Splendor Second Opinion

Splendor, the game of chasing precious jewels and gems on the path to victory. It’s an incredibly fast paced game that can very much end in a moment. Simple to pick up and very competitive at the same time, we love it.

How It Started For Us

Splendor is one of those games that ended up as a happy accident for our household. I was aware of its existence due to its huge success in scooping many gaming awards, I just had not got around to it. My brother in law picked it up for my wife for her birthday, one of his better purchases in the gift buying department. So, I made a point of learning it quickly, I didn’t want to open the box though, my wife’s gift, that’s for her. Fortunately, there are excellent tutorials on Youtube and they are less than 10 minutes long, so I didn’t need to get my hands on the rule book. As soon as I had watched the video I was messaging my wife insisting that she needed to open it and we have a go as I was that impressed. It did not disappoint us.

Gameplay

This is a beautifully simple game for 2-4 players and plays well with each amount. The first to 15 prestige points takes the win, however it is important that all players get the final turn/equal amount of turns. By this, I mean if the player who takes the first turn gets to the 15 prestige points threshold first, the rest of the remaining players still get their final turn, so all players get an equal amount of plays, this has seen victory snatched away from a player who thought they had won.

Turn play is also simple, either, draw 3 unique gems, draw two of the same gem (providing there is at least 4 of them in the pool), reserve a card from the pool and take a gold counter (gold counts as any gem and reserving a card can be a great tactical play), or pay gems to purchase one of the cards from the middle. That’s it.

The cards pooled in the middle are split into 3 tiers. Play 4 cards from each tier in the middle. These are your options for purchase. There are very few prestige points in the first tier, but prestige points everywhere in the 3rd tier. Each card also comes with a gem printed on it, like a permanent resource. Meaning you pay less in future turns, or making it easier to pay for those top tier cards.

Then there are the nobles. Special bonus prestige points that cannot be bought, you must have purchased the cards containing the corresponding gems to automatically then earn the noble. Each noble is worth 3 prestige points. The number of nobles available to win is 1 more than the number of players around the table and they do swing games so cannot be ignored.

The Frustration

This is a beautifully simply game. It is so pleasing on the eye. Yet, drives me up the wall as I am yet to figure out if there is a solid strategy to this game. I actually do not believe there is. There are multiple routes to victory and no guarantee that what worked well in one game will work in the next game. This makes Splendor brilliant for me. You do have to play this game with a heads-up approach and adapt to the ever-evolving situation of the game. You may have your own goals but you need to be very aware of what your opponents are up to. Last time we had this game out I took a battering from my wife because I totally missed what she was up to and the scoreline difference was somewhat embarrassing for me, great play by her though. I took the game straight after though and that restored a little for me, but that game was far closer.

A Game For All

This game will satisfy the most competitive and hard-core gamers as well as being a brilliant gateway game for anyone new to the hobby. I have subsequently bought copies for both my brothers who are as equally competitive as I am and they loved it, I knew they would. It will definitely be a go to game for me to introduce to others again, it’s awesome.

Final Thoughts

Splendor is a quick game that you can play multiple times in an evening. Gameplay is fast with plenty of action taking place. If you are a keen board gamer you’ve almost certainly heard of it and it is a game I can highly recommend you give a go.