Splendor Duel
Two rival jewelers gather gems and pearls, buy jewels and earn crowns and royal favors, racing to meet any one of three victory conditions.
Splendor Duel supports 2 players; community best: 2 players; playing time: 30 minutes. A WANGO browser trial has not been confirmed.
Background & introduction
Splendor Duel is a standalone game designed exclusively for two players. Its shared board holds five gem colors, pearls and gold. Players spend tokens on Jewel cards that provide permanent discounts, prestige or crowns; token positions determine each available collection, and the gaps left behind reshape the opponent’s choices.
At the start of a turn, players may spend Privileges and then replenish the board before performing one mandatory action. Purchased jewels can grant another turn, tokens or Privileges. Replenishing gives the opponent a Privilege, so its timing depends on more than the materials needed immediately.
The contest offers three routes: total prestige, crowns and prestige in a single color. Reserving secures a card and provides gold, but each player may reserve only three cards. Pearls have no permanent discount, making material control and judging the rival’s route important in the final turns.
Core rules & scoring
Setup: shuffle the three Jewel decks separately and reveal five level-1, four level-2 and three level-3 cards. Randomly fill the board’s spiral with all 25 tokens. Choose the first player randomly; their opponent takes one Privilege. Display four Royal cards and the remaining Privileges.
Turn order: optionally return any number of Privileges, taking one Gem or Pearl from the board per Privilege; gold is forbidden. Then optionally replenish. Finally perform exactly one mandatory action: take tokens, take gold and reserve a card, or purchase a card.
Replenishing: if the bag is nonempty, mix its tokens and fill empty spaces along the spiral from the center until the bag is empty; the opponent takes one Privilege. If no mandatory action is possible, replenish before choosing one. When a required Privilege is unavailable in the supply, take it from the opponent; owning all three means nothing happens.
Taking tokens: take one to three adjacent tokens in an uninterrupted horizontal, vertical or diagonal line. Gaps and gold interrupt the line, and gold cannot be taken. Taking three identical tokens or two Pearls with this action gives the opponent one Privilege.
Reserving: take one gold from the board, then secretly reserve one displayed Jewel or the top card of any deck. This action is unavailable with no gold on the board or three cards already reserved. Replace a removed display card from its matching deck; an exhausted deck leaves a gap.
Purchasing: choose a displayed or personally reserved card, reduce its costs by existing matching bonuses, pay tokens into the bag and resolve its ability. Gold replaces any Gem or Pearl. Costs cannot fall below zero, and there are no Pearl bonuses. Immediately replace a purchased display card from its matching deck.
Abilities and royalty: effects can grant another turn, a Privilege, a board token matching the card’s color, a non-gold token from the opponent, or a copied bonus color. A copying card requires an existing bonus card to overlap. Upon acquiring the third and sixth crowns, take an available Royal card and resolve its ability without using another action.
Ending and victory: after the mandatory action and its effects, discard chosen excess Gems, Pearls and gold into the bag until no more than ten remain. Then win immediately with at least 20 total prestige, ten crowns, or ten prestige on cards of one color. The opponent gets no final turn; a copying card belongs to the color it overlaps.
Rules & gameplay questions
Can I replenish and then spend a newly acquired Privilege?
No. Optional actions have a fixed order: spend Privileges, then replenish. Each Privilege takes one non-gold board token. Replenishing gives the opponent a Privilege; take a required Privilege from the other player if the supply is empty, unless you already own all three.
Can a collection cross a gap or include gold?
No. Selected tokens must be adjacent in one uninterrupted horizontal, vertical or diagonal line; gaps and gold interrupt it. You may take just one token or two adjacent tokens. Taking three identical tokens or two Pearls gives the opponent one Privilege.
Can permanent bonuses remove Pearl costs, and how do I obtain gold?
There are no Pearl bonuses, so pay Pearl costs with Pearls or gold. Gold replaces any Gem or Pearl but is obtained only through the take-gold-and-reserve action. You must also reserve a card, and may hold no more than three reserved cards.
Can a card that copies a bonus color be my first purchase?
No. You need an existing Jewel card with a bonus for it to overlap. The copying card then has that color, including for the ten-prestige-in-one-color victory. A price reduced to zero is legal, but a purchase never pays out tokens.
When do I check victory after gaining royalty or another turn?
Upon acquiring your third and sixth crowns, immediately take an available Royal card and resolve its ability. Finish the current mandatory action and effects, discard down to ten tokens, then check all three victory conditions. An extra turn begins only after this turn ends; an existing victory ends the game immediately.
Rules & introduction sources
- Edition
- Splendor Duel (2022), two-player base game, using the ©2022 English rules in the current official download. Excludes original Splendor, Splendor Marvel and The Counterfeiters expansion.
- Introduction source
- BoardGameGeek
WANGO editorial
| Parameter | Recorded value |
|---|---|
| BGG overall rank (snapshot) | #111 |
| Complexity Weight | 2.05 / 5 |
| Best player count (community) | 2 |
| Player range | 2 |
| Playing time (minutes) | 30 |
| Core mechanisms | Contracts · Open Drafting · Race · Set Collection |
| Chinese publication | Unconfirmed |
| WANGO browser play | No confirmed WANGO trial |
| Year published | 2022 |
| Suggested age | 10+ |
BGG statistics are stored snapshots, not live rankings. Source checked：2026-09-27
Player questions
What is the best player count for Splendor Duel, and can I play online?
Splendor Duel supports 2 players; community best: 2 players; playing time: 30 minutes. A WANGO browser trial has not been confirmed.
How complex is Splendor Duel, and which mechanisms does it use?
Weight: 2.05 / 5. Mechanisms: Contracts · Open Drafting · Race · Set Collection. Chinese publication: Unconfirmed.
Where can I learn Splendor Duel?
No rule guide, strategy article or WANGO trial has been confirmed for this record.