In ‘ Splendor Duel‘, you and your rival go head-to-head in a bejewelling battle to determine, once and for all, who is the most skilled jeweller. Racing against your opponent, you fight to efficiently acquire gems and adorn accessories. You are rewarded for your hard work with points and crowns, both of which help you inch ever closer to claiming victory. However, the gem business is not as easy as it may seem. Tell Me More…

Announced earlier this year, Splendor Duel is one of several two-player variants of popular board games that are set to arrive in the near future. Alongside the recently revealed Wingspan Asia– an expansion that doubles as a board game for two players, that Dicebreaker also managed to play at the Essen Spiel 2022 tabletop gaming convention – Splendor Duel looks to adapt the gameplay of a fairly straightforward title to fit a head-to-head format. Whilst both Wingspan and Splendor support smaller player-counts, their two-player variants provide an experience tailored to the more intimate nature that a one-on-one playthrough provides. You are a renowned jeweller, a master of your craft, and unquestionably the finest lapidary in the land… or so you thought, until someone started stealing your business! Your days of monopolising the market are over; you now have a rival, and you are not happy about it. Perhaps you have been complacent and working too slowly? Perhaps you should have branched out and explored the newest corner of the market: pearls? Either way, it is as clear as crystal that you are the superior jeweller (or so you think), and you intend to prove it…

Roseville, MN – July 25, 2022. Space Cowboys is happy to announce the upcoming release of Splendor Duel, designed by Marc André and Bruno Cathala, in November 2022. Marc André’s Splendor was the first board game that SPACE Cowboys released in 2014 and has since won numerous awards like Best Family Game and nominations like the Spiel des Jahres. Now take all the jewel tokens and throw them in the bag. Give them a jiggle, and draw 25 out one by one, placing them on the central board following the arrow spiral. The bag can go to the side of the board. L’interaction est finalement assez présente avec notamment du vol de jetons (plutôt rare, mais existant), qui fera couiner ceux aimant tout faire dans leurs coins.

The other big change is that there are now three ways to win. Players win by earning 20 victory points, 10 points within a single color’s column, or by getting 10 “crowns.” Crowns are bonuses on cards (similar to Marvel Splendor‘s tags), and they are now the way to earn the favor of Nobles, which provide victory cards and/or bonus actions. Likewise, many cards now provide bonus actions like taking an extra turn or gaining an extra gem. Most (perhaps all) of these require the precious new pearl resource, but gold tokens (gained only by reserving a card) can be used as pearls, preventing the game state from clogging when pearls are scarce, and likewise increasing the value of reserving cards. Third, instead of mirroring Splendor's 15-point threshold for bringing about the end of the game, Splendor Duel gives you three victory conditions — 10 points in a single color, 20 points total, or 10 crowns — and as soon as you meet one of them, you win. Il y a une nouvelle ressource les perles, il n’y a que deux perles dans le jeu, vous pouvez essayer de faire de la rétention pour bloquer l’adversaire. First, you collect tokens by drafting them from a grid, taking up to three adjacent, non-gold tokens in a row, column, or diagonal, then adding them to your reserve. The grid contains 25 tokens at the start of play: four of each of the five colors, three gold, and two pearls. Roughly half of the cards in the game require you to hand in a pearl, so you'll compete for them constantly. (Gold can be spent as a pearl or as any color.) These are the equivalent of noble cards in Splendor. Instead of sets of gems, you need crowns to claim royal cards. Pearl TokensYou may be thinking, “but doesn’t Splendor already play pretty well as it is as a two player game?”. Well, yes it does. But in Splendor Duel, you have got rules specifically targetted for 2 players, not 3, not 4, just TWO! And if you are looking for a game much like original Splendor that is harder, meaner and better, Splendor Duel may be the answer to all of your board game wishes! A new gem type that is required in lower quantities for playing some jewel cards. Also, no cards offer permanent pearl bonuses. New Victory Conditions

Confront your rival guild in a race for victory. Take Gems and Pearls from the common board and gain royal favors and prestige!Splendor Duel also has a weird dichotomy going on as regards its relationship with its parent game. On the one hand, it feels very different to play. It’s more exciting, more strategic, and gives you much more of a sense of direct competition. On the flip side, because the core gameplay loop is the same, seasoned players may find this over-familiar despite all the new things to get to grips with. It is at once both old and new. Should you buy Splendor Duel? Croc from Space Cowboys told me that Cathala had reached out to Splendor designer Marc André with an idea for a two-player-only version of the game — which might seem odd given that Splendor already plays fine with two players — but André, perhaps considering the success of 7 Wonders Duel, said sure, let's collaborate. Space Cowboys didn't even know about the project until the designers were mostly done, but I'm sure the publisher didn't object to being delivered a spinoff title to the best-selling game in its catalog.

You may be thinking, "but doesn't Splendor already play pretty well as it is as a two player game?". Well, yes it does. But in Splendor Duel, you have got rules specifically targetted for 2 players, not 3, not 4, just TWO! And if you are looking for a game much like original Splendor that is harder, meaner and better, Splendor Duel may be the answer to all of your board game wishes! Splendor Duel will be previewed at Essen from October 6 th-9 th, 2022. Asmodee will distribute it worldwide in November 2022. For more information and digital assets, please visit https://www.spacecowboys.fr/splendor-duel . This new addition to the Splendor line is intended for a wide range of players, from original Splendor fans who want to experience the new rules and tactics, to 2-player game fans who can experience a fierce duel in less than 30 minutes. Fans of games like 7 Wonders Duel and Patchwork are sure to enjoy this new strategy title.Splendor Duel‘ is a 30-minute standalone game and has a range of new and exciting features. One of the most notable features is that available gems are placed in a grid and players are only able to take combinations of 1-3 neighbouring gems on any given turn. This limits the range of gems available to players, making it more difficult to fulfil the requirements of item cards. conditions de victoire pour l’emporter, obtenir 20 points de victoire, obtenir 10 points de victoire avec une seule ressource, posséder 10 couronnes. Designed by Marc André and Bruno Cathala, ‘Splendor Duel’ is a standalone 2-player follow-up to the 2014 award-wining game ‘Splendor’. Fulfilling these requirements is made even harder by the presence of pearls. Pearls, the queen of gems, are a rare find in ‘Splendor Duel’. Whilst there are only two pearl tokens in the entire box, pearls are needed to fulfil the requirements of many of the item cards! To make matters worse, none of the item cards depicting gems can be used in lieu of a pearl token. Now there are three different ways to end the game. The game ends if a player has 20 points, 10 crowns, or 10 points from cards of the same color.