Review: Splendor Duel – The Counterfeiters

Introduction & Overview

Modify the rules in your favor with clever Counterfeiter cards and gleaming Trinket tokens. Counterfeiter cards alter the rules thanks to bold new tactics. Brand-new Royal cards bring new abilities.

This is how The Counterfeiters is presented to us, the first expansion for Splendor Duel, designed by Marc André (responsible for the original Splendor or Barony) and Bruno Cathala (Yamataï, Five Tribes). First published in 2026 by Space Cowboys in an English version. The artwork is by Davide Tosello (Victorian Masterminds, Orbis, Fairy Tale Inn).

It is published in Spanish by Asmodee (it is completely language independent). It maintains the basic parameters of the base game, that is, 2-player games, with a suggested minimum age of 10 and an approximate duration of 30 minutes. The MSRP is €10.95. For this review, a review copy of the Spanish version by Asmodee has been used[cite: 1].

Important: if you already know the game and/or are only interested in my opinion about it, you can go directly to the Opinion section. The Content and Mechanics sections are especially intended for those who do not know the game and prefer to get a general idea of how it works.

Go to Personal Opinion

Components

Inside a single-piece cardboard box with tuck flaps, measuring 12.5×8.8×1.5 cm (a small rectangular box akin to Take 5! but thinner), we find the following components:

• 4 Trinket Tokens (plastic)
• 25 Cards (44×67mm):
  • 8 Royal Cards
  • 17 Counterfeiter Cards
• Rulebook

How to Play

The Counterfeiters is the first expansion for Splendor Duel that expands the base game experience by introducing Counterfeiter cards and Trinkets as a new resource. These Trinkets are placed into the bag and can be taken from the board as usual (with the known exception of gold). They allow players to take a new main action: purchasing a Counterfeiter card by paying its corresponding cost. These cards grant powerful once-per-turn abilities. The set of Royal cards is also expanded, although only four are still revealed per game. As always, we recommend reading the tocho-review of the base game if you are unfamiliar with it or haven’t played it in a while.

Key Concepts

Let’s start with the Trinket Tokens. They are a new type of resource token added to the starting bag alongside the gems and pearls. They function identically to gem or pearl tokens when taken from the board via the main action, and they also count toward the ten-token limit at the end of the turn. They are a special resource used as payment to acquire Counterfeiter cards or to activate their abilities once purchased.

The Counterfeiter Cards are displayed in a new row of face-up cards above the main game display; they do not count as gem cards nor can they be reserved. Each shows a specific purchase cost on its left side, which always includes at least one Trinket token. Once acquired via a new main action, these cards remain in front of the player and grant a unique, once-per-turn ability.

Finally, a new set of Royal Cards is included. They maintain the same format as those in the base game, earned when a player accumulates three or six crowns, providing prestige points and/or various abilities.

That is enough to get started.

Preparación de la Partida

The following steps are added to the setup of the base game:

• Shuffle the Counterfeiter cards to form a deck, place it above the three main decks, and reveal three cards in a row.
• Place the 25 tokens from the base game along with the 4 Trinket tokens into the cloth bag, mix them well, and draw them randomly onto the board, starting from the central space and following the printed spiral path. The remaining 4 tokens stay in the bag.
• Add the new Royal cards to those of the base game, shuffle them, and reveal 4 of them face down beneath the board. Return the remaining Royal cards to the box.

Game Flow

The following changes apply:

• A new main action is available for players to resolve on their turn: purchasing a Counterfeiter Card. The player chooses 1 of the 3 face-up Counterfeiter cards, pays its cost in tokens, and places it in their play area. Gold tokens act as wildcards for any token type, including Trinkets. After the purchase, refill the Counterfeiter display with the top card of the deck.
• If, when taking tokens from the board, a player happens to take three Trinket tokens with their action, their opponent gains a Privilege scroll.
• During their turn, a player may use the abilities of their accumulated Counterfeiter cards. Each Counterfeiter card can only be used once per turn, but multiple cards can be activated on the same turn.

Game End

The end of the game remains unchanged by this expansion.

Personal Opinion

For many of you, the birth of Space Cowboys back in 2013 might feel like ancient history. But back then, several co-founders of Asmodee embarked on a new venture that drew considerable attention. That move represented a breath of fresh air and consolidated itself into a resounding success thanks to the release of their flagship title: Splendor (here is its tocho-review).

With that first game, the publisher made its premise clear: publishing family-style games that were accessible to the general public, yet wrapped in a polished production that immediately caught the eye. Marc André’s original Splendor was the perfect banner for this vision, relying on heavy poker chips with a fantastic tactile feel that elevated simple mechanics into a highly satisfying physical experience. That care for components was not mere ornamentation; it ensured the design had a distinct physical punch, setting a standard of quality that the publisher would keep as its trademark in subsequent releases.

The success of Splendor within Space Cowboys’ catalog was of such magnitude that it became the publisher’s true financial cornerstone, reaching sales figures and commercial impact that none of its later releases have managed to replicate. It was an inevitable step for the brand to eventually establish itself as a franchise.

Thus, over the years, we have seen the original design re-themed to adapt to hugely popular universes like Marvel or Pokémon to capture new player profiles, retaining the essence of the engine builder while always offering a different visual appeal.

Then came the pandemic and lockdowns, forcing many players to enjoy the hobby only as pairs or in small household groups. With demand for titles designed specifically for two players through the roof, it was only a matter of time before the publisher made a move so as not to be left out of the trend.

Enter Bruno Cathala, who joined Marc André to create Splendor Duel—a game that successfully reinterpreted the essence of the original to forge a more tactical and engaging product. Introducing the gem selection board with a spiral layout, pearl management (a new token type), alternative victory conditions, and the use of Privileges transformed a static resource race into a competition rich with tactical options. Without a doubt, Splendor Duel is the finest title in the entire saga.

That is why it comes as a surprise that Space Cowboys took no less than four years to release expansion content for a game that performed so well from day one. In a saturated market accustomed to churning out rush-job expansions mere months after a game’s release, such a delay feels almost suspicious.

Still, better late than never! So let’s proceed with the analysis of The Counterfeiters, but not before thanking Asmodee for providing the review copy that makes this wall of text possible[cite: 1]. And, as always when dealing with an expansion, we recommend reading the tocho-review of the base game if you aren’t familiar with it or don’t recall what we thought of it.

The Counterfeiters is an expansion that introduces two new elements and expands upon an existing one. The new elements are a new token type—Trinkets—and Counterfeiter cards, which make use of these tokens. The expanded element is the Royal cards, which created a race dynamic to claim them and enjoy their powerful immediate effects (and points).

Let’s begin with the Trinket tokens, which are mixed into the bag alongside the gems, pearls, and gold from the base game during setup. These tokens act in all respects like standard gems or pearls when taken from the board, though they carry a direct penalty: if a player uses the mandatory action to take three tokens and includes three Trinkets, the opponent earns a Privilege scroll. These Trinket tokens serve a dual purpose. First, they pay the cost for the aforementioned Counterfeiter cards. Second, they act as fuel for the abilities on many of these Counterfeiter cards.

These cards are not gem cards, nor can they be reserved, but they grant powerful once-per-turn abilities—such as converting Trinkets into multiple tokens of various types, reserving cards, gaining crowns, and much more. While it’s true that most of them don’t directly advance your progress toward any of the three victory conditions, they do add a strategic layer of varnish by introducing asymmetric capabilities between players.

For instance, if a player secures a Counterfeiter card that allows using a Trinket token as two rubies (red gems), they will naturally care less about drafting red gem tokens and focus instead on Trinkets—effectively expanding their token capacity limit. In this way, Counterfeiter cards act as accelerators to help reach milestones faster.

The expanded element is the Royal cards, a feature that felt somewhat limited in the original design because the exact same cards were used every game. This expansion triples the available card pool while keeping the reveal count at just four, significantly boosting the variability of this concept.

The mere presence of these new characters alters how you evaluate the board from the initial setup, forcing players to adapt based on the immediate effects available. This increase not only enhances replayability but also heightens interaction and blocking between both players. Knowing how to read which noble best aligns with each player’s strategy enriches the game without cluttering its underlying mechanisms.

Now, that gives you enough context to start talking about feelings and dynamics. The first thing worth highlighting about including Counterfeiter cards is that they break the relative linearity the base game could suffer from after dozens of plays. Where decision-making previously revolved almost exclusively around timing when to claim optimal gem cards and blocking your rival on the board, The Counterfeiters introduces a strategic layer that shifts decision weights between players. What might be highly valuable to one player might hold little to no appeal for the other.

Of course, these Counterfeiter cards are a double-edged sword. You have to weigh whether it’s worth taking a detour to secure one of these engine-building tools that warp the standard rules. If you over-invest in these cards, your opponent is likely to pull ahead because, in practice, it’s very difficult to utilize several of these cards in a single turn—most require Trinket tokens to activate, and there are only four in total.

All in all, the ability to apply flexible cost discounts, alter token reserve management, or force-reserve cards directly from the decks adds a welcome layer of versatility. It doesn’t feel like an artificial gimmick that drags down the pacing, but rather a rewarding tool for players who can read the display and pivot, deepening every turn without sacrificing the smooth flow characteristic of the design.

It is true that this expansion can render the game noticeably less direct, as it opens the door for players to spend their opening turns positioning themselves to acquire a couple of Counterfeiter cards. While the base game opening was a cutthroat sprint for board gems and early Tier 1 cards, here the tempo can easily deflate slightly during the early stages while both contenders weigh whether to detour into building this secondary engine before launching their resource production.

This slight loss of immediacy might not appeal to those who prefer unhindered momentum. But over time, I believe the play experience is ultimately enhanced by the variability provided by Counterfeiter cards and the new pool of nobles.

Let’s move on to production. Quality levels match the base game, featuring those lovely mini-sized poker chips (which still pack a satisfying weight). The cards maintain great paper weight, linen finish, and acceptable snap (sleeving is recommended due to constant handling, even if shuffled only at setup). Everything fits into a small card box flap pack that, with a little finesse, can even tuck neatly under the main box insert without increasing outer volume. The rulebook is well-structured and leaves no room for ambiguity. Visually, it retains the brighter, cheerful aesthetic introduced in Splendor Duel, which I find very pleasing.

And let’s wrap this up. The Counterfeiters is a very solid addition that expands the Splendor Duel experience, enriching decision-making without disrupting its characteristic fluidity. Introducing a new token type to drive an asymmetric ability engine creates a very engaging layer where timing when to branch off from the main race creates great tension in decision-making. Coupled with an expanded Royal card deck that boosts variability—something every expansion should strive for—it delivers on all fronts. While this expanded palette of choices might slightly disrupt the blistering pace of the opening turns by encouraging early setup, it rewards you with a deeper strategic arc in return. If you own the base game, I highly recommend it. For all these reasons, I give it a…