How to Set Up Splendor

Set the supply for your player count

There are five regular gem colors: white, blue, green, red, and black. The “each gem color” number applies separately to every one of those stacks. Gold stays at five in all three setups. Return unused components to the box.

Lay out the card market

• Separate the development cards into levels 1, 2, and 3 and shuffle each deck on its own.
• Place the decks in a column, with level 1 nearest the players and level 3 above it.
• Reveal four cards beside each deck. You now have three rows and twelve face-up cards.

All three player counts use these same market rows. Do not reduce the number of face-up cards for a two-player game.

Reveal nobles and organize tokens

Shuffle the noble tiles and reveal one more noble than the number of players. Put them above the market, where everyone can read their requirements.

Place the six token stacks within reach. Players begin without tokens, purchased cards, or reserved cards. Leave room in front of each player for a visible card collection and token supply.

Choose the starting player

For the physical Classic game, the rulebook gives the first turn to the youngest player; turns then move clockwise. Remember who began, because the game ends only after everyone has had the same number of turns.

In an online room, follow the turn indicator on the table. After starting, confirm the displayed first player before making a move.

Set up an online room

• Choose Splendor Classic and select 2, 3, or 4 total seats.
• Enter an optional nickname, then create the room.
• Share the invitation link or room code. Add bots to any seats you want filled by computer opponents.
• When at least two players are seated, the host starts the game. The table prepares the market, nobles, and token supply for the players taking part.

Classic expansions have extra setup choices. Select the expansion before creating the room, then review its module options before the host starts.

Teach the first turn with a visible target

After setting out the market, invite the new player to point at one affordable-looking Level 1 card. Read its bonus colour, prestige, and costs separately. These three pieces of information answer different questions: what it produces later, what it scores, and what must be paid now. Have the player name which tokens would move them toward that purchase before collecting anything.

Use a hypothetical three-colour cost to show why taking different colours can prepare a purchase efficiently. Then point to a concentrated cost and explain why taking two of one colour depends on the supply containing at least four before the action. Do not teach these as two actions that can be combined. Collection and purchase happen on different turns.

Finish the demonstration by applying one existing bonus to an example cost. A bonus is not a token that goes back to the supply. This small distinction prevents a large number of first-game mistakes. Put any demonstration pieces back before the real first turn so that the starting supply and player holdings are correct.

Audit the table before anyone starts

Count the public rows from the players’ perspective: four visible cards in each of three levels, with each replacement deck beside its own row. Keep the levels distinguishable. Accidentally refilling a Level 1 space from Level 2 changes both the difficulty of the market and the remaining deck distribution. A card’s bonus colour is not its deck level.

Next count the nobles and each gem stack against the player-count table above. Gold is a separate wildcard resource and its quantity does not fall with the number of players. Remove unused coloured tokens from the play area so nobody treats them as an emergency reserve. All players should be able to see the quantities still available.

Make space in front of every player for acquired bonuses and held tokens. Keep reserved cards distinguishable from purchases: they supply neither points nor bonuses until bought. Agree where the first-player marker will stay, because the final round depends on completing equal turns, not simply stopping at the first fifteen-point announcement.

Set up a Gem Merchant room deliberately

On this website, choose Classic and the intended number of seats before creating the room. The online setup creates and shuffles the decks, selects nobles, and sets the supply for that player count. Invite friends using the room link or code. Add a bot only to a seat you want the computer to occupy, and inspect the player list before the host starts.

Do not share a browser tab between two people who are meant to occupy separate seats. The browser keeps a secret credential for its current identity. Use separate browser profiles or devices for separate players and continue in the same browser when returning. A nickname is just a label; typing it again does not recover a seat whose credential was deleted.

If a friend cannot join, check the room code and whether the game has already started. Refreshing the same browser can reconnect an existing seat, but it does not turn a started room into an open lobby. Avoid clearing site data as a first troubleshooting step because that can remove the credential needed for recovery.

A useful first-game agreement

Before playing, agree that everyone may ask what an icon means and may inspect public resources. If teaching, explain a legal option without secretly looking at someone’s reserved cards. Keep physical-edition conventions separate from this website’s host controls, and use the linked publisher rules when resolving a tabletop question.

After the first round, ask each person to explain the difference between a held token, a permanent bonus, and prestige. If those concepts are clear, setup has done its job. Save deeper questions about efficient openings and noble races for the strategy guides; a new player needs a readable table and a legal first action before a long-term plan.