Video summary

Pokemon Splendor - A Dicey Walkthrough!

Main summary

Key takeaways

Gaming

Game storyline (theme)

Pokémon Splendor is a competitive card-and-resource game where players “catch” Pokémon and build a collection that earns victory points. As you acquire Pokémon, their printed bonuses and evolutions help you obtain increasingly powerful Pokémon (including Rare and Legendary ones). The thematic “progression” is moving from easier catches to more efficient, combo-driven acquisitions and evolutions until someone reaches the goal.

Goal / win condition

  • Be the first to reach 18 points (points shown on the top-left of Pokémon cards).
  • If the round ends (because someone reached 18), the winner is determined by:
    • Highest points
    • Tiebreaker: the player with the most cards under their Trainer tile

Components & setup (high level)

Includes:

  • Pokédex sheet
  • 90 Pokémon cards split into levels 1–3 (with rare and legendary cards)
  • Trainer tiles
  • A start player marker
  • 40 Pokéball tokens

Setup steps (as described):

  • Shuffle level 1 / 2 / 3 decks separately and place them as face-down stacks.
  • Reveal 4 cards from each stack to form a display grid.
  • Shuffle all Rare (R) and Legendary cards separately; place as two stacks and reveal one from each.
  • Lay out the correct mix/amount of Pokéball tokens based on player count.
  • Always use all 5 Master Balls.
  • Each player takes a player tile; the start player goes to the youngest player.

Core gameplay loop (turn actions)

On your turn, you choose one action, then play passes clockwise.

1) Collect Pokéballs

Choose one:

  • 3 different Pokéballs (e.g., Yellow + Blue + Red)
  • 2 of the same color
    • Rule: You may only take 2 of a color if that color’s stack has at least 4 remaining.
    • If a stack only has 2 left, you can’t take 2 from it.

Important rule:

  • You cannot take Master Balls directly from the token stacks.

2) Reserve a card (to eventually gain Master Ball)

Instead of collecting, you can reserve:

  • A face-up card in the middle display, or
  • A top card from a level 1/2/3 deck.

When you reserve, you:

  • Add the card to your hand, and
  • Gain 1 Master Ball token

Constraints:

  • You can have up to 3 reserved cards at once.
  • You cannot reserve Rare or Legendary cards.
  • Reserved cards are later used with the Catch action.

Display replacement:

  • Whenever there’s an empty slot in the display, it’s immediately refilled from the appropriate deck.

3) Catch a Pokémon

Catching a Pokémon lets you:

  • Pay the cost printed on the bottom-left of the Pokémon card using Pokéballs (and Master Balls as wild).

  • Place the caught Pokémon into your display, earning:

    • Points, and
    • Bonuses (top-right), which reduce future costs/discount acquisition.

Payment rules:

  • Pokémon costs require specific ball types.
  • Master Balls are wild and can count as any required color.

Where you can catch from:

  • Cards in the main grid (face-up), or
  • Cards from your hand of reserved cards.

Rare/Legendary catch rules:

  • Rare/Legendary cost more, and each requires 1 Master Ball in addition to other balls.
  • They follow the same Catch mechanic, but with higher requirements.

Bonuses & discounts (key mechanic)

  • Pokémon cards show bonuses in the top-right, which can provide discounts or help meet costs for future catches.
  • Example idea from the walkthrough:
    • If you have the matching discount from a Pokémon’s bonus, you can reduce the effective cost when catching something.

Turn end rules (hand/resource management)

At the end of each turn:

  • You must limit your held Pokéballs to 10.
    • If you have 11+, discard the excess back to the supply.

Then check evolution (handled next).

Evolution (happening after your action)

After your turn action, you may evolve (as described in the walkthrough):

Evolution uses:

  • Required bonus amounts shown in evolution requirements (on top of level 1–2 cards)
  • An evolution target card that must be:
    • Available in your hand, or
    • Face-up in the display (per the rules described)

How you pay:

  • You pay using bonuses on your Pokémon cards, not by spending tokens from your supply.
  • Only one Pokémon can be evolved per turn.

Evolution process:

  • Take the evolved Pokémon:
    • Replace the empty space in the display as usual,
    • Put the evolved version into place,
    • Place the evolved-away card face down under your Trainer tile.

Rare/Legendary note:

  • Rare/Legendary have double bonuses (stronger than normal), often helping with both points and evolution/cost efficiency.

Strategy & key tips highlighted by the walkthrough

  • Plan around Master Balls: since you can’t take them directly, you mainly get them via Reserving.
  • Use bonuses to “build discounts”: your top-right bonuses are what make later catches cheaper and allow more efficient chains.
  • Exploit double bonuses on Rare/Legendary: they’re positioned as very powerful tools for point gains and enabling evolutions.
  • Manage your Pokéball limit (10): avoid ending turns with too many tokens—discarding costs you tempo/resources.
  • Evolve every chance (within rules): evolution is free of “action cost” and can swing efficiency; remember only one per turn.

Gamers / sources featured

  • Paul (host of the “dicey review” / “Dicey walkthrough”)

Original video