Splendor Review

   Splendor is a game for two to four players.

   There is a little insert that holds everything nicely.

   Inside you will find some Noble tiles.

   Three decks of cards that are either level one, two or three.

   And some tokens that are either emeralds, sapphires, rubies, diamonds, onyx or gold.

   To set up, place the noble tiles at the top. There should be the number of players plus one. This is set up for a three player game. Next, shuffle each deck of cards. Place the level three under the noble tiles, place level two under the level three, and place the level one under the level two. Flip over the top four cards of each deck and place them face up in a line next to it's deck of cards. Place the tokens in piles where everyone can reach. If you play with two players, you remove three tokens of each color except for the gold. If you play with three players, you remove two tokens of each color except for the gold. You are now ready to play.

   On your turn, you can either take three different colored tokens

   Two of the same color tokens if there are four or more left in the stack.

   Or you may take one gold token to reserve a card to finish at a later time. Place the reserved card face down next to you. The gold token is a wild and may be used as any color. You do not have to complete the card before you use the token. You can only have three reserved cards at any time.

   Each card will have numbers in colored circles on the bottom left corner. This is the cost of the card. You must pay that many gems to take this card. If it is worth points, the number will be in the top left. The type of card will be on the top right. This card is a diamond, worth two points. You need one emerald, four rubies and two onyx to purchase this card.

   Once you have some tokens, it's time to start looking to see what you can purchase. I want to purchase the onyx on the left.

   I pay my two emerald and one ruby. This card is now mine and counts as an onyx. You may use the card at any time to purchase a card, but you keep the card. Now if I purchase something that uses one onyx, I can keep my token and count the card as my one.

   Once you get cards saved up, you may be able to take a noble tile. These are automatically given when a player has cards that match the noble tile. Since I now have three onyx cards, three ruby cards and three emerald cards, I receive the matching noble tile. These are worth three points.

   Once a player gets to fifteen or more points, it triggers the end of the game. The current round is finished and then all players add up their points. The player with the most points is the winner!

   I have to say, I LOVE this game. It's my new favorite. The tokens are real chips which ads to the enjoyment of the game. The artwork is fun and helps bring out the theme. It's easy to both teach and learn and once you get the hang of how it works, it plays relatively quickly. Hubby and I have been playing this game together a lot lately. The only downside really is sometimes you won't get many cards out of a certain type. That can slow the game down a bit as it makes it harder to purchase the cards with the points. If you are looking for a new game for your game collection, I highly recommend this one!