









Splendor Board Game (Base Game) | Family Board Game | Board Game for Adults and Family | Strategy Game | Ages 10+ | 2 to 4 players | Average Playtime 30 minutes | Made by Space Cowboys
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Michelle Hays
> 24 hourEasy to learn! We are a bit older (50ish, lol), and we play it with our kids (30ish) It is simple but requires thinking and you never know who is going to win! Which is fun.
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Noor
> 24 hourVery good game! Since your actions are limited, its great for beginners since you cant get too frustrated when youre not sure of what to do. Since everything is open-information, you can give others advice on what to do, which is great when playing with kids (or boardgame beginners). Its also great for avid boardgame players, since theres a lot of mastery involved, and you can never overthink your next move! I got it from Amazon, but if you have a local boardgame store, they almost always have it in stock since its so popular!
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Tills
> 24 hourThe first time I played it, I didnt like it as much. In retrospect, it was the last game of a long 5 hours and its quiet. Its not a party game with lots of laughter but I decided to add it to my collection because it balances the chaos of some other games. Its easy to learn (and I mean very easy) and the pieces are solid. I like using it to introduce gaming to people and it can be relaxing for some nights with my husband. Its not big on theme, but the one it has works fine. The only thing I would add to gameplay is stretch the objective to 20 instead of 15. It takes forever to build points but once someone does it goes very fast, so the pacing is off.
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Avalon33
> 24 hourStrategy all the way! I love the pace and length of this game, pretty fast and finishes in under 25 minutes or less typically. Gameplay does not rely on dice or random earning factors, you gather/buy what you can when you can and I really like this kind of game. My husband refuses to play Catan because of the slavery to dice rolls for production, so its nice to find a game that doesnt use dice! Also, I love how well crafted this game is, the gem tokens are like nicely weighted poker chips and I enjoy fiddling with them. A well rounded and well made game! The App is pretty great too. If you have clever children, they can play also, my 6yr old and 8 yr old play this with me regularly and really enjoy it.
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R. Stockton
> 24 hourThis is an excellent game on many fronts. Its simple, deep, fast (30-60 minutes), not overly competitive, and of course its fun. The basic concept of the game is: - You choose resources (gems) - Or you use the gems you have to buy cards - The cards you buy provide you with more gems and possibly victory points The other rules or mechanics include: - You can reserve a card as your turn, which makes it purchasable only by you, and also gives you a variable gem. - If you have enough cards of certain colors you may also get nobles (victory cards) - There are three tiers of cards...costs and victory points go up at each tier. (any card purchasable at any point.) Thats really about it...the rules are 2 1/2 pages long, and it takes about 2 minutes to teach new players. For Splendors simplicity, its surprisingly deep. You really think about what you want to do before you take an action. But on the other hand, if someone takes the resource or card you needed, you generally have other almost-as-good options. The strategy is in which gems/cards you choose as part of a overall card-buying strategy. The variability is which cards and nobles come up on the initial deal, or which cards replace purchased cards. (nobles are not replaced.) Finally, the production values are really solid. - The gems are heavy poker chips with a really nice feel. - The cards have decent art, and are printed on good stock. The nobles are printed on cardboard. - Everything stores well and precisely in the box, with nice touches like finger holes to pull each of the gems out easily. I wouldnt hesitate to buy it again, gift it to gamer friends, or recommend it to others. I had only two minor notes, neither of which deducts from the score. - The biggest (tier 1) deck had a little trouble fitting in its slot. - The dark gem was a bit too dark, being printed on a darker background.
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Eric
> 24 hourThis is my second copy of the game to use at home, and all of the components (chips, cards, plastic insert organizer) including the box are CHEAP CRAP!! The color is washed out, the materials are light plastic that is flimsy. This has to be a cheap knock-off counterfeit copy. My other copy of Spendor has heavy chips, a firm plastic organizer insert, colorful cards, and box is REAL mat textured for strength and durability, not cheap printing to make it look like it is mat textured!! Worthless junk.
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Southpaw Mom
> 24 hourOur family enjoyed the ease of learning this game, the ability to play a strategy game in less than an hour and the fact that kids and adults can enjoy playing the game together.
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Dan
> 24 hourIve played with groups larger than 5 and the dynamic suffers when youre waiting your turn. The rules are straight-forward and there are a few distinct strategies to victory which allows for some changing mid-game if things arent panning out for you. The replayability factor isnt particularly high since its not very complex, but its a fun shorter game that wont take long to train up new players. The cards and coins are of good quality with interesting artwork. I picked it up on sale and think its a good option to have in the game library.
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Andy R.
> 24 hourThis game is currently running as a Spiel de Jahres nominee for 2014 (a prestigious German award for boardgames) and I picked up this game because of that, and I must say this game is quite wonderful from 2 to 4 players. - Overview - The goal is to be the first person to 15 victory points which triggers the end of the game. Players ultimately spend their turn either collecting gems or purchasing development cards with collected gems. Development cards always impart bonuses of certain gem colors. These bonus colors reduce the cost of future development cards further accelerating the game to the end. Certain cards also contain prestige points, but they arent as easy to attain initially and requires some careful planning. Be careful, though, as gems can run in short supply or a much needed card gets purchased or reserved for your opponent before you can get to it. As an added goal, optional Noble tiles are available to all and get additional points to those who have the right combination of development cards. - Components Quality - The components of this game are quite superb. The art is beautiful to look at in this game. Beautifully illustrated with excellent clear colors and shapes. I really enjoy the quality of the chips. Reminds me of poker chips. Perhaps made of clay? It has a very nice heft to it, and theres a nice thud which adds some character to this games. The cards are also of very good stock with white borders to its backings. Theyll last for a bit. The bonus Noble Tiles are a nice thick cardboard. The insert of the box holds everything quite well. Absolutely no shortcuts in quality. - Criticisms - The theme of this game is almost pasted on. It doesnt matter really as everything else mentioned elevates this game and is still fun. - Overall - Overall, I enjoy this game a lot. Easy to explain with a large amount of depth. A game that has the potential to be quite fun for all ages and all experiences. My friends who never played board games this past decade loved it and will probably buy a copy. I, myself, who has games of all types and played all sorts of games find this an excellent addition and play to my collection and a really strong contender in this years nominees. Quite a splendid game. ;-) Highly recommended.
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AM
> 24 hourThe game is fun and easy to learn. Our family had already played it so I knew we would enjoy the gameplay. But I had noticed that other reviewers mentioned issues with the quality of the cards and chips. Since those reviews all seemed to be several years old, I decided to give it a try. The game arrived today and the quality of materials is quite good. I expect to enjoy playing this game for years to come.