Are you familiar with boardgame splendor? If not here are the rules
In Splendor, you take on the role of a rich merchant during the Renaissance.
You will use your resources to acquire mines, transportation methods, and artisans
who will allow you to turn raw gems into beautiful jewels.
Contents
40 tokens
Game setup
40 Level 1
cards
10 Noble tiles
30 Level 2
cards
20 Level 3
cards
Game with 2 or 3 players
With 2 players
Remove 3 tokens of each gem color (there should
be only 4 of each remaining).
Don’t touch the gold.
Reveal 3 noble tiles
With 3 players
Remove 2 tokens of each gem color (there should
be only 5 of each remaining).
Don’t touch the gold.
Reveal 4 noble tiles.
There are no other changes.
7 Emerald
tokens
(green)
7 Diamond
tokens
(white)
7 Sapphire
tokens
(blue)
7 Onyx
tokens
(black)
7 Ruby
tokens
(red)
5 Gold Joker
tokens
(yellow)
90 Development cards
Shuffle each development card deck separately, and then place them in
a column in the middle of the table in increasing order from bottom to
top ( ; ; ).
Then reveal 4 cards from each level.
Shuffle the noble tiles and reveal as many of them as there are players
plus one (example: 5 tiles for a 4 player game).
The remaining tiles are removed from the game; they will not be used
during the game. Finally, place the tokens in 6 distinct piles (sort them
by color) within reach of the players.
Game overview
During the game, the players take gem and gold tokens. With these tokens, they purchase development cards,
which are worth prestige points and/or bonuses. These bonuses allow players to purchase subsequent
development cards for a lesser cost. When a player has enough bonuses, they immediately receive a visit
from a noble (which is also worth prestige points).
As soon as a player reaches 15 prestige points, the current turn ends and the player
with the most prestige points is declared the winner.
The development cards
To win prestige points, the players must purchase development
cards. These cards are visible in the middle of the table and
may be purchased by all players during the game.
The developments in hand are the cards which the players
reserve throughout the game. Developments in hand may
only be purchased by the players holding them.
The player who purchases this card wins 4 prestige points.
Owning this card allows the player to benefit from a blue
bonus. To purchase this card, the player must spend 3 blue
tokens, 3 black tokens, and 6 white tokens.
The noble tiles
The noble tiles are visible in the middle of the table. At the
end of their turn, a player automatically receives the visit from
a noble if that player has the amount of bonuses (and only
bonuses) required, and they get the corresponding tile.
A player cannot refuse a visit from a noble.
Receiving a noble isn’t considered to be an action. Each noble
tile is worth 3 prestige points, but players can only get a single
one per turn.
The player who acquires this noble’s tile gains 3 prestige
points. If a player has enough development cards to amass 3
blue bonuses, 3 green bonuses, and 3 white bonuses, then that
player automatically receives a visit from that noble.
GAME RULES
The youngest player begins. Play then proceeds clockwise.
On their turn, a player must choose to perform only one of the
following four actions.
- Take 3 gem tokens of different colors.
- Take 2 gem tokens of the same color.
 This action is only possible if there are at least 4 tokens of the
chosen color left when the player takes them.
- Reserve 1 development card and take 1 gold token (joker).
- Purchase 1 face-up development card from the middle of the
table or a previously reserved one.
Selecting tokens
A player can never have more than 10 tokens at the end of
their turn (including jokers). If this happens, they must return
tokens until they only have 10 left. A player can return all or
some of those they’ve just drawn. The tokens owned by a
player must be visible by all players at all times.
Reminder: players may not take 2 tokens of the same color if
there are less than 4 tokens available of that color.
Reserve a development card
To reserve a card, a player simply needs to take a face-up
development from the middle of the table or (if you’re feeling
lucky) draw the first card from one of the three decks (level
; ; ) without showing it to the other players.
The reserved cards are kept in hand and cannot be discarded.
Players may not have more than three reserved cards in hand,
and the only way to get rid of a card is to buy it (see below).
Reserving a card is also the only way to get a gold token
(joker). If there is no gold left, you can still reserve a card, but
you won’t get any gold.
Buying a development card
To purchase a card, a player must spend the number of
tokens indicated on the card. A joker token can replace any
color. The spent tokens (including any jokers) are returned to
the middle of the table.
A player may purchase one of the face-up development
cards in the middle of the table or a card in his hand that was
reserved on a previous turn.
Each player makes distinct rows with the acquired
development cards by sorting them by color, and staggering
them vertically so that their bonuses and prestige point
values are visible.
The artist: Pascal Quidault
«No, but really – what’s your real job?»
Artist. A horrible job if there’s one. Normally lost in worlds of Heroic Fantasy or Science Fiction for gaming platforms
or literary ones, it was time for me to buy myself a conscience back. Born in 1976 (a wee lad in comparison). Quickly,
the evidence of an age limit being required to stand the horrible working conditions among the Space Cowboys was
discovered: humor, puns, centuries-old references, and even an honest and good camaraderie. Revolting. Using brushes and styluses for almost 10 years for various French and worldwide publishers, I also teach digital art to a youth
looking to walk down this road to perdition. Accumulating the vices, I also play various sorts of games: boardgames,
roleplaying, strategy, wargames... The possibility to collaborate on the first game by the Cowboys was thus the fruit
of an intense debate which lasted a few microseconds. Much thanks to <PRESIDIO_ANONYMIZED_PERSON> and the Space Cowboys team
for their confidence and their patience, as well as Splendor’s daddy: Marc André.
I’ll finish by admitting a terrible secret: I’ve played Splendor and I loved it. My soul is definitely lost.
Translation: Eric Harlaux
Revision: Eric Franklin
The author: Marc André
Good-looking, tall, blond, athletic, Marc André has a godlike body worthy of a game designer. (Oh darn! They’ve
stuck a picture in here! I’ll have to find something else...) Born in 1967 (that’s incredible, I’m as old as the Space
Cowboys!), in the South of France, where children are forced to learn how to play chess as early as 4 years old.
Actually, no, it’s just that in my family, a playful mind is a way of life, or not, it’s all in how you see it. I’ve thus grown
up alongside thinking games as much as boardgames of all sizes and shapes, for players young and old. Then came
the 80’s and its revolution: roleplaying games which freed up imagination and creativity. It was a revelation! One
day I’d make games too! I got on that right away, first with roleplaying games, then fighting games to play with my
buddies, and finally, much later, boardgames. Now, Splendor is my second published game. How did I do it? Thanks
to my super psychic hypnotic powers during important meetings (with Sébastien Pauchon and CROC). To finish,
I’m dedicating this game to CROC who has my complete sympathy and consideration, to my wife and my son, who
have all my love.
Splendor is published by JD Éditions - SPACE Cowboys: 238, rue des frères Farman, 78530 BUC - France
© 2014 SPACE Cowboys. All rights reserved
www.spacecowboys.fr
The bonuses and prestige points granted
by each card must be visible to all at all
times.
Important: when a development card from the middle of the
table is acquired or reserved, it must immediately be replaced by
a card of the same level.
At all times during the game, there must be 4 face-up cards of
each level (unless the deck in question is empty, in which case the
empty spaces also remain empty).
The bonuses
The bonuses a player has from development cards acquired
on previous turns provide discounts on the purchase of new
cards. Each bonus of a given color is equal to a token of that
color.
Thus, if a player has 2 blue bonuses and wants to purchase a
card which costs 2 blue tokens and 1 green token, the player
must only spend 1 green token.
If a player has enough development cards (and therefore
bonuses), they can even purchase a card without spending any
tokens.
The nobles
At the end of their turn, each player checks the noble tiles in
order to determine if they’re receiving a visit from one of them.
A player can be visited if they have (at least) the quantity and
type of bonuses indicated on the noble tile.
It is impossible to refuse the visit from a noble, which is not
considered to be an action.
If a player has enough bonuses to be visited by more than one
noble at the end of their turn, that player chooses the noble to
be received.
The tile obtained is placed face-up in front of the player in
question.
END OF THE GAME
When a player reaches 15 prestige points, complete the
current round so that each player has played the same number
of turns.
The player who then has the highest number of prestige points
is declared the winner (don’t forget to count your nobles).
In case of a tie, the player who has purchased the fewest
development cards wins.