When comparing Tsuro vs Splendor, the Slant community recommends Splendor for most people. In the question“What are the best board games for beginners?” Splendor is ranked 4th while Tsuro is ranked 5th. The most important reason people chose Splendor is:
The basics of the game are very straightforward and easy. You can start playing in a matter of minutes, which is great for absolutely everyone – young and old, experienced and new. The game begins from the youngest player and continues clockwise. In their turn the players can perform one of three actions: take three different gems, take two gems of the same color, reserve a development card and take a gold gem, or purchase a development card. All development cards give permanent gem bonuses for later buys and some cards give prestige, which is required to win. Prestige is also gained from nobles, which can be attracted if specific conditions are met. The game enters the last round when a player reaches 15 points. The game is won by the player with the most points after this round.
Specs
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Pros
Pro Very simple gameplay
The game is easy to explain and introduce to new players, even ones that aren't familiar with modern board games, due to the simple nature of it.
The game is played on a 6x6 grid on which cards can be placed, forming a path for your player piece. The game is quite straightforward - each turn consists of playing 1 card and then following the path on that card until it's stopped by a tile-less space. Your path can collide with an opponent's path, in which case both you and the opponent move their pawns accordingly, following your paths. If you collide with an opponent on the same road or if you walk off the board, then you are out of the game. The game is won by the last player on the board.
Pro Can be played competitively or nicely
The way Tsuro is designed allows you to either try to make your own path without interacting with other players or play completely cutthroat and try to ruin your opponents' paths by making them run off the board.
Pro Beautiful and unique artwork make the game stand out
The artwork on the main game board is very well done and it follows an Asian theme. Needless to say, a lot of work has been put into the presentation aspect of this board game. Aesthetically this is probably one of the prettiest playing spaces out there.
The game gives a very peaceful and zen-like feel due to the simplicity of the game mixing with the detailed art style. There's an epic Eastern-styled phoenix colored in the royal colors of red and gold accompanied by some clouds on the background of the board. The player figures have engraved dragons, adding flavor to the simplicity of them. There are also Chinese characters scattered throughout, roughly translating to "passage" or "going the same way".
Moreover, as the board fills up with path tiles, the tangled web of paths looks visually striking. They look as if they've been carved into marble.
Pro Short play length allows for quick sessions
Tsuro is a great "appetizer" game that can be set up and played very quickly, making this a perfect option to kill some time. It plays in about 15 minutes or less and it'll easily hold the attention of everyone all the way through. The quickness of the game also pretty much guarantees replayability.
Pro The wide player count allows Tsuro to be played in a variety of settings
Tsuro can be played with 2 to 8 players, which means that it is easy to find enough players to play, while having room for larger play counts that are somewhat rare in other boardgames.
Pro Originality
It is really disruptive wrt classic games.
Pro Easy to learn
The basics of the game are very straightforward and easy. You can start playing in a matter of minutes, which is great for absolutely everyone – young and old, experienced and new.
The game begins from the youngest player and continues clockwise. In their turn the players can perform one of three actions: take three different gems, take two gems of the same color, reserve a development card and take a gold gem, or purchase a development card. All development cards give permanent gem bonuses for later buys and some cards give prestige, which is required to win. Prestige is also gained from nobles, which can be attracted if specific conditions are met.
The game enters the last round when a player reaches 15 points. The game is won by the player with the most points after this round.
Pro Fine-looking artwork
Splendor’s artwork is follows a Renaissance theme and is quite detailed and beautiful. The cards of the game feature depictions of ships, gem mines, and shops from the era. The coins are colorful and have stickers on them representing the type. There are also portraits of historical figures on the noble cards, for example, Henry VIII, Isabel of Castile, and Elisabeth of Austria.
Pro Good for beginners
The game’s rules are easy to grasp, but Splendor also features quite a bit of depth and strategy, which makes this a great gateway option for people just getting into board games, even children.
Pro Can be played aggressively or peacefully
The game is suited for both playstyles mostly due to the card reserving mechanic. This is great because you can adjust to the company you are playing with, whether they want to be fully competitive and try to deny each other’s plays or laid back and just watch the empires grow without interfering.
You can reserve a card to use it later or, even better, so your opponents can’t use it. You also get a “wild” gold piece, which can substitute any color required in buildings. You can have a maximum of three cards reserved at once.
Pro Scales well
The game plays very well in the designated 2-4 player range. It has some nuances that depend on the number of players, for example, the amount of coins and nobles in play.
It’s possible to go past the 4-player maximum by getting another copy for more coins. Another solution would be to add something like poker chips or other types of coins to the game.
Pro Satisfying to see progression
It’s enjoyable to watch your trading empire grow. The game starts slowly with you gathering gems to create some basic buildings and futureproofing yourself, by the end of the game there’s quite a lot of cards on the playing surface. You can also get points for attracting nobles to your side by getting a specific combination of gem cards, which gives you a building direction and a goal to work towards.
Cons
Con Highly random
There are pretty much no aspects in the game that can be planned ahead apart from the fact that you can choose between three tiles. The rest is based on luck. There's no way to predict how your opponents will play and sometimes even you won't have much control over the outcome due to the cards that are drawn.
Con Relatively simple play might not appeal to experienced boardgamers
The simplicity that makes this a great game for new players might also turn off experienced players that are looking for more complex strategies.
Con Very poor component quality in newer editions
The game used to be widely complimented on the great overall quality of the coins and other pieces, but the materials changed in 2014. All the printings since then have reduced quality – chips are very lightweight and sometimes the color seems off, and all the components have a cheap feel to them.
Con Luck of the draw
The building cards that are drawn from the decks are random, which means that the game can often boil down to top-decking a building that’s either very valuable or completely worthless to you or an opponent. The nobles are random as well, but they won’t impact the game as critically – they are there just to direct you to a goal.