Splendor (board game)
 Splendor box cover art | |
| Designer(s) | Marc André |
|---|---|
| Publisher(s) | Space Cowboys |
| Players | 2 to 4 |
| Playing time | 30 minutes |
| Skill(s) required | Resource management |
Splendor is a multiplayer board game designed by Marc André and first published in 2014 by Space Cowboys. Players are gem merchants of the Renaissance buying gem mines, transportation, and shops. The game was nominated for the 2014 Spiel des Jahres (Game of the Year).[1][2]
Gameplay
Splendor is a resource management game in which two to four players compete to collect the most prestige points. The game uses the following:
- 40 gems - seven each of emerald, sapphire, ruby, diamond, onyx, and five gold (joker).
- 90 development cards
- 10 Noble tiles
Each development card falls into one of three levels (•, ••, •••) indicating the difficulty of obtaining the gems required to purchase that card. Additionally, each development card has a particular gem (emerald, sapphire, ruby, diamond, or onyx), which when purchased, may be used for future development card purchases and obtaining Noble tiles. The Noble tiles and most development cards are worth a certain number of prestige points, which are added to the player's score when obtained or purchased.
Before the game begins, N+1 Noble tiles are dealt in the center, visible to the players, where N is the number of players. The remaining Nobles are removed from the game. Four cards from each level (•, ••, •••) are dealt face up visible to the players, and the rest are kept in a separate deck.
A players' turn consists of a single action, which must be one of the following:
- Take three gems of different colors from the pool, or two gems of the same color (provided there are at least four gems of that color left).
- Reserve one development card by taking any face-up card (and replacing it with a card of the same level), or draw one development card from any deck, and add it to the player's hand. If there is at least one gold in the pool, the player takes one gold, which serves as a "wild card." A player can have at most three development cards in hand at any time.
- "Purchase" a development card by spending the required gems for that card (returning them to the pool), then laying that card face up in front of the player. The gem on that development card may be used on future purchases.
- For example, if a card costs 2 diamond, 2 ruby, and 3 onyx, and the player at turn has purchased four development cards showing 2 diamond and 2 onyx, then he only needs to spend 2 ruby and 1 onyx to purchase that card.
If a player has enough development card gems, that player is "visited" by the Noble, and takes that Noble tile, after their action.
End of game
When one player reaches 15 prestige points, the players continue playing the current round until each player has taken the same number of turns. Once this occurs, the game ends.
Scoring
Once the game ends, whoever has the most prestige points wins; in case of a tie, whoever purchased the fewest number of development cards wins.[3]
Honors
- 2014 Dice Tower Gaming Awards Best Family Game Winner
- 2014 Golden Geek Best Board Game Artwork & Presentation Nominee
- 2014 Golden Geek Best Family Board Game Winner
- 2014 Golden Geek Board Game of the Year Winner
- 2014 Spiel des Jahres Nominee
- 2014 Tric Trac de Bronze
References
- ↑ "Splendor (2014)". BoardGameGeek. Retrieved 14 November 2015.
- ↑ Law, Keith (21 July 2014). "Boardgame Review: Splendor". Paste Magazine. Retrieved 14 November 2015.
- ↑ http://www.spacecowboys.fr/img/games/splendor/details/rules/Rules_Splendor_US.pdf