Games Like Splendor: 10 to Play Next, Plus How to Play Splendor Online
By The Rondovo team · Published · Updated · 9 min read
The best games like Splendor are Splendor Duel (the official two player version), Century: Spice Road (the closest engine builder), Gizmos (bigger chain reactions) and Point City (card drafting with the same "my cards pay for my cards" feeling). Azul and 7 Wonders Duel suit the same crowd from a slightly different angle. If you want Splendor itself online, the official app is $9.99 on Steam as of October 2026, and Board Game Arena runs it in a browser.
In short
- Splendor is a 30 minute engine builder for 2 to 4 players, ages 10 and up: take gem chips, buy cards that give permanent discounts, race to 15 prestige.
- Closest games like Splendor: Splendor Duel for two, Century: Spice Road for more combos, Gizmos for chain reactions, Point City for drafting.
- Same shelf, different puzzle: Azul, 7 Wonders Duel, Splendor Marvel, and route games like Ticket to Ride.
- Play Splendor online: the official app (Steam and mobile) or Board Game Arena in a browser. Free browser takes on gem collecting, including our own Prism, need nothing bought.
- The strategy in one line: cheap cards early, points late, and watch which nobles your rivals are chasing.
Games like Splendor
What people love about Splendor is short turns, almost no rules to remember, and the moment your engine starts buying cards for free. Each game below keeps some of that and changes something else.
Splendor Duel
The official two player version from Space Cowboys. Chips sit on a shared board and you take them in lines, so what you leave behind matters as much as what you take. There are more ways to get in your opponent's way than in the original. If you mostly play Splendor as a couple, this is the upgrade.
Century: Spice Road
The game most often compared with Splendor. Instead of buying discounts, you build a hand of trade cards that turn cheap spices into expensive ones, then cash spices in for point cards. Turns stay calm and quick, and the combos are more satisfying because you can chain three conversions in a row.
Gizmos
Marble resources and machine cards that trigger each other. Once your engine is built, a single action can set off a chain of five effects. More explosive than Splendor, with a little more to read on each card.
Point City
You draft cards from a shared grid, using resources to buy buildings that then act as permanent resources themselves, so late in the game you are buying cards with cards. It is the nearest thing to Splendor's engine with a city theme and a little more planning.
Splendor Marvel
The same core rules with superhero cards and a tweaked way to win, built around the Infinity Stones. A good way in for a family that knows the characters better than the gems.
7 Wonders Duel
A two player card drafting game with three ways to win. It is more interactive and more complex than Splendor, and the natural step up for a couple who has played Splendor Duel to death.
Azul
Not an engine builder, but it lands on the same shelf for the same people: short rules, beautiful pieces, quiet tension, and a nasty sting when you are forced to take tiles you did not want.
Ticket to Ride
If you like Splendor's steady collecting and the moment you can finally claim the big card, Ticket to Ride gives you that feeling with trains and routes, for up to five. See our guide to games like Ticket to Ride.
Catan
For a bigger, louder version of "collect resources, build towards points", with trading between players, see games like Catan.
Prism (free, in a browser)
Our own take on gem collecting, covered in full further down. It is the one on this list you can start tonight with friends in different places and nothing to buy.
Which game like Splendor to play when
| Your situation | Play |
|---|---|
| Two of you, most evenings | Splendor Duel, then 7 Wonders Duel |
| You love Splendor but want bigger turns | Century: Spice Road or Gizmos |
| Mixed ages, first board game in years | Azul or Splendor itself |
| Five or six people | Ticket to Ride or Catan, since Splendor stops at four |
| Friends in different places tonight, nobody wants to buy anything | Board Game Arena or a free browser game such as Prism |
| You want the official game on the sofa | The Splendor app with pass and play |
One honest note on group size: Splendor and almost everything like it top out at four players. With five or more, a gem game means someone sits out, so switch to a route or trading game, or split into two tables.
How to play Splendor online
Checked on the official store pages in October 2026.
| Option | Where | Cost | With friends |
|---|---|---|---|
| Splendor (Days of Wonder, published with Twin Sails Interactive) | Steam, plus mobile versions | $9.99 on Steam; three add-ons from $2.99 | Online multiplayer for 2 to 4, cross platform, pass and play, solo mode |
| Board Game Arena | Browser | Free account | Create a table, invite friends, 2 to 4 players |
| Rondovo Prism | Browser, any device | Free | Room code, 2 to 4 players, TV optional |
Splendor on Steam came out in September 2015 and is still sold, with online play against other people across platforms. Board Game Arena added Splendor in April 2021, announced by Asmodee, and Space Cowboys links to it from its own Splendor page.
How to play Splendor
Splendor is Marc André's game, published by Space Cowboys in 2014. The box holds 90 development cards in three levels, 10 noble tiles and 40 tokens: seven of each of five gems plus five gold jokers. Four cards from each level are laid face up.
On your turn you do one of four things:
- Take three gem chips of different colours.
- Take two chips of the same colour, only if at least four of that colour are left.
- Reserve a card into your hand and take one gold joker. You can hold up to three reserved cards.
- Buy a card from the table or your hand, paying its cost in chips.
The key rule: every card you own counts as a permanent gem of its colour. Own three blue cards and every future cost is three blue cheaper. That is the engine. Early cards cost chips; later, big cards cost almost nothing because your cards pay for them.
Some cards also carry prestige points. Nobles (one more than the number of players) visit you automatically for 3 prestige when your cards match their requirement. You may never hold more than 10 chips. When someone reaches 15 prestige, the round finishes so everyone has the same number of turns, and the highest total wins. With fewer players there are fewer chips of each colour in the bank, which makes two player games noticeably tighter.
Splendor strategy: how to build an engine that wins
Engine building games reward doing slow things first. Here is how that plays out in Splendor, from many games of it and of our own version.
Buy level one cards early, even with no points. A 3 chip card that gives a permanent discount pays for itself within two or three purchases. Players who chase points on turn three usually stall by turn ten.
Commit to two or three colours. Spreading across all five makes every card a little cheaper and no card free. Pick colours that the visible level two and level three cards and the nobles want, and lean in.
Read the nobles on turn one. Each noble asks for card bonuses (for example four of two colours, or three of three). Two nobles that share a colour are a plan. A noble someone else is two cards away from is a race you probably lose.
Turn chips into cards quickly. Chips sitting in front of you do nothing, and the 10 chip limit means hoarding forces you to hand chips back. A turn spent taking three chips should set up a purchase on the next turn.
Reserve with a purpose. Reserving is the only way to deny a card and the only way to get gold. Reserve a card a rival needs, or a big card you will afford in two turns. Do not fill your three reserve slots with hopes; they are hard to clear.
Switch to points around 8 to 10 prestige. Once your engine is buying level two cards cheaply, stop adding discounts and start taking the cards with the most prestige per turn. Level two cards worth 2 or 3 points for a single colour are often the best value in the game.
Count everyone's turns at the end. Reaching 15 starts the final round; it does not end the game. If you hit 15 on the first player's turn, everyone gets a turn after you. Know whether someone can still overtake you before you trigger it.
Prism: our own gem engine builder
Prism is Rondovo's own take on gem collecting. The turn is the genre's standard one: take chips, buy a card, or reserve a card. Take three different colours, or two of one colour if the bank has at least four. Every card you own is a permanent discount in its colour, and Starlight chips pay for any colour.
The names and cards are ours: 90 workshop cards in three levels (Sketches, Studies and Masterworks), five gems (ruby, amber, jade, sapphire, amethyst) and ten Patrons, of whom one more than the number of players come to the table. Each Patron is worth 3 prestige when your card discounts match theirs. You can reserve up to three cards and hold up to ten chips. Reaching 15 prestige starts the final round so everyone gets the same number of turns, and fewer purchased cards breaks a tie.
How it plays as a group: one person hosts a room, two to four players join on their own screens with a four letter code, and the market, bank and Patrons sit on the TV (or on everyone's screen if there is no TV). Your chips and reserved cards are on your screen. A 60 second turn timer (the host can set 30 to 120) keeps it to around 40 minutes, and the host can add a computer player if you are one short.
Where it is weaker than the official app: no solo campaign, no ranked online ladder and no expansions. If you want to play strangers at 2am, Board Game Arena or the app is the better choice.
More for the same group
For a longer evening, Night Express is our route building game for 2 to 5, and Isle of Tides is island settling and trading for 2 to 6. If it is just the two of you, our guide to two player online games has more, and free board games online with friends covers the bigger picture.
Questions people ask
What game is most like Splendor?
Splendor Duel is the closest overall, since it is the official two player version. Of the games by other designers, Century: Spice Road is the closest engine builder.
Is there a game like Splendor for more than four players?
Not really; most gem and engine games stop at four. For five or six, Ticket to Ride (up to five) or Catan with its five to six player extension keep a similar "collect, then build" feel.
Can I play Splendor online with friends?
Yes. The official Splendor app has online multiplayer for 2 to 4 players, and Board Game Arena lets you create a table and invite friends in a browser. Free browser games like Prism use a room code.
Is Splendor free online?
Board Game Arena lets you play Splendor in a browser with a free account. The official app is paid: $9.99 on Steam as of October 2026.
How many players can play Splendor?
Two to four, per Space Cowboys. With two players the bank has fewer chips, so it plays tighter; Splendor Duel is the dedicated two player version.
How long does Splendor take?
About 30 minutes, per Space Cowboys. First games with new players run longer.
What is the best strategy in Splendor?
Buy cheap level one cards early for their discounts, focus on two or three colours that match the nobles, and switch to buying points once your engine makes level two cards cheap.
Splendor, Splendor Duel, Splendor Marvel, Marvel, Space Cowboys, Days of Wonder, Twin Sails Interactive, Asmodee, Board Game Arena, Steam, Century: Spice Road, Gizmos, Point City, 7 Wonders Duel, Azul, Ticket to Ride and Catan are trademarks of their owners. Rondovo is not affiliated with them.