Board Game Review: Splendor – The Greatest Gemstone Merchants of the Renaissance

Splendor is a board game suitable for 2-4 players, aged over 10. Each game lasts approximately half an hour. It is manufactured by SPACE Cowboys in France. We played the game as a family of 4 (ages: 2 adults, 1 x 11 years old, 1 x 8 years old).

Splendor is a card based trading game where you, the merchant, compete with three to four other traders to build an empire and establish the most prestige (points) in society. Essentially each turn allows the player to collect gems and gold and then purchase or reserve development assets to build the most prestigious empire. Each merchant must vie for the best resources in order to be recognised and win recognition from the nobility (Noble cards). They establish a connection with the Noble for which their empire is the best fit.

How to play

Each round allows a player to collect gems of different types and then use these to buy development assets that will gain the best bonuses. You can even reserve assets that you can’t quite afford to strategically stop your opponent gaining at your expense. At each round a player can perform one of four different actions collect gems, buy developments to establish a better base and gain permanent gems, reserve developments, or be recognised by a different Noble. It’s is about gaining the most prestige points (face) at the expense of your rivals. To win the game you must get 15 prestige points. It is totally addictive and just right to cause a family rift during the long winter evenings.

Our experience

In honesty, it took us a few goes before we got the hang of it. Toby (8) was at a bit of a disadvantage as he couldn’t quite grasp some of the more technical elements. Hence we confirm this game is definitely for age 10+. However Toby joined forces with me, and between us we took on the others, and won a few times! For the first two games we talked our moves out loud – practice goes – so we could all learn the rules. But then we got competitive!

Our games lasted from 20 minutes to 35 minutes – the perfect length as we could complete a game easily with no distractions.

Overall this game is a lot of fun. We all enjoyed playing it – especially Huw, who won most of the time!

Disclaimer for Board Game Review: Splendor – The Greatest Gemstone Merchants of the Renaissance

PackThePJs are members of the Board Games Club and we received Splendor in return for an honest blog post. Our opinion hasn’t been influenced in any way.