Asmodee Splendor Board Game - Gem Trading & Engine-Building Strategy for Adults & Families, Adult Board Games, Family Fun for Adults, 2-4 Players Ages 10+, 30 Minute Playtime

FCCDADUnited States

Good for both beginners and experienced gamers

Very quick to learn and quick to play, but takes some serious observation of what you can do and what your opponents have done to develop a (flexible) winning strategy. Good for both beginners and experienced gamers, and shouldn't take more than 30-40 minutes to play. I recommend getting sleeves for the cards (2.5"x3.5" "poker" sized) because they will get used a lot. I'm not a big fan of the chips, but most people seem to like them and they are certainly much better than the cardboard chits you would have expected to get with most boardgames. The artwork is nice, but the theme feels pasted on. They could have made this with no artwork at all and it would have played exactly the same (and been just as much fun). The mechanics are relatively simple: you have a tableau of cards laid out, 4 each from 3 different decks. The cards from the I deck are the cheapest to buy and the least valuable, worth 0 or 1 point for victory; the cards from the II deck cost more and are worth 1-3 points; and the cards from the III deck are the most expensive to buy and the most valuable, worth 3-5 points each. Cards you purchase are played face up in front of you and give you a permanent discount thereafter, so purchasing a white diamond card (for example) gives you a permanent discount of 1 white for all future purchases. The price of a card is in the lower left, and cards are purchased with any combination of the right color cards and gem tokens. Thus, if a card costs 5 green to purchase, you could purchase it with 5 green tokens, the discount from 5 previously purchased green cards, 3 tokens and the discount from 2 previously purchased cards, etc. A gold joker token is "wild" and can be used in place of any color in the price on a one-to-one basis, so in the above example you could buy the card with 2 green gem tokens, discount from 2 previously purchased green cards, and a gold joker token. Purchased cards are replaced immediately from the appropriate deck, and gem tokens used to purchase a card are returned immediately to the supply/bank. If you purchase cards of the appropriate colors, either 4 each of 2 specific colors or 3 each of 3 specific colors, you get a "visit" from a "noble." This simply means you collect the appropriate noble tile. Nobles are worth 3 points each. On each turn, you take one of three actions: purchase a card that is face up or that you have previously reserved; reserve a card to your hand so that only you may purchase it on a later turn; or collect gem tokens. You may only reserve a card up to a total of 3 in hand, and the only way to clear a reserved card out of your hand is to purchase it on a later turn. If there are any gold jokers available, you get one when you reserve a card; this is the only way to get a gold joker token. To collect gem tokens, you may take 2 of a same color if at least 2 of that color would be left in the supply after you take yours (at least 4 present before you take your 2), or you can take 1 each of 3 different colors. If you have more than 10 tokens (gems and jokers) at the end of your turn, you must immediately discard down to 10 total. (There are a few edge cases to read up on, but that's the basic gameplay.) The game is played until at least 1 player reaches 15 points. When that happens, the current round is finished out so that everyone has had an equal number of turns, then the player with the most points wins. In a tie, whomever purchased the fewest cards wins the tiebreaker. The strategy lies in planning out how to get the cards and/or tokens you need for future purchases, identifying the cards your opponent is hoping to purchase, and controlling the very limited supply of tokens and visible cards by buying/collecting/reserving what your opponent wants or needs. You cannot directly attack an opponent; once a card is purchased, she has it permanently; once she collects gem tokens, she has them until she chooses to spend them. It is all a matter of forward thinking, preparing for your future card purchases and impeding or obstructing your opponent's intended future card purchases. The deck III cards have a uniform distribution of costs and values among the 5 card colors; the deck II and I cards do not. It's simple to understand, quick to set up, quick to play, fun to look at, fun to handle the tokens (chips), and most importantly, fun to play. The only random element is shuffling the 3 decks and the nobles before set up; it's basically all decisions after that. Bottom line: does it play well? Yes it does. Can you teach and play quickly? Yes you can. Will it still be as fun on the 50th play? Yes it will (is). Does it give good value for your entertainment dollar? Yes it does. Some people have called it a "filler" game, which is a special term among gamers meaning you can set up and play fairly quickly, without major strategy time/planning required, and still have fun. I also like to describe it as a "gateway" game, which means it can draw people who who usually don't think of themselves as gamers into the scene. It hits that sweet spot of affordable, quick, fun, non-cutthroat, with meaningful decisions, for many people. Edit: I personally don't like the tokens. They are better than the cardboard you would usually expect in a boardgame, but I find it's a little more fun for us to use "pirate" coins Pirate Dubloons, Set of 5 Replica Coins for the gold joker tokens, and acrylic "pirate" gems Jumbo Adhesive Jewels (100 pc) for the gem tokens. I am not 100% satisfied with the acrylic gems for this purpose, but the coins are perfect.

Iriemon - Fully paid purchase price for all items reviewed.United States

Fun and deep with a strong replayability factor.

We've been playing this game regularly over the past couple years with friends and family. It's fairly easy to learn for newbies, and you can play through a game in around 45 minutes or so. It is a resource building game, where you obtain coins to purchase resource cards and the resource cards you accumulate count as coins to buy more expensive and more valuable cards. Some of the resource cards have victory points (you need 15 to win) and the more expensive cards have the most victory points. If you have enough resource cards of the necessary colors, you obtain noble cards that are worth 3 victory points each. Strategy involves attempting to monopolize certain resource colors, while at the same time building a resource base and depriving opponents of resources they need, building up resources to obtain nobles, while at the same time obtaining victory points as fast as possible. And it is the noble cards that make the game replayable. You don't have to get nobles to win, but it helps a lot. Each game features a different set of noble cards being displayed, and these control demand for certain resources. For example, if 4 of the 5 nobles displayed require 3 or 4 red resource cards to obtain, and none of the nobles require a blue resource card, then players are going to vie for the red resource cards because without them, your chance of getting a noble is limited. OTOH, the blue resource cards will be less in demand. Other games may feature a greater balance of resources needed to obtain nobles, and your strategy will be to build a more balanced resource base while obtaining victory points. Every game is a bit different in this way, making replay much more fun.

HadrianUnited States

In my personal opinion i believe this is the best game to introduce a person into boardgames

In my personal opinion i believe this is the best game to introduce a person into boardgames. The game is easy enough where it can be explained in 10-15 minutes to both older people such as grandparents and young children. (to like 10 yrs old) The game itself is solid and straight to the point. "You collect resources then use those resources to buy cards. Those cards in turn reduce the cost of other cards, making it easier for you to obtain more expensive cards. Expensive cards typically hold victory points, the method of winning in this game." That is my speech that i explain to new players im showing this game to. Once they have it in their head its quite simple to learn. The box itself doubles as a holding area for the game pieces. this way all the game pieces wont be rattling around everywhere which is a plus because i started taking the game with me to friends and family gatherings because they enjoyed it. The playing pieces are not cheapy either. the poker chips in this game that represent the gems actually felt so much more premium than normal chips that ive ever held. The plastic is strong and wont bend, and what really sealed the deal is that they have a generous amount of weight to them. I wish other games had poker chips like this. As for the cards they were fine theres not a lot i can say about cards, they did their job. Overall the game is great for beginners. It has deep strategy that can keep 18 yrs and up not bored. And it can be taught to young children. The best part is that the game is one of those games that works well with just two players and it never gets to repetitive.

BerndGermany

Bestes Brettspiel ever.

Wir sind absolut begeistert von Splendor! Dieses Spiel ist ein echter Gewinner, der sowohl Gelegenheitsspieler als auch erfahrene Brettspielenthusiasten gleichermaßen anspricht. Die Mischung aus strategischem Denken und einfachen Regeln macht es uns leicht zugänglich, während die Tiefe der Entscheidungen und das Streben nach Prestige und Reichtum für anhaltende Spannung sorgen. Die Qualität der Spielkomponenten, insbesondere die wunderschön gestalteten Edelsteine, verleiht dem Spiel eine taktile Freude. Die Mechanik des Kartenkaufs und -aufbaus ist faszinierend und eröffnet uns vielfältige Wege zum Sieg. Ein weiterer Pluspunkt ist die kurze Spieldauer, die es ideal für schnelle Partien oder auch längere Spielabende macht. Splendor fördert strategisches Denken, Wettbewerbsgeist und Interaktion zwischen den Spielern, was zu unvergesslichen Spielerlebnissen führt. Insgesamt sind wir der Meinung, dass Splendor ein Juwel in der Welt der Brettspiele ist - ein echter Klassiker, der immer wieder auf den Tisch kommt und uns Freude bereitet.