Splendor Duel
60 questions players ask about Splendor Duel, answered in plain words and graded by where the answer comes from. See also the full rulebook.
Updated 2026-10-30.
60 questions players ask about Splendor Duel, answered in plain words and graded by where the answer comes from. See also the full rulebook.
Updated 2026-10-30.
Several players quote the rulebook, which answers this directly.
The player who does not go first takes one Privilege scroll. It is meant as compensation for moving second.
One reply explains the board icons; no official ruling.
Put the spaces with the scroll icons at the top of the board. The icon showing a hand reaching into the bag marks the orientation.
Several players quote the rulebook, which answers this directly.
Yes. You may return as many Privileges as you hold, and each one lets you take one gem or Pearl from the board (never gold). This happens as your first optional action.
Several players quote the rulebook, which answers this directly.
Yes. A Privilege can fetch any gem or Pearl token, but not a Gold token.
Several players quote the rulebook, which answers this directly.
No. The opponent gains a Privilege only when your mandatory Take up to 3 tokens action takes three tokens of one colour or two Pearls. Tokens taken with Privileges never trigger it.
The order is in the rulebook, but the second half is a community reading; no official ruling.
Yes, as long as you use the Privilege first. Optional actions come in order, so a Privilege cannot be used after you have replenished the board. Taking the second Pearl as part of your take action does not trigger the opponent's Privilege if it is your only Pearl in that action.
Several players quote the rulebook, which answers this directly.
Nothing happens; the Privilege cannot be gained because there is none left to take. The action still counts, so you still take your tokens or replenish as normal.
Several players quote the rulebook, which answers this directly.
Take one from your opponent. If you already hold all three, nothing happens.
Several players quote the rulebook, which answers this directly.
The order only matters when you do both: Privilege first, then replenish. You can replenish with no Privilege at all, and you can use a Privilege without replenishing.
Several players quote the rulebook, which answers this directly.
No. Privileges only let you take tokens. Replenishing is a separate optional action, and it is the one that gives your opponent a Privilege.
Several players quote the rulebook, which answers this directly.
No. Only the tokens in the bag are mixed and placed on empty spaces, following the spiral. Tokens already on the board stay put.
Several players quote the rulebook, which answers this directly.
Yes. Replenishing is optional and allowed whenever the bag still holds tokens, whether the board is empty or only partly emptied. It gives your opponent a Privilege.
Several players quote the rulebook, which answers this directly.
You must replenish the board before choosing your mandatory action. No Privilege is needed for this, and the opponent takes a Privilege if they can; if they already hold all three, nothing happens.
It is legal and the rules have no stalemate ending. A reply posted on behalf of the publisher said no rule change is needed, only possibly a fair-play rule for ranked play. The lock is rare, and the locked player can keep replenishing the board until something usable appears.
Several players quote the rulebook, which answers this directly.
Yes. You may take three tokens in a line, two adjacent tokens, or just one. They must be gems or Pearls, never gold.
Several players quote the rulebook, which answers this directly.
No. Gold can only be obtained with the action that reserves a Jewel card; Privileges cannot take it either.
Several players quote the rulebook, which answers this directly.
No. The tokens must form an uninterrupted line, and a gold token or empty space in the middle breaks it.
Several players quote the rulebook, which answers this directly.
Yes. Any mix of gems and Pearls in an adjacent line is fine, as long as none is gold. Your opponent gets a Privilege only if all three match or you take two Pearls.
Several players quote the rulebook, which answers this directly.
Yes, when both Pearls come in the same Take up to 3 tokens action, even with a third coloured gem. A Pearl you already hold from earlier does not count.
A reply points out the component count; no official ruling.
No. The game contains only two Pearls, so at most two can be taken at once.
Several players quote the rulebook, which answers this directly.
Some cards include Pearls in their cost, and taking two at once hands your opponent a Privilege. No card gives a Pearl bonus, so Pearl costs can't be discounted, but Gold can substitute for a Pearl.
Several players quote the rulebook, which answers this directly.
Yes. After taking a Gold token you can reserve a face-up pyramid card or draw the top card of any of the three decks. A blind draw stays secret, so keep reserved cards hidden.
Several players quote the rulebook, which answers this directly.
Yes. The only limits are that gold must be on the board and you may hold at most three reserved cards at once. Buying a reserved card frees a slot, so you can reserve more than three over the game.
Several players quote the rulebook, which answers this directly.
No. Reserving requires taking a Gold token, so with none left on the board the action is unavailable.
Several players quote the rulebook, which answers this directly.
You take the Gold immediately as part of the reserve action. It is an ordinary token afterwards, counts toward your 10-token limit, and can pay for any card on a later turn.
Several players quote the rulebook, which answers this directly.
No. Taking tokens, reserving, and buying are three alternative mandatory actions and you perform only one. Using Privileges first is the only way to take tokens from the board and still buy with them that turn.
Several players quote the rulebook, which answers this directly.
Yes. Gold is wild and stands in for any gem or Pearl, including when buying a reserved card.
Several players quote the rulebook, which answers this directly.
Yes. Bonuses are applied automatically, then you pay the remainder with tokens. You cannot choose to hold a bonus back, and the cost never drops below zero.
The order is inferred from the rulebook layout and relayed publisher emails disagree; no confirmed official ruling.
Most players follow the printed order: place the bought card in front of you, refill its pyramid space, then resolve the ability. The rulebook never states this outright, though. It is read from the Purchase section (which ends with the refill) coming before the Card Abilities section. One relayed Space Cowboys email says the ability comes first and the refill after, while another relayed reply only confirms the immediate refill. Neither is an official published ruling.
Several players quote the rulebook, which answers this directly.
Yes. The extra turn from a Refresh card starts only after your current turn ends, and the purchase includes refilling the pyramid space, so the new card is visible for the extra turn.
Several players quote the rulebook, which answers this directly.
Yes. Bonuses can reduce a cost to zero; you simply place the card without paying, and you gain nothing for the excess.
The rulebook says to resolve the effect; some players disagree.
Treat them as mandatory. The rulebook gives no option to decline, and an effect is skipped only when it cannot be resolved, for example when the opponent has no token to take. Some players house-rule them as optional.
Several players quote the rulebook, which answers this directly.
Any gem or Pearl, but not Gold. It does not need to match the card's colour, and it takes a token, not a card.
Several players quote the rulebook, which answers this directly.
Yes. Each extra turn is a full turn, optional actions included, and card abilities still apply. A card can chain into several turns in a row.
Several players quote the rulebook, which answers this directly.
No. It must overlap a Jewel card with a bonus, so you need one first. You may choose any colour column you already have, not only the latest.
Several players quote the rulebook, which answers this directly.
Yes. You place the purchased card in your tableau, choosing its column, and only afterwards is the pyramid space refilled.
Several players quote the rulebook, which answers this directly.
One bonus gem of that colour, not two. It copies only the colour, so a two-gem card plus a wild card gives three gems in that colour, and it counts toward the 10-point colour win.
Two replies read the card iconography the same way; no official ruling.
No. It only marks the card as wild; the coloured gems on the right show what it joins.
Several experienced players agree; no official ruling.
No. It keeps the colour it was assigned when purchased until the end of the game.
Several players agree that a bonus-bearing card, grey or coloured, can be overlapped; no official ruling.
Yes. A card with a bonus, even a grey ability card, can be overlapped, and what matters is the colour of the stack, not the ability beneath.
Several players agree that bonus-less grey cards have no colour; no official ruling.
No. They have no colour, so keep them apart from the colour columns. Only grey cards with the wild symbol join a colour stack.
Several players quote the rulebook, which answers this directly.
At most two, one when you reach 3 crowns and one at 6. There is no 9-crown Royal; the cards show only 3 and 6.
Several experienced players agree; no official ruling.
No. Royals are not gold and are not wild. Most have only an immediate effect, and their points count toward the 20-point win only.
The rulebook text is ambiguous here, but several players agree, including a relayed Space Cowboys statement; one player disagrees.
No. They have no colour, so they only count toward the 20-point total. This includes the colourless level 1 cards, as several players and a reply on behalf of the publisher agree.
Several experienced players agree; no official ruling.
No. They carry no gem bonus, so their points count only toward the 20-point win.
Several experienced players agree; no official ruling.
No. Royal cards only help the 20-point total, as only wild-symbol grey cards joining a stack take a colour.
Several players quote the rulebook, which answers this directly.
Only at the end of your turn, after your mandatory action. You may hold more during the turn, so you can take extra tokens even if you are already near the limit.
Several players quote the rulebook, which answers this directly.
Yes. The game ends immediately when someone meets a victory condition, so if the first player wins, they have had one more turn than the second player. The second player's starting Privilege is the intended balance, though some players doubt it fully compensates.
One reply explains this; no official ruling.
They are ordinary point cards with no gem bonus. Lay them in their own column so they aren't confused with gem columns.
Two replies agree, one posted on behalf of the publisher; not confirmed as an official ruling.
Yes. The card omitting the matching symbol is a misprint, fixed in the second print, and the rulebook's same-colour wording applies.
One Gold token only, with up to two cards reserved.
One reply describes the replacement rule; no official ruling.
A Counterfeiter card is replaced when bought. A Royal card is replaced only when taken together with a Counterfeiter card.
Several experienced players agree; no official ruling.
Into play. It is taken at no cost.
Several experienced players agree; no official ruling.
Yes to both. Counterfeiter cards are bought like Jewel cards, bonuses reduce the cost, and Gold substitutes for any token.
One reply cites the base rulebook; no official ruling on the expansion cards.
No. That action reserves Jewel cards only, and Counterfeiter cards are not Jewel cards.
Several players quote the rulebook, which answers this directly.
No. Only taking two Pearls with the Take up to 3 tokens action does.
One reply answers this; no official ruling.
Yes, if its timing allows. Buying does not end the turn immediately, since the token limit is checked afterwards.
One reply answers this; no official ruling.
No. It applies to the five gem colours only, not Pearls.
Two replies, one firm on Pearl and one hedging on Gold; no official ruling.
No for a Pearl, according to one player's report. For Gold, one player believes it cannot stand in either, but that is less certain. No official word.
One reply answers this; no official ruling.
Yes. A purchased Counterfeiter card stays for the whole game and its ability can be used multiple times.