Splendor Review
Splendor is one of the hot games of the year, with lots of buzz on various podcasts and videos, plus a prestigious Spiel de Jahres nomination. So when I ran into a game being set up at Board Game Bash 2014, I jumped at it. But was Splendor worth the wait?
The set-up is deceptively simple. You get three decks of cards depicting gem mines, transportation, and shops. You also have a set of tiles showing serious-minded nobles, and a bunch of big heavy “gem” poker chips. The poker chips were especially nice in the edition I played, with plenty of heft and a satisfying clack as you dropped them on the table.
The cards and tiles are dealt out into a four-by-four grid, with each card deck or tile set getting its own row. The extra cards and tiles are set next to the grid, since players can buy from the grid or from the tops of the decks, and the gem chips are put where the players can idly run their hands over them. This all takes about thirty seconds, and then the players are ready for a richly themed adventure into the world of gem mining!
I kid. If you’re looking for theme, you’re out of luck with Splendor. The cards, tiles, and chips are pretty and pleasant to interact with, but this is an abstract mathematical game that could have used any number of “Get X to Buy Y” themes. (I’m partial to space rutabagas, myself.)
It’s the gameplay that shines here. You claim different colors of gem chips (which are worth no points) and spend them to start buying the lowest tier of cards (which are almost never worth points). The cards count as gems and are never spent, making it easier to buy more valuable cards and the high-point nobles, which you can’t spend gem chips for. The first player to 15 points wins, which should take experienced players about 20 minutes.
It’s a simple system that lends itself to a lot of (quick) puzzling over which colors to select and which upgrade path to follow to the best cards. You can also do a fair bit to mess with other players by controlling the gem supply and snatching up cards they need. And while the theme may be light, there’s a lot of appeal in embarrassing your daughter by snatching up gems and shouting “I’m rich! I’m rich! Booyah!” at the other gamers in the convention. Designer Marc Andre has a winner in this light strategy game, and I’m looking forward to it becoming easier to find so I can play it some more.