Description
Make a name for yourself in the prestigious and lucrative jewelry business of Renaissance Europe in Splendor, the award-winning game of gems!
First, collect raw gems to fund the development of mines throughout the world—then acquire the means to transport them, artisans to shape them, and finally a storefront where you can sell your polished jewels. If you produce exactly the right jewelry, a powerful Noble may become your patron, but even then they won’t just hand you victory: the player whose business earns the most prestige wins.
Deceptively simple, Splendor involves quick strategic thinking and intense competition!
- ENGAGE IN STRATEGIC PLANNING: Splendor is a fast-paced, engine-building game where players assume the roles of Renaissance merchants striving to buy gem mines, transportation means, and shops to acquire the most prestige points.
- BUILD YOUR GEM EMPIRE: Collect gems, acquire developments, and attract noble patrons to amass prestige and become the ultimate gem merchant.
- SIMPLE YET DEEP GAMEPLAY: Perfect for both beginners and seasoned gamers, offering a blend of tactical depth and easy-to-learn rules. Enjoy quick rounds that pack a lot of strategic decisions into short, intense game sessions.
- REPLAYABLE FUN: With multiple paths to victory and a dynamic setup, Splendor offers endless replayability for hours of strategic enjoyment.
- AWARD-WINNING DESIGN: Designed by Marc André and illustrated by Paul Vérité, celebrating Splendor’s 10th anniversary with this revamped version, enhancing both aesthetic appeal and gameplay dynamics.
samandandy –
Splendor is one of our favorite games! We recommend it to anyone who has any interest whatsoever in board games. I would consider this a solid entry-level game that keeps on giving for more seasoned players.
In the game, you have gem tokens and gem cards of different levels. On each turn, you only have three possible moves: take gem tokens, reserve a card, or buy a card. Buying a card requires a certain number of gems (in tokens or cards), but can give you points. Higher point cards are more expensive. If you have certain combinations of cards, you may also be “visited by a noble”, which will give you three bonus points. First to 15 points triggers the end of the game, at which point the “round” completes and then points are tallied.
The game is definitely competitive, but it’s also fairly self-contained. While players can sabotage each other or interfere with each other’s plans, you can’t really base an entire game on doing so. There is no real “kingmaker” element. There are also sufficient play strategies and styles of play that the game is unlikely to grow stale or get railroaded by every player trying to do the same “optimal” thing and the winner just being the first one to do it.
This game doesn’t need a ton of space, fancy tables, or a lot of prior knowledge. We recently played this in a hotel lobby bar when we had some extra time before a wedding. A game for us is typically 30-45 minutes, but we’ve had some games take up to an hour depending on the players. This is probably our favorite short game, along with Carcassone.