Philanthropist offers people the opportunity to enjoy and learn about important paintings in Western European and American History.
The object of the game is to be the first philanthropist to perform 3 philanthropic acts.
The game contains a board (in which each space is a photograph of a famous museum), 200 cards with reproductions of paintings on them/questions on the reverse side, 20 jewels of knowledge, 36 philanthropist cards, the Art Reference Guide, 15 index cards, four player tokens, and 1 die. The components are extremely beautiful.
There are several levels of play. The questions on the art cards can be answered by multiple choice or on the "Expert" level in which the player answers the question without choices. Answering a question correctly wins a jewel token/incorrectly loses one for multiple choice, or two for Expert level. Once a player has 5 jewels they draw a philanthropist card and follow the instructions on the card.