You collect gem tokens to buy development cards, and each card gives you a permanent discount on later buys. Some cards and visiting nobles bring prestige points. The first to 15 points triggers the end, so building a smart engine wins.
What age is Splendor for?
Box says 10+
We suggest 9+ with an adult helping, 10+ on their own.
Only four actions are available on a turn, but a child must track card costs, discounts from owned cards and the 10-token limit. Reading is limited to numbers and icons. A 9 year old can play with an adult checking costs, and a 10 year old can run it alone. Reserving or buying the card another player wanted is the only conflict.
Checked against the Splendor English rules from Space Cowboys, the 10th anniversary edition (copyright 2024). Page numbers count the cover as page 1, so all the rules are on page 2, the last page.
Splendor in six steps
Scroll through the lesson while the board follows along, and press the buttons to try things. Then play a short game against a bot right underneath. The gem and card pictures are our own simple shapes. The costs, points, discounts and Nobles you see here are our own made-up set, not the real cards. The real values are printed on the cards and tiles, not in the rulebook, so we can not show them. What is real: 90 cards in three decks of 40, 30 and 20, 10 Noble tiles, and 15 points to end the game (pages 1 and 2).
Step 1 of 6: The goal
1
The goal: be first to 15 points
You are a gem merchant. You collect gems and spend them on cards. Every card you buy gives a permanent discount in one color, so your later cards cost less. Some cards score prestige points, and Noble tiles visit you for free when your discounts are right. When a player has 15 or more points at the end of their turn, the end is triggered, everyone finishes the round, and the most points wins (page 2).
Take gems3 different colors, or 2 of one color.
ReserveKeep a card for later and win 1 Gold.
BuyPay the gems on a card. Its discount helps forever.
These cards and Nobles are our own made-up set for practice. The real game's cards are different.
2
Taking gems
On your turn you do exactly one thing. One choice is to take gems: 3 different colors, one of each, or 2 of the same color. You may take 2 of a color only if its stack has 4 or more before you take (page 2). With 2 players every stack starts at exactly 4, so that only works on a stack nobody has touched. You can never take Gold this way. Here the red stack is down to 3. Try a take, then try a few that break the rules.
Press up to 3 gems, then press Take these gems.
3
Buying and discounts
To buy a card, pay the gems shown on it and return them to the supply (page 2). The gem in the top right of a card you own is a discount: it takes 1 gem of that color off the price of every card you buy later. With enough discounts a card can be free, and you never get gems back for extra discounts. Buy card 1 and watch the other prices change.
Press Buy on a card. Start with card 1.
4
Reserving and Gold
Reserving puts a card from the table, or the top card of a deck without looking, into your hand, and gives you 1 Gold (page 2). If no Gold is left you can still reserve. You can hold at most 3 reserved cards, you can not throw one away, and the only way out is to buy it. Gold is wild: it pays for any missing gem (page 2). At the end of your turn you may hold only 10 pieces, Gold included, so you give extras back (page 2). You start with 9. Reserve a card, then buy card 2 with the Gold, and see the limit of 10 and the limit of 3.
Playing with younger kids? House rule, not in the rulebook: line up your bought cards by color, so your discounts are easy to count out loud.
5
Nobles
At the end of your turn, if your discounts match what a Noble tile asks for, the Noble visits you for free and gives points (page 2). It is not an action, you do not ask for it, and pieces you hold never count. You can take only 1 Noble per turn. If you qualify for more than one, you choose, and hope the others are still there next turn. Try it both ways.
6
Ending the game
When a player has 15 or more points at the end of their turn, the end is triggered, but the game does not stop yet. Play goes on until everyone has had the same number of turns (page 2), so the player to the right of the first player takes the last turn. Most points wins. If points tie, the player who bought the fewest cards wins, and if that ties too, they share the win (page 2). You went first and have 13 points. So does the other player. Buy the 3 point card, then choose what they buy on their last turn.
You play against a bot with the 2 player setup from the rulebook: 3 Nobles, 4 gems of each color, 5 Gold and 4 cards showing at each level (page 2). You go first. That is our choice, because the rulebook gives the first turn to the youngest player. Because you go first, the bot takes the last turn if you reach 15. Press gems to pick them, then press Take these gems. Press a card to see it bigger and to buy or reserve it. A card with a gold outline is one you can buy now. The cards and Nobles are our own made-up set, not the real ones. The bot only looks at what is on the table, never at the order of the decks.
Nobles. Match their discounts to get one for free.
Cards for sale. Level 3 is at the top. Press a deck to reserve its top card.
Gem supply. Press gems to pick them.
Your area
How do you teach Splendor to kids?
The box says 10 and up. We suggest 9 and up with an adult helping, and 10 and up on their own. The game is mostly planning, and the cards give kids a lot to read. Costs and points are shown as pictures, so most of the teaching is walking through one purchase.
Say this
We are merchants. We collect gem pieces and use them to buy cards, and the cards give points and discounts.
On your turn do exactly one thing: take 3 different gems, or take 2 of the same, or reserve a card and take a gold, or buy a card.
When you buy a card, you pay the gems shown on it. Gold counts as any gem.
Every card you buy gives a discount on one color forever, so later cards cost less.
At the end of your turn, if you have the right discounts, a noble comes to you for free, and gives points.
You can hold only 10 gems at the end of your turn. When someone reaches 15 points, we finish the round and the highest score wins.
The rulebook has no beginner variant, so every simplification below is a house rule.
First-game simplifications
House rule Play with a lower target for the first game, such as 10 points, to keep it short. The rulebook ends the game at 15 (page 2).
House rule Let a grown-up help each kid read the cost on a card and count the gems out, and remind them how their discounts apply.
House rule Let a grown-up check the nobles at the end of each kid's turn, so kids do not miss one.
Watch-outs for kids ages 9 to 10
On your turn you do one action only, and you can not take gold with a gem action. You get gold only by reserving a card (page 2).
You may take 2 gems of the same color only if at least 4 of that color are in the supply (page 2).
You can have at most 3 reserved cards, and you can not discard them. You get rid of one only by buying it (page 2).
Each bonus takes 1 gem of its color off the cost of a card. If your bonuses cover the whole cost, you pay nothing (page 2).
A noble comes to you at the end of your turn if you have the right bonuses. It is not an action, and you can take only one noble per turn (page 2).
At the end of your turn you can hold at most 10 pieces. Give the extra back (page 2).
Reaching 15 points does not end the game at once. Everyone gets the same number of turns (page 2).
Back for another game?
Setup: Development decks in a column, 4 cards of each level face up. Nobles: 5 with 4 players, 4 with 3, 3 with 2. With 3 players, 5 of each gem. With 2 players, 4 of each gem (page 2).
Your turn: do exactly one of these four things (page 2).
Take 3 gems of different colors (2 or even 1 if there are not enough colors left). Or take 2 gems of the same color, only if 4 or more of that color are in the supply. You can not take gold this way (page 2).
Reserve a card: take a face-up card, or the top card of a deck without showing it, and take 1 gold. At most 3 reserved cards (page 2).
Buy a card: pay the cost shown, using gold as any gem. Bonuses from your cards give a 1-gem discount per color (page 2).
Replace each card taken from the middle from its deck. Check for a noble at the end of your turn, 1 at most. Return pieces down to 10 (page 2).
Game end: when someone has 15 or more points at the end of their turn, finish the round. Most points wins. Tied? Fewest cards bought wins (page 2).
Every turn, one thing
On your turn you do exactly one of these, then wrap up.
Take gems3 different colors, or 2 of one color from a stack of 4 or more. Never Gold.
ReserveTake a card into your hand, from the table or the top of a deck, and win 1 Gold. Up to 3 cards.
BuyPay the price minus your discounts. Gold is wild. The card's discount is yours for good.
Wrap upTake a Noble if your discounts match one, and give back pieces down to 10. Then the next player goes.
How do you score Splendor?
Your score is the prestige points on the cards you bought, plus the points on your nobles (page 2). When a player reaches 15 or more at the end of their turn, the game does not stop at once. Everyone gets the same number of turns, so the player to the right of the First Player takes the last turn (page 2). Then the most points wins, and if there is a tie, the tied player who bought the fewest cards wins (page 2). Count each player's points and the number of cards they bought.
Your pocket card
For the table. The front is your turn, the back is how it ends.
Splendor, the short version
Mostpoints wins
One action: take 3 different gems, or 2 of the same (if 4 or more are left), or reserve a card and take gold, or buy a card.
Bonuses: each card you buy gives a 1-gem discount in its color.
End of turn: one noble if you qualify. At most 10 pieces.