Lastly, divide the gem and gold tokens by colour and place them so that every player can reach them easily. This is the token supply.

Then look at the development cards - are there some easy to grab level one cards that fit with the nobles’ requirements? If so, think about aiming for those first.

System Requirements

Place all the yellow gold tokens down, and place the other gem tokens down in piles, removing three of each for two player games, and two of each for three player games. If you’ve played Splendor before, there’s a few similarities in terms of components. But the set up (which is super speedy) will be new. On your turn, you can do one of three things: take up to three poker chip gems from the piles, which you can then use to buy cards in future turns; buy a card from the centre to add into your personal gem collection; or 'reserve' a card by removing it from the centre grid and keeping it nearby, available to buy and add to your tableau on a future turn (but now no one else can have it). Don’t focus too much on acquiring higher-level cards early on. Build your strong foundation of lower-level cards that will help you acquire those higher level and higher point cards later in the game. The recommended age of 10+ seems like a good guideline, though we expect that a lot of younger kids would be able to understand the game (and there's no text at all, the whole game is symbol based, basically), but the theme is fairly dry, so it will just depend on whether you think they'll engage with it.

Think about it: a 2-2-1 card costs five gems and gives you one card. For the price of just one more gem you can have two cards in many cases. Also, two expensive 2-2-1 cards in a row can decimate your gems causing you to take 2-3 turns to rebuild while your opponents are chaining together moves. The change is quite distinctive though, in the same way that Nobles are achieved by having a certain number of permanent gems. So City tiles are achieved in the same way. Except to receive a City tile you will also need a certain minimum amount of prestige. The first player to 15 prestige points will bring the game to a close, but be warned. As soon as 15 or more prestige points are obtained by a player, the game continues for one more round, so you may just find yourself losing to a player who had planned a big move before you declared your 15 prestige points. privilege scrolls go next to the board, 4 Royals go face up under the board, and then choose first player in the way you do. Whoever goes 2nd gets a privilege scroll to start the game. There’s also a victory tile that reminds you of the 3 ways in which you can claim victory, so best keep that in eyeline. You CAN refill the game board (if there are tokens in the bag) – if you do though, your opponent gets a privilege token. And if there are none left, they can take on of yours!The noble cards are shuffled and one card is removed for each player, another card is added and placed over the topmost row. (For 4 players, 5 cards are placed). Splendor Rules and Game Guide On How To Play The goal of Splendor is to be the first player to reach 15 prestige points by accumulating development cards and noble tiles. Cards and tiles are worth the number of points indicated by the white number in the top left. Cards with no number printed in the top left are worth zero points. The kit will typically consist of 2 types of cards, 5 types of gem tokens, and 1 gold token. In splendor, these cards and gems will determine who is the more prestigious player.

Splendor encourages the use of cunning strategies and devious moves and this creates a game that plays wonderfully well. The colourful and detailed artwork makes this a must-have for any board game collection and will have players wanting to play again and again.For example, if a noble card requires 3 diamond DCs and 3 sapphire DCs, and a player meets the demands, in their turn, the noble will ‘pay the player a visit’ or the player can own that Noble. Timing is a huge part of the deal as you ponder when to reserve cards before your opponent does, or when to risk a refill. The special card abilities play a big role here as well. Getting to take an extra turn can be an important swing if timed correctly, and the one that lets you steal directly from the other player is particularly vicious, verging on a table-flip trigger if activated at a pivotal moment. Developing a solid game strategy early on once you see how the board is playing out is key to winning in Splendor. Having a good base strategy and then being flexible as the game plays out is crucial to being competitive in most games. The two types of cards are development cards and Noble cards. They are 90 and 10 in number respectively.

Attract nobles: Once a player has acquired a certain number of development cards, they become eligible to attract nobles. Noble tiles have a specific gem and development card requirement. If a player meets the requirements, they can attract the noble and earn additional prestige points. Prestige is gained through development cards and noble tiles. A card or token is worth as many prestige points as indicated by the white number printed on the top left angle of the card or noble tile. If a card has no such number, it’s worth zero points. With The Orient expansion you have an extra set of 30 cards. These are divided up as three sets of 10, one for each level of the core game. You will play the game as normal. But with the Orient cards you get additional bonus’ when you buy them. This for me is the strongest of the four expansions in this game. Pretty standard board. Early on I’m looking for red and green gems because of the Nobles, and the White and Green cards have the best potential in row one. Two Common Strategies for Development CardsBuying developments can be confusing at first, but we’ll make sure you get it right with an example. That’s the theme for today’s review of Splendor. This easy to learn game made waves this year when it was nominated for the prestigious Spiel des Jahres award. Ultimately, the game fell short of winning this coveted prize, but that didn’t stop it from flying off the shelves. Is Splendor a game that needs to be in your library? Let’s find out!