Splendor Duel

 

The Game

Splendor Duel is the two player spinoff of the hugely popular Splendor. It retains the core mechanism and adds on some new ones, making it a little more complex. Think of it as slightly advanced Splendor and specifically designed for two. 

The core idea in the game is you collect gems then spend them to claim cards. Cards act as discounts for future cards you claim, and some cards have point values. The game is a race to reach a specific number of victory points. 

In the game there are gems in five colours, pearls and gold. I'll call them all treasures. Pearls are rarer than gems and no cards give pearl discounts. Gold is best because it is wild. Unlike the original Splendor where you may collect any three treasures available, in Splendor Duel you claim treasures from a 5x5 grid and you claim up to three in a straight line. Treasures are not immediately refilled. It is only done when a player performs a special action. When replenishing the board, it likely will not be full, because there are still treasures in the hands of players. The number of treasures is finite. 

Cards in the game have price tags - what are the treasures you need to pay to claim it. When you have the right treasures you can pay to claim the card. From that point onwards the card is a discount voucher. For example if you claim a red card, in future you can always pay one red gem fewer when you claim any card that requires red gems. This doesn’t seem like much initially but it will add up. 

Let’s talk about how you win. Some cards have point values. If you reach 20, you win. If for any one specific colour you have 10 points, you also win. In the screenshot above I have four points in red. Some cards have a crown icon. This is effectively another type of victory point. If you get 10 crowns, you win. So there are three win conditions. 

There are several other quirks, e.g. some cards have one-time powers. Scrolls are a special currency which let you claim an extra treasure. Your opponent gets a scroll when you perform certain actions, like refilling the board. Like the original, when you claim a single gold, you also reserve a card. Reserving means claiming a card without making payment yet. The card does not take effect and only goes to your reserve area. You have to pay for it on a future turn before it takes effect. You can reserve a card for the sake of denying your opponent. Also, this is the only way you take gold.

The Play

Splendor Duel feels familiar because most the elements in the original are here too. If you like Splendor you will feel right at home. Despite appearing simple, this is a game you should play with a plan in mind. You should look at the high valued cards and plan how to be able to eventually afford them. The cheaper cards that you claim should be part of a deliberate long term plan and should not be picked at will. You need to watch your opponent to see if you are aiming for the same cards. If you are not going to beat him to a specific card, you might as well switch tact and aim for something else. You can be nasty and reserve a card you know he wants. Just remember your reserve can only take three cards. 

The Thoughts

The beauty of the original Splendor is in its simplicity. Splendor Duel still has a smooth gameplay experience, in that every turn is simple and short. However it does add several elements and give you more to think about. You can’t take any treasure you want. You are limited by the positions of the treasures on the grid. An important skill still required is having a long term plan and aligning individual turns to maximise your progress towards your long term goal. Gosh this sentence sound like I’m doing management training. 

Splendor Duel is a light to medium strategy game. It’ll work as a gamer spouse game.