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Times played: 16, on a prototype and a press copy supplied by Asmodee
Following AbluXXen (previewed here) and Pairs (preview), Splendor continues the trend of fast-playing, highly variable games that have been hitting my table recently. The game is highly tactical as players frequently buy or reserve cards, putting new ones into the market and forcing you to either be flexible in what you're building or reserve cards earlier than you might want so that you can build them later.
Repeated experience with Splendor has taught me once again that anyone who claims he can review a game after playing it a single time has no place being a reviewer. In my first game, I fumbled with this move and that, just doing things and eventually falling into cards, but at this stage I now have a good edge on those playing for the first time because (a) they're not paying attention to the personality tiles, viewing them more as an afterthought than as something that could be directing your acquisitions all game; (b) they're not paying attention to each other, so they're surprised when someone takes a card that was clearly theirs; (c) they seldom reserve cards, typically doing so only if they're near the ten chip limit and can't buy a card they want; and (d) they get into a rut of taking first-tier cards for free instead of working toward cards that are actually worth something. After all, the goal isn't to have the biggest collection of cards, but to hit that 15-point threshold however you can.
Yes, the game is tactical and sometimes you luck into a card that's perfect for you because the previous player bought or reserved something and opened a hole in the tableau, but you can still have a game plan and a direction for how you want to build based on the tiles on display and the expensive cards in the back row. You can hog the jokers through early reservations, forcing others to build up exactly the chips they need and making card reservation less attractive — which will sometimes compel them to leave a card on the table they might otherwise pick up and *scoop* you get to nab it instead.
Despite my boasting, when I play against others who have also played several times, we're roughly on par with one another and now I'm trying to work on how to read the card tableau better to "see" paths earlier to those more expensive cards. After all, those cards sit in waiting for at least the first half of the game, their costs visible to all, their points awaiting your grasping hand — all you need to do is figure out how to take them.
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