In this paper we use the popular card game
Dominion as a complex test-bed for the generation of interesting
and balanced game rules. Dominion is a trading-card-like game
where each card type represents a different game mechanic.
Each playthrough only features ten different cards, the selection
of which can form a new game each time. We compare and
analyse three different agents that are capable of playing
Dominion on different skill levels and use three different
fitness functions to generate balanced card sets. Results reveal
that there are particular cards of the game that lead to
balanced games independently of player skill and behaviour.
The approach taken could be used to balance other games with
decomposable game mechanics