How to Play

Splendor Duel

2-2 players 30-30 min 7.9 Board Game Geek Rating

Compete against another guild by collecting Gems and Pearls to buy powerful cards. This two-player variant of Splendor adds complexity through special Privileges and enhanced interaction. Victory comes through three different conditions while battling for limited Pearl access and card advantages on the shared board.

Published 2022

Get Ready

Setup the game with these step-by-step instructions before diving into your turn.

Shuffle the decks

Shuffle the 3 decks of Jewel cards separately, then place them in a column with the level 1 deck at the bottom

Form the pyramid

Reveal 3 level-3 cards, 4 level-2 cards, and 5 level-1 cards to form a pyramid below the Victory tile

Position the board

Place the board below the card pyramid

Place the tokens

Randomly place all 25 tokens on the board, starting with the central space and following the printed spiral

Set up Privilege scrolls

Place the 3 Privilege scrolls above the board

Arrange Royal cards

Place the 4 Royal cards below the board

Determine first player

Choose the first player randomly; their opponent takes 1 Privilege and places it in front of themselves

On Your Turn

What you can do during your turn.

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 (cannot take Gold)

Replenish the Game Board

Mix tokens in the bag and place them on empty spaces starting from the center following the spiral until the bag is empty; your opponent then takes 1 Privilege

Take up to 3 tokens

Take up to 3 adjacent Gem and/or Pearl tokens from the board in an uninterrupted horizontal, vertical, or diagonal line (cannot take Gold tokens)

Take 1 Gold token and reserve 1 Jewel card

Take 1 Gold token from the board, then take 1 Jewel card from the pyramid or draw the top card from one of the 3 decks

Purchase 1 Jewel card

Choose a card from the pyramid or your reserve, pay its cost in tokens, and place it faceup in front of you

Take another turn ability

Take another turn immediately after this one ends

Copy bonus ability

Place this card overlapping a Jewel card with a bonus; treat this card's bonus as the same color of the overlapped card

Take matching token ability

Take 1 token matching the color of this card from the board