NEWS: Splendor 2nd edition

Splendor has become 10 years old this year which is truly incredible. Space Cowboys have chosen the moment to update and re-release the game in a 2nd edition format. They broke the news in June of 2024 and I instantly got excited. However, reading into it a bit more, it was then perhaps not as exciting as first thought.

The multi award winning board game is not changing according to the creators. It is the same (highly enjoyable for me) game format and rule set that we all love. So what have they done?

The game re-release seems to have a focus on aesthetics over anything else. There is new box cover art to enhance the product. The cards also have had a total makeover looking far sharper than the original box set deck. They do both look pretty spectacular and a lot better than the original, which I thought was already pretty great.

The nobles have also been changed and we have a totally new set of people involved in this new set, again with far sharper art work.

It has also been noted by Space Cowboys we can still expect the weighted poker chips to be contained within the new set. They might have looked for something less plastic like here. But, they do feel lovely to handle when playing the game as they are a quality product.

From reading around a little more it is expected that expansion sets will be compatible as well with the new edition game. So your previously purchased products will still work. It would be cool to see if the creators can also create new expansion sets with Splendor and not just recreate the existing expansions, especially if everything already existing remains compatible.

So this was not quite as thrilling as I first thought it might be. Given there is also the Marvel version and now Pokemon version (when is that coming up for sale in the UK?) that have excellent mechanics that enhance the base game of Splendor. I would have hoped just for a little more and not just a repeat. However, Splendor is still an excellent game and I love it. I do want to get hands on the new set at some point, if nothing else, just to admire it.