Engine-building card game where merchants collect gems, reserve development cards, attract nobles, and race to 15 prestige points.
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Turn timer
Keep turns moving with a per-player clock for Splendor.
Collect gem tokens, buy development cards to build a gem-producing engine, and attract nobles. The round in which any player reaches 15 prestige points triggers the final round, then highest score wins.
Splendor is an engine-building card game set in the Renaissance gem trade. You collect gem tokens, use them to purchase development cards that provide permanent gem bonuses and prestige points, and try to attract visiting nobles who grant additional prestige. Once any player reaches 15 prestige points, the current round finishes so every player has had an equal number of turns, and the player with the most prestige wins.
The game plays in about 30 minutes and supports 2 to 4 players. Rules are straightforward enough for new gamers, but the decision space around when to grab tokens versus when to buy cards creates satisfying depth.
Gem tokens: 7 each of Emerald (green), Diamond (white), Sapphire (blue), Onyx (black), Ruby (red); plus 5 Gold (wild) tokens.
Development cards (90 total): split into 3 tiers (Level 1, Level 2, Level 3) with increasing cost and prestige value.
Noble tiles: visiting nobles worth prestige points.
Shuffle each development card tier separately. Place each as a face-down deck. Reveal 4 cards from each tier in a row beside its deck.
Select noble tiles equal to players + 1 (e.g., 4 nobles for 3 players). Place them face-up.
Create token piles:
Choose a starting player.
On your turn, perform exactly one of four actions:
Take 1 token each of 3 different gem colors from the supply. You cannot take gold this way.
Take 2 tokens of one gem color, but only if there are at least 4 tokens of that color in the supply before you take them.
Take any 1 face-up card (from any tier) or the top card of any tier deck and add it to your reserve (face-down in front of you; max 3 reserved cards). You also receive 1 gold token from the supply. Gold tokens act as wilds when buying cards.
Purchase 1 card from the face-up display or from your reserve by paying its gem cost. Your permanent gem bonuses from previously purchased cards reduce the cost. Gold tokens substitute for any gem. Spent tokens return to the supply.
The purchased card goes face-up in front of you. It provides:
A permanent gem bonus (counts as 1 gem of its color for all future purchases).
Prestige points (printed on the card; Level 1 cards often have 0).
Token limit: At the end of your turn you may hold a maximum of 10 tokens total. Return any excess to the supply.
At the end of your turn, if your collection of permanent gem bonuses meets the requirements printed on a noble tile, that noble automatically visits you (take the tile). If you qualify for multiple nobles, you choose one. Noble tiles are worth prestige points.
When any player reaches 15 or more prestige points, finish the current round so every player has had the same number of turns. Then compare totals.
Winner: highest prestige point total.
Tiebreaker: if tied, the player who has purchased fewer development cards wins (a leaner engine is considered more impressive).
Development cards: each card shows 0 to 5 prestige points.
Noble tiles: each noble is worth 3 prestige points.
Your total prestige is the sum of all your purchased development cards and acquired noble tiles.
Final prestige points per player.
Number of development cards purchased per player (used as the official tiebreaker).
Number of nobles acquired per player (useful for post-game analysis).
If two or more players are tied on prestige points at the end of the final round, the player with fewer purchased development cards wins. This rewards efficiency: reaching the same score with fewer cards means a tighter engine.
Select the Standard variant.
Add all players (2 to 4).
Enter each player's final prestige point total (integer).
The system will rank by highest score.
Optional fields worth recording:
Number of development cards purchased (tiebreaker).
Number of noble tiles acquired.