Splendor is a strategy game where you take a role of a rich merchant during the European Renaissance. You will use your resources to acquire mines, transportation methods and artisans who will allow you to turn raw gems into beautiful jewels. It is suitable for two to four players and aged 10 and above.
It is pretty straightforward to set up the game as it is fully illustrated in the instructions but I would recommend plenty of table space. First shuffle all the three different level decks and noble tiles separately. Then place them in a column in the middle of the table in increasing order from bottom to top. Place the noble tiles at the top of the level decks and reveal as many of them as there are players plus one. The remaining noble tiles are removed from the game and not used during the rest of the game. Finally, place the tokens in 6 distinct piles (sort them by colour) within reach of the players.
To win the game, you have to be the first player to reach fifteen prestige points. The youngest always starts first. Each player must choose to perform only one of the four actions: take three gem tokens of different colours, take two gem tokens of the same colour, reserve a development card and take one gold token, or buy a development card.
It didn’t take us long to understand the concept of this game. It is fairly easy once you get into the game that even my eight year old knows how to trade in the decks without using any of her existing jewels. There are a lot of tactics involved. It did take us at least 30 minutes or more to complete the game. So it is a fairly long game but it is worth playing especially if you have four people. It is an interesting game concept that requires you to apply strategy to win the game.
We all enjoy playing the game and will definitely play it again and again. We would recommend it. It is available to buy at £25.99 from Esdevium store finder or Amazon. For more information about this game, please visit http://www.spacecowboys.fr/splendor
Read our first Blogger Board Game Club’s review here: Dobble
Disclosure: We received the sample for the purposes of writing this review, however all thoughts and opinions remain our own. We have included an Amazon affiliate link to the product. If you click on this and buy, we may earn a small commission. We are members of Blogger Board Game Club.
An interesting game for the older children. They get bored with their usual games after a while.