FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Honest answers about who we are, how we review, and how the site works.

Who's behind Boarddom?About us

Kelvin, a Singapore dad of three. Every game here is played at our kitchen table with the kids before it's written up.

Do you accept free games from publishers?How we review

[NEED: your policy. Suggested honest default — 'We buy our own copies. If a publisher ever sends a game, we'll say so clearly in that review, and it never changes our verdict.']

How do you score a game?How we review

From real play, not the box. Each review gets an overall rating out of 5 plus sub-scores for strategy, teamwork and fun — based on actual sessions with our kids.

How do you make money?Buying & affiliate

Some links are affiliate links — if you buy through one we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. See our Affiliate Disclosure. It never changes what we recommend.

What ages are your reviews for?Ages & suitability

Primary-school kids, roughly 5–12. Every review says the age we actually tested it at, so you can judge the fit for your child.

What's the board-game rental service I keep seeing mentioned?Board-game rental

An idea we're exploring: a low-cost way for Singapore families to rent a game before buying. It's not live yet — join the waitlist and you'll be first to know. [NEED: confirm the pitch once decided.]

Can I suggest a game for you to review?Other

Yes please. [NEED: add contact method once [email protected] is set up.]

From our reviews & guides

Game-specific questions, pulled from each write-up. Edit these inside the review or guide itself.

Kingdomino

Can a 6-year-old play Kingdomino?

We tested this with our 9 and 7 year old, not a 6-year-old, so here's our honest read rather than first-hand: a keen 6-year-old can absolutely place tiles and enjoy the game with help. But the scoring (area × crowns) and the plan-ahead, "no takebacks" thinking are usually more like an 8-ish skill. So treat 6 as "plays along happily" rather than "plays properly on their own."

Kingdomino or Queendomino for kids?

Queendomino adds buildings, money and a dragon — and it's a noticeably heavier game. For primary-school kids, start with Kingdomino.

Is there a 2-player mode?

Yes. You use 24 dominoes, lay out 4 tiles a round, and each player takes two tiles per round, still building a 5×5 kingdom. There's also a bigger 2-player variant in the rulebook, "The Mighty Duel," where you use all 48 tiles and build 7×7 kingdoms. (We almost always play 3 or 4 players, so we can't vouch for how 2-player feels over many sessions.)

What does Kingdomino teach?

Spatial planning, a genuinely graspable risk/reward decision every single turn, and real multiplication practice (area × crowns) — the kind that sticks because they care about the score.

We have a curious toddler — can we still play?

Ours is 4, and yes, he'll try to shuffle other people's tiles or pick on their behalf. Our fixes: play when he's napping or at childcare; or give him a job, like placing a specific tile exactly where a sibling points. Often he loses interest after a few minutes and drifts off to do his own thing while the big kids carry on.