Jump to:
- 1 What Is Splendor?
- 2 Key Game Information
- 3 How to Play Splendor
- 4 Playing at Different Player Counts
- 5 Playing Solo
- 6 Components and Production Quality
- 7 Expansions and Other Versions
- 8 Digital Versions
- 9 If You Like Splendor, Try These
- 10 Final Thoughts
- 11 Buy Splendor
- 12 Don’t just take my word for it
- 13 Related
Yeah i went there… I like Puns. I discovered Splendor on Board Game Arena and played it more times than I am prepared to admit. It sits alongside Azul as one of my most-played digital games, and for good reason: it is brilliantly simple to pick up and just deep enough to keep you thinking.
Designed by Marc Andre and published by Space Cowboys, Splendor plays 2 to 4 in around 30 minutes. You are a Renaissance gem merchant collecting tokens, buying development cards, and attracting noble patrons. The elegance of it means there is always a better move than the one you are about to make.
What Is Splendor?
Each turn you do one of three things: take gem tokens, reserve a card, or buy a development card. The depth comes from the engine you build as you buy cards, because each card gives you a permanent gem discount on future purchases.
Get enough cards of the right colours and expensive high-value cards become cheap. Attract nobles by collecting the right card combinations and score bonus prestige points. First to 15 prestige points triggers the end of the round, and whoever has the most wins.
No direct attacking, no take-that nonsense, and very little luck beyond the random card layout at the start. What looks like a casual game contains a satisfying engine-building puzzle underneath.
Key Game Information
| Players | 2-4 (works well at all counts) |
| Play time | 30 minutes |
| Designer | Marc Andre |
| Publisher | Space Cowboys |
| Categories | Gateway Games, Strategy Games, Card Games, EuroGame |
| Mechanics | Set Collection, Engine Building, Resource Management, Drafting |
| Theme | Historical, Economic and Business |
| Complexity | Light to Medium-light |
| Best for | Players who enjoy building an efficient engine without a rulebook that takes forty minutes to read |
How to Play Splendor
Three rows of face-up development cards and noble tiles sit in the centre. Gem tokens in five colours plus gold wild tokens are stacked nearby.
On your turn, choose one action:
- Take three different gem tokens.
- Take two tokens of the same colour (only if at least four of that colour remain).
- Reserve a card from the display or blind from a deck, and gain one gold token.
- Buy a card from the display or from your reserved cards, paying its gem cost minus your existing card discounts.
Noble tiles are claimed automatically when you meet their requirements. You do not spend a turn on them.
Reserving cards is the most strategic action and worth understanding well. You can hold up to three reserved cards. It secures a card before someone else takes it, and you gain a gold token in the process.
| At our table We were playing a game where someone was one card away from fifteen points. Three of us spent two rounds blocking every card they could reasonably buy. They eventually won on a reserved card none of us had accounted for. Deserved. |
Playing at Different Player Counts
2 players: Very good. Faster and more tactical. You track what your opponent is building and can disrupt it by reserving cards they need. Plays in under 20 minutes.
3 players: The most competitive count. Enough pressure that you cannot always get what you need.
4 players: Works well, slightly more luck involved in whether the right cards show up.
Playing Solo
The base game has no official solo mode. Splendor Duel (2022) is a dedicated two-player standalone with a solo challenge mode. Worth knowing about if you play alone.
Components and Production Quality
The gem tokens are the star: thick, satisfying poker-style chips that feel genuinely premium. Picking them up and clinking them together is one of those small tactile pleasures that makes a game feel more expensive than it is.
The cards are clear and well illustrated. The overall presentation is clean and elegant, which suits the Renaissance theme.
| Quick verdictThe gem tokens alone justify the purchase. Among the best components in any game at this price point. |
Expansions and Other Versions
- Splendor Duel (2022): A standalone two-player game with a shared board and different gem-taking mechanic. Very well received and comes with a solo mode.
- Splendor Marvel (2021): Splendor with a Marvel theme. Same core mechanics with Infinity Stones instead of gems.
- Cities of Splendor: Four mini-expansions in one box: Cities, Trading Posts, Strongholds, and Orient. Adds variety without replacing the core.
Digital Versions
Splendor is on Board Game Arena for free and handles the engine building cleanly. I play it there regularly. There is also an official app on iOS and Android with AI opponents and online play. The Steam version exists too. All three are solid.
If You Like Splendor, Try These
- Century: Spice Road: A similar engine-building card game with a spice merchant theme. Slightly more complex.
- Azul: No engine building, but shares accessible strategy depth and is great on BGA.
- Wingspan: A step up in complexity, but the card-driven engine building is the same satisfying loop taken further.
- Ticket to Ride: Another classic gateway game. Different mechanics, similar feel.
- Splendor Duel: If you love Splendor and mainly play with one other person, the obvious next purchase.
Final Thoughts
Splendor is one of the best gateway games available. The rules take five minutes to explain, it plays in half an hour, and the engine-building loop is satisfying from the very first game.
The lack of a solo mode in the base game is its main gap. If you mostly play alone, go to Splendor Duel instead.
Splendor is the game that made me realise how much I love engine building, and it is still the first one I recommend for that.