A real Stonefold match where green leads five rival kingdoms on a hex boardStonefold · round 18 · real game capture

Simple rules. Deep strategy.

Grow your kingdom. Break theirs at the seams.

Turn-based territory strategy at your own pace. Claim land, connect your territories, and cut five computer rivals apart—without letting your own army empty its treasury.

Play free in your browser

Four Core maps, one daily map, and every difficulty level are free. No ads. No account or card required.

UnhurriedNo turn timers
UndoUntil you end your turn
SavedResume any time
OfflineAfter one online visit

How it plays

Cut an army off from its gold

Every connected stretch of land is its own kingdom, with its own gold and its own units to pay for. Split a rival’s kingdom, and only the half with its capital keeps the gold. If the other half can’t pay its units, they become graves.

A real move · Stonefold, round 14

Before the capture: a new green Villager can take any of several dashed hexes, and the far-left one links purple’s capital to its three units
A new Villager can take any dashed hex. The far-left one is the only link between purple’s capital and its army.
After the capture: the green Villager holds the link, and purple is now two kingdoms; the half with its three units has a new capital
Purple is now two kingdoms. The half with the army gets a new capital with 0 gold.
Purple’s next turn: the three stranded purple units have become graves
That half earns 9 gold a turn but owes 10 in upkeep, so all three units become graves.
Purple kingdoms
1
Army’s gold
4
Army’s units
3

One 10-gold Villager did all of this. The same rule applies to your kingdoms: every unit you buy needs enough land behind it to pay its upkeep.

Economy

Every border is an economic decision

Stronger units cross tougher borders, but each kingdom pays its own upkeep. Every rank costs three times the upkeep of the one below, and units can’t be sold back. If a kingdom cannot pay, every unit in it becomes a grave.

  • Strength 1

    Bought directly

    Cost
    10 gold
    Upkeep
    2 a turn

    Uses the income of 2 hexes.

  • Strength 2

    2 Villagers combined

    Cost
    20 gold
    Upkeep
    6 a turn

    Uses the income of 6 hexes.

  • Strength 3

    3 Villagers combined

    Cost
    30 gold
    Upkeep
    18 a turn

    Uses the income of 18 hexes.

  • Strength 4

    4 Villagers combined

    Cost
    40 gold
    Upkeep
    54 a turn

    Uses the income of 54 hexes.

Choose a unit to see which borders it can take.

What a Knight can take

A Knight also breaks through castles and Spearmen.

  1. 0Unguarded landTakes
  2. 1Guarded by a capital or VillagerTakes
  3. 2Guarded by a castle or SpearmanTakes
  4. 3Guarded by a KnightBlocked
  5. 4Guarded by a BaronBlocked

Numbers in hexes are defense: the strongest piece on a hex or beside it. An attacker must be stronger; ties hold.

Castle 15 gold. Guards its hex and the hexes beside it at strength 2, with no upkeep.

Kingdom finances with income, unit upkeep, a projected shortfall, and a bankruptcy warning

Kingdom finances show income, upkeep, and the projected result before you buy, with a warning when a kingdom can’t pay. Review bankruptcy warnings before ending a turn, or undo a purchase that leaves you short.

Watch Build an Army You Can Afford · 1:15

Full match

See one full match unfold

A real match on Longwake against five Legend computer rivals, replayed move for move: the opening land grab, joined kingdoms, a starved army, and their surrender in round 19.

Watch the full match · 2:12 Read the five decisions that won it

Pace

Take your time. Play online or off.

No turn timersThink as long as you like.
Saves as you playStep away and resume the same position.
Undo until you end the turnRecover a mis-tap or try another line.
Plays offlineIn the iPhone and iPad app, and in a browser after one online visit.

Browser or app?

Start free on either. Your saves stay in the browser or on the device where you play.

BrowseriPhone and iPad
StartFree, no downloadFree download
OfflineAfter one online visitAlways
PremiumNo checkoutOne-time purchase
SavesStay in that browserStay on that device
ExtrasInstall to your home screenHaptic feedback
Play free in your browser

Four Core maps, one daily map, and every difficulty level are free. No ads. No account or card required.

Get Dominex for iPhone and iPad

Free to download, with no ads. Four Core maps, one daily map, and every difficulty level stay free.

Maps and Stats

A new free board every day. Master every Core map.

Four daily styles

Dominex generates four maps on your device each day, the same four for everyone, changing at 00:00 UTC. One is free, and its style rotates. Premium opens all four.

Dominex map selection showing today's generated maps and the free daily choice
Compact
A broad landmass
Narrows
A tight passage
Chain
A long, thin route
Canal
Cut by water

Four Core maps, four levels

Stonefold, Twin Neck, Longwake, and Lacewater are always free. Learn each one on Casual, then step up. Each level caps how many of its estimated attacks a computer rival may make per turn.

CasualRoughly ¼
NormalRoughly ½
VeteranRoughly ¾
LegendNo limit

Master all 16

Win every Core map at every level to complete all 16 goals. Stats also keeps your win rate, streaks, and fewest-round wins from Classic starts. Clustered wins still count toward your Core goals and streaks.

Dominex Stats screen showing four wins, one loss, and four of sixteen Core map goals won

Example local history shown in the Stats screen. Everything stays on your device.

Finish a daily match on its day, won or lost, to keep your streak. New matches keep their final board in Stats. Ranking is optional: join the daily leaderboard to compare Legend or Casual conquests of the free map.

Play free in your browser

Four Core maps, one daily map, and every difficulty level are free. No ads. No account or card required.

Your next match

Choose the opening. Find the weak border.

Start with larger kingdoms

Move the Starting land slider from scattered pieces toward fewer, larger kingdoms. The preview shows every player's exact land. Larger kingdoms also start with more gold.

Stonefold setup with Strong Starting land and an exact preview of each player's clustered kingdoms

Read their economy

Tap any rival kingdom to inspect its gold, income, and upkeep. See what it can afford before choosing which border to take.

Read-only Violet kingdom finances showing treasury, income, upkeep, and treasury at its next turn

Send a friend the same challenge

Share a daily result with its difficulty and Starting land. Your friend can play the exact challenge on the web or in the iOS app without Premium. Each match stays single-player.

Daily match result with its final board, Legend difficulty, Strong Starting land, and Share action

Example result shown from a staged match.

Premium

Every daily board. Your own battlefields.

One lifetime purchase in the iPhone and iPad app. No subscription.

  • All four daily maps, every day
  • Daily maps from any past day
  • A new picture-shaped bonus map each week, from 52 designs
  • Save and play the maps you draw

Replayed daily maps do not count toward your daily streak.

Download Dominex on the App Store

Free to download, with no ads. Four Core maps, one daily map, and every difficulty level stay free. The app shows the current Premium price.

Try the map editor

Free to try in your browser. Saving and playing your map needs Premium on iPhone or iPad.

Weekly Mushroom bonus map card with a Premium lock caption
A new picture-shaped bonus map every week.
Dominex map editor in trial mode, with validation, tools, Save and Save and play
Draw on the 35 × 24 grid, or start from a Core map or one of 215 classic Slay Islands maps.

Questions

Before you play

More answers and support
What can I play for free?

All four Core maps, one of each day’s four daily maps, and every difficulty level, with saving and undo. You do not need an account, a card, or a subscription.

Do I need to know strategy games?

No. The app suggests Stonefold on Casual as a first match and keeps a rules reference one tap away. How a turn works shows the rules in a one-minute video and four short lessons.

Where can I play?

In any modern browser on a phone, tablet, or computer, including Android. There is also an app for iPhone and iPad.

Is Dominex multiplayer?

No. It is single-player: you against five computer rivals on every map.

Can I play offline?

The iPhone and iPad app plays offline. In a browser, open the game once while online. Core maps, today’s daily maps, and saved matches then work offline. The editor, Stats, and help screens each need to be opened once online first.

Do my saves move between devices?

No. Matches, records, and maps stay in the browser or on the device where you play. There is no account or cloud sync. A daily leaderboard profile can be restored on another device with its recovery code.

How do the difficulty levels differ?

Every level uses the same computer player. Casual, Normal, and Veteran allow each rival roughly a quarter, half, or three-quarters of its estimated attacks per turn. Legend has no limit.

How much is Premium?

Premium is one lifetime purchase in the iPhone and iPad app. The app shows the current price. There is no web checkout.

Are the computer rivals generative AI?

No. They are procedural game AI that runs on your device, without an AI service.

Is Dominex related to Slay?

Dominex is an independent game inspired by the rules of Sean O’Connor’s Slay. The editor includes classic Slay Islands maps as templates, credited to their creators where known. Browse all 215 classic maps.

Looking for a game in the same tradition? Our guide to games like Slay compares Dominex, Slay, Antiyoy, Konkr, and Island Empire, including reasons to choose each one.

Simple rules. Deep strategy.

Your next kingdom is ready

Play free in your browser

Four Core maps, one daily map, and every difficulty level are free. No ads. No account or card required.

Get Dominex for iPhone and iPad