Ceci est une ancienne révision du document !
It’s time for more Tabletop Ubuntu. In this second installment, I am discussing a game that I have played so many times in real life that the components show noticeable wear. The digital version of Splendor was developed by Days of Wonder and is a port of the tabletop game of the same name designed by Marc André and published by Space Cowboys. At the time of this writing, Splendor is available on Steam for $9.99. The game is listed as Windows only, but runs great using Proton Experimental.
Splendor is a casual strategy game with rules that are simple to learn. It offers an easy introduction to the themes of engine-building and resource management. The digital version has an online multiplayer wide worldwide leaderboards and a ranking system. It also provides pass and play mode. However, the reason I enjoy Splendor on Ubuntu, and the reason I am writing about it, is because of the solo mode and scenario-based challenges. Before I get into the details of these modes, let’s talk about gameplay.
In Splendor, you take on the role of a rich merchant during the Renaissance. I personally do not find the theme to be particularly engaging or important to the gameplay itself in the base game. It does provide a reason for naming components (gems, gold, nobel tiles, prestige points) and set artistic style. However, it also has a clear connection to ideas of colonialism and exploitation of resources (e.g. Whose land are players “developing” with development cards?). Thus, I think reworking the theme for the base game would be welcomed by many. That said, the expansions and challenge mode, build on the theme in ways that make it unlikely that any change will happen.
Each turn, a player can take one of three actions: collect tokens called gems, buy and build a development card, or reserve one card. There are five types of gems: emerald, sapphire, ruby, diamond, and onyx. If collecting gems, players choose to either take two gems of one type or three gems each of a different type.
Buying a card requires paying its cost in gems. Each card produces a single gem and may provide victory (prestige) points. There are three levels of development cards (green, yellow, blue) with each level having a higher cost and providing more victory points. As players buy development cards, the visible cards are replenished until the stack runs out. Once purchased, the card is added to your playing area and will provide a gem each subsequent turn. Resources gained from cards are produced each turn but unused resources do not carry over to subsequent turns. The final action, reserve a card, allows you to take one development card and place it face down for building during a subsequent turn. This action can be used to reserve a card for yourself or to prevent other players from gaining a particular game. In addition to the card, you also acquire a gold token, which acts as a wild token and can be used in place of any gem.
In addition to gaining victory points through buying development cards, players can earn points through noble tiles. Each noble tile shows a set of gems that players must produce to claim the tile and a number of victory points that will be awarded. For example, the tile pictured requires having development cards that produce three emerald, three ruby, and three onyx. The first player who meets the required conditions is awarded three victory points.
In addition to the classic mode, Splendor offers four expansions: The Cities, The Strongholds, The Trading Posts, and The Orient. Each expansion changes the game in different ways through new mechanics and objectives. They are worth checking out if you enjoy the original.
As I mentioned, my reasons for discussing Splendor are the solo mode and challenge modes. Both build on the base game and offer new options without adding new mechanics. Solo mode allows you to play the base game against three types of AI: balanced, opportunistic, or specialized. There is also a setting to randomize the AI type or make it secret. Solo mode is a great way to play a game of Splendor in 15 minutes. The AI are fun to play against and at a level where making a few missteps will cost you the game. They also do a good job of always taking the development cards that you want.
Challenges are based on “historically-accurate background stories…set in the 15th to 16th centuries” and come in two varieties: duels and campaigns. Duels set the player against famous monarchs from history with specific objectives and constraints. For example, a few of the specifics in the duel against Mary, Queen of Scots, the player must score 12 prestige points, the challenge must be completed in less than 1 minute of play time, there are only 4 tokens per stack and they are not returned to the stack once spent, and noble tiles are only worth 1 point.
Campaigns have the player work through specific game setups that are informed by historical events. Each campaign features six scenarios that are connected to historical events. For example, the first scenario in the London campaign is called The War of the Roses. I find that both challenge modes enhance the game by setting up new objectives, changing rules, and introducing constraints.
Overall, Splendor strikes a nice balance of strategy and speed. Although others might find the online and pass and play modes to be enjoyable, I think the solo and challenge modes are really what make it worth a look. By building on existing mechanics and creating new constraints, the app extends an interesting game into the virtual tabletop space.