization to these people, uniting them under your banner.

But wait! It must be something in the water; many other monarchs have had the same idea. You must race to get as much of the unclaimed land as possible, fighting them off along the way. To do this you will hire minions, construct buildings, spiff up your castle, and fill the coffers of your treasury. Your parents might not have been be proud, but your grandparents, on your mother's side, would be delighted.

In Dominion, each player starts with an identical, small deck of cards. In the center of the table is a selection of cards the players can purchase. Through their selection of cards to purchase and how they play their hands as they draw them, the players build their deck on the fly, striving for the most efficient path to the precious victory points by game end.

Dominion is not a collectible card game, but the game is similar to the construction and play of a collection deck. The game features 500 cards. Players select 10 of the 26 Kingdom card types to include in any given play—leading to immense variety.

Dominion (Second Edition) replaces 6 Kingdom card types from the first edition with 6 new types, while also replacing the blank cards in the game with a seventh new Kingdom card. The new cards are also available on their own in the Dominion: Update Pack. The rulebook has been rewritten, three cards have mild functional changes ("you may" added to Moneylender, Mine, Throne Room), other cards have been rephrased (while otherwise remaining the same).

Dominion: Update Pack has the seven new kingdom cards introduced in the second edition of Dominion, allowing owners of the first edition to include these new cards without needing to repurchase the entire game.