Splendor Duel
Splendor Duel Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
CONTENTS
- 1 Victory tile
- 67 Jewel cards divided into 3 levels (⬤ ;⬤⬤;⬤⬤⬤)
- 1 Bag
- 3 Privilege scrolls
- 25 Tokens: 4 in each of the 5 gem colors (blue, white, green, black, and red), 2 Pearls, and 3 Gold
- 1 Board
- 4 Royal cards
SETUP
Follow these steps in order:
- Shuffle the 3 decks of Jewel cards separately, then place them in a column, with the deck of level 1 cards at the bottom.
- Reveal: 3 level-3 cards (⬤⬤⬤), 4 level-2 cards (⬤⬤), 5 level-1 cards (⬤) to form a pyramid below the Victory tile.
- Place the board below this pyramid and randomly place the 25 tokens on it, starting with the central space and following the printed spiral.
- Place the 3 Privilege scrolls above the board.
- Place the 4 Royal cards below the board.
- Choose the first player randomly. Their opponent takes 1 Privilege and places it in front of themself.
GAME OVERVIEW
The players take turns, one after another, until the end of the game is triggered.
On your turn, you take tokens from the board or use those in your possession to buy Jewel cards, which award you with the Prestige points and Crowns you require to win. These cards also offer special abilities and bonuses, which reduce the cost of acquiring future Jewel cards.
To win, you must fulfill one of the three conditions indicated on the Victory tile.
PLAYER TURN
On your turn, you first perform none, one, or both of the optional actions (in the indicated order). Then, you must perform one mandatory action.
Optional Actions
1 - Use a Privilege
Return 1 or more Privileges to their place above the board. For each Privilege returned, take 1 Gem or Pearl token of your choice from the board. This action cannot be used to take a Gold token.
Your tokens must be visible to your opponent at all times. We recommend sorting them in piles by color.
2 - Replenish the Game Board
You cannot perform this action if the bag is empty. Mix the tokens in the bag and place them on empty spaces, starting with the central space and following the printed spiral until the bag is empty. Then, your opponent takes 1 Privilege.
Important: During the game, when you must take a Privilege, and there are none left above the board, take 1 from your opponent. If you already have all 3 Privileges, nothing happens.
Mandatory Action
You must perform one of the following three actions:
- Take up to 3 tokens
- Take 1 Gold token and reserve 1 Jewel card
- Purchase 1 Jewel card
Special case: If you cannot perform any of the mandatory actions, you must perform the “Replenish the Game Board” optional action before choosing your mandatory action.
Take up to 3 tokens
Take up to 3 adjacent Gem and/or Pearl tokens from the board. The tokens must be in an uninterrupted horizontal, vertical, or diagonal line. You can take 2 adjacent tokens or even a single token. This action cannot be used to take a Gold token.
If you use this action to take 3 tokens of the same color or 2 Pearls, your opponent takes 1 Privilege.
Take 1 Gold token and reserve 1 Jewel card
You cannot perform this action if there are no Gold tokens on the board, or if you already have 3 reserved cards.
First, take 1 Gold token of your choice from the board. Then, you must either:
Take 1 Jewel card of your choice from the pyramid
OR
Draw the top card from one of the 3 decks (⬤ ;⬤⬤ ;⬤⬤⬤).
You cannot have more than 3 reserved cards. Keep your reserved cards secret from your opponent (either facedown in front of you, or in your hand). You may look at your reserved cards at any time.
This action is the only way to take a Gold token. Reserved cards, like cards in the pyramid, have no effect until they are purchased. There is no penalty for having reserved cards at the end of the game.
When you reserve a card from the pyramid, replace it with a new card from the corresponding deck, placing it faceup in the pyramid. If the corresponding deck is empty, the card is not replaced.
Purchase 1 Jewel card
Choose a card from the pyramid or your reserve, pay its cost in tokens (as depicted on the bottom left of the card), and place that card faceup in front of you. Gold tokens are wild and can be used in place of any Gem or Pearl token. Place spent tokens in the bag.
Once purchased, a Jewel card grants you its bonus(es), depicted on the top right. Each bonus decreases the cost of future card purchases.
For example, by purchasing the card on the right, you reduce the cost of all of your future purchases by 1 green token.
Some Jewel cards have 2 bonuses, thereby granting a 2 token reduction.
It is possible to have enough bonuses to reduce the cost of a card to 0 tokens. The cost of a card may not be reduced below 0, meaning you cannot gain tokens when purchasing cards.
There are no Pearl bonuses.
Organize the cards you purchase in front of you, sorted by bonus color. Cards may be overlapped to save space. However, the top of the card (where points, Crowns, and bonuses are depicted) must remain visible.
When you purchase a card from the pyramid, replace it with a new card from the corresponding deck, placing it faceup in the pyramid.
CARD ABILITIES
If the card you just purchased has an ability, resolve that effect now.
Refresh: Take another turn immediately after this one ends.
5-Gem: Place this card so that it overlaps a Jewel card with a bonus (see on the right). Treat this card’s 5-Gem bonus as though it were the same color of the card it is overlapping.
If you do not have a card with a bonus, you cannot purchase this card.
Gem: Take 1 token matching the color of this card from the board. If there are no such tokens left, ignore this effect.
Privilege: Take 1 Privilege. If none are available, take 1 from your opponent.
Take: Take 1 Gem or Pearl token from your opponent. If your opponent has no such tokens, ignore this effect. You cannot take a Gold token from your opponent.
CROWNS
The top of some Jewel cards depict 1 or more Crowns.
- Upon acquiring your 3rd Crown, take 1 of the available Royal cards and resolve its ability.
- Upon acquiring your 6th Crown, take 1 of the available Royal cards and resolve its ability.
Taking a Royal card is not an action. Place your Royal cards next to your Jewel cards.
END OF PLAYER TURN
Once you have completed your mandatory action, count your tokens (Gems, Pearls, and Gold). If you have more than 10 tokens in total, you must discard down to 10 tokens. Choose which ones to discard and return them to the bag.
Finally, check if you have fulfilled any of the three victory conditions. If you have, you win! If not, your opponent’s turn begins.
VICTORY CONDITIONS
If you fulfill one or more of the victory conditions at the end of your turn, the game ends immediately.
- If you have 20 or more Prestige points, you win!
- If you have 10 or more Crowns, you win!
- If you have 10 or more Prestige points on cards of the same color, you win! A card is considered to be of the same color as the cards it is grouped with (see the example on the right).
REMINDERS
- Choose the first player at random: their opponent takes 1 Privilege.
- When you must take a Privilege, but none are available, take 1 from your opponent instead.
- Gold tokens are wild and can be used in place of any Gem or Pearl token.
- “Take 1 Gold token and reserve 1 Jewel card” is the only way to gain a Gold token.
- You cannot perform the “Take 1 Gold token and reserve 1 Jewel card” action if there are no Gold tokens on the board or you already have 3 reserved cards.
- There is no penalty for having reserved cards at the end of the game.
- If you don’t have a card with a bonus, you cannot purchase a 5-Gem card.
- You can have more than 10 tokens during your turn, but must discard tokens in excess of 10 at the end of your turn.
- When you fulfill one or more of the three victory conditions, the game ends immediately and you win!
PLAYER AID
- Optional Actions:
- Spend 1 Privilege: take 1 non-Gold token.
- Replenish the board’s empty spaces. Your opponent takes 1 Privilege.
- One of the following Mandatory Actions
- Take up to 3 adjacent non-Gold tokens in an uninterrupted row, column, or diagonal. If the 3 tokens are identical or 2 of them are Pearls, your opponent takes 1 Privilege.
- Take 1 Gold token, then reserve 1 card. You cannot perform this action if there are no Gold tokens on the board or if you have 3 reserved cards.
- Purchase 1 card from the pyramid or 1 reserved card: pay the cost, minus bonuses already acquired.
- Upon gaining a new card, resolve its ability, if any.
- Refresh - Take another turn.
- Privilege - Take 1 Privilege.
- Gem - Take a token matching the color of this card from the board.
- Take - Take 1 non-Gold token from your opponent.
- 5-Gem - Copy the color of a previously acquired bonus.
- 3rd or 6th Crown: take 1 Royal card.
- 10-token limit between turns.
- End of the game and victory
- 20 Prestige points OR
- 10 Crowns OR
- 10 Prestige points on cards of the same color.