I love the whole idea of games where you get to build civilisations, starting from nothing and watching this sprawling creation of yours grow before your eyes.Unfortunately, the vast majority of them require quite the time investment; playing games like A Brief History of the World are,sadly, far from brief. This isn't to say that they're bad, it's just that it can be difficult to get a group of people around who are willing to spend six to eight hours on the one game... Thankfully, if you've got that society building itch and you want to scratch it in a much shorter time, there's always the rather excellent 7 Wonders.
With this award-winning game, you get the whole experience of building your own wonder of the world (and a couple of slightly odd other things) in less than half an hour. No matter whether you've got three or seven people involved,it's a quick playing affair with enough depth to satisfy even the most demanding of gamers.
Split over the course of three rounds, you and your fellow players will begin with a board showing your ancient Wonder, a little bit of cash to spend and a fistful of cards. Each turn you'll choose a card from your hand to play in front of you, then pass the rest of them to the player sat next to you. Rounds end when you're down to your final two cards -you choose one to play then discard the other – then there's a little administration, but more on that shortly. First up, let's talk cards.
There are a lot of different card types, all of which offer something a bit different in the development of your part of the world. First of all, you're going to need resources – there are seven different types split between natural (brown cards) and manufactured (the grey ones). Building up a decent stockpile of these will mean that you'll become self-sufficient and be able to play other cards, but it's not entirely necessary – you can always go to your neighbours and pay them in order to use their supplies.
Either way, you'll probably be looking to get a few yellow cards on the table. These allow you to bend the rules in your favour, getting a bit of extra cash or making things a bit cheaper when you go looking for assistance. Combine these with a few resource types and you'll be well on your way to creating your own little bit of history.
Of course, the whole game boils down to who's going to get the most points – that's where the blue cards come into play. These add a touch of class to your city as well as a healthy boost to your score, especially if you manage to get some of the higher value ones into your tableau. Green cards represent sciences and can also be a massive game changer come the end of play, as not only do you get points for each set of different symbols you've managed to collect, you're also going to get a bonus for the amount of cards of each type.
Now, remember the administration I mentioned? It's a little more than just cleaning up a few cards – you're actually going to go to war against your neighbours. Yes, as well as handing over your cash to them to use the resources they have at their disposal, you're also going to try and beat them down. Playing red cards increases your military strength and at the end of the three rounds you'll face off against the player to your left and right. Whoever has the highest of the two will receive bonuses, with the defeated player taking a token that means they lose a point.
As the game progresses through its three rounds, you'll also notice that the cards get more powerful as well as increasingly expensive. The third round also brings a whole new card type into play, the purple coloured Guilds.Only a few will ever be available in a game, and getting them in front of you can be a massive boon as they can potentially bestow huge bonuses. The only problem is making sure that they're worth actually bring out as – like you'd expect – they're expensive.
Finally, throughout the game you'll also be looking to build the stages of your Wonder. Each stage will again contribute towards your final score or present a way that'll make your life that little bit easier. Rather than playing a card face up during a turn, you'll need to place it face down beneath the stage you're looking to build – sure, it means that you're not adding to your civilisation, but there's a reason the game is called 7 Wonders. They're worth investing the cards as, again, you'll end up with a decent points boost when things wrap up.
Of course, none of these strategies are necessary. It's perfectly possible to win the game by focusing specifically on one or two (and in fact you'll invariably end up losing if you spread yourself too thin). 7 Wonders hits that sweet spot of combining simple rules with a wide range of paths to victory, meaning that you've always got options open to you.Your best bet is to start focusing after a couple of turns, looking at what other players aren't doing and react accordingly.
So, the game itself is pretty damn good. It's also well produced – the cards are good and thick, though I'd suggest sleeving them the moment you crack open the box as they can start wearing down pretty quickly. That's to be expected in a game where the components are constantly being handled though, so it's no reflection on how it's been made. All the cardboard bits are nice and thick and will stand up to plenty of use (though if you somehow manage to hunt down a copy of the first edition, you'll be delighted to note that all the coins are wooden).
You can expect your early plays will prove somewhat daunting, but seriously – stick with it. With so many different routes to victory and everything being represented by symbols it can be a bit confusing at first, but once you get over those initial hurdles you'll realise this is a game that offers an incredibly deep gameplay experience. Avoid the two-player version of the rules – they're a bid duff – and sit down with a good sized group and a copy of this. See for yourself why it's so damn good!
With this award-winning game, you get the whole experience of building your own wonder of the world (and a couple of slightly odd other things) in less than half an hour. No matter whether you've got three or seven people involved,it's a quick playing affair with enough depth to satisfy even the most demanding of gamers.
Split over the course of three rounds, you and your fellow players will begin with a board showing your ancient Wonder, a little bit of cash to spend and a fistful of cards. Each turn you'll choose a card from your hand to play in front of you, then pass the rest of them to the player sat next to you. Rounds end when you're down to your final two cards -you choose one to play then discard the other – then there's a little administration, but more on that shortly. First up, let's talk cards.
There are a lot of different card types, all of which offer something a bit different in the development of your part of the world. First of all, you're going to need resources – there are seven different types split between natural (brown cards) and manufactured (the grey ones). Building up a decent stockpile of these will mean that you'll become self-sufficient and be able to play other cards, but it's not entirely necessary – you can always go to your neighbours and pay them in order to use their supplies.
Either way, you'll probably be looking to get a few yellow cards on the table. These allow you to bend the rules in your favour, getting a bit of extra cash or making things a bit cheaper when you go looking for assistance. Combine these with a few resource types and you'll be well on your way to creating your own little bit of history.
Of course, the whole game boils down to who's going to get the most points – that's where the blue cards come into play. These add a touch of class to your city as well as a healthy boost to your score, especially if you manage to get some of the higher value ones into your tableau. Green cards represent sciences and can also be a massive game changer come the end of play, as not only do you get points for each set of different symbols you've managed to collect, you're also going to get a bonus for the amount of cards of each type.
Now, remember the administration I mentioned? It's a little more than just cleaning up a few cards – you're actually going to go to war against your neighbours. Yes, as well as handing over your cash to them to use the resources they have at their disposal, you're also going to try and beat them down. Playing red cards increases your military strength and at the end of the three rounds you'll face off against the player to your left and right. Whoever has the highest of the two will receive bonuses, with the defeated player taking a token that means they lose a point.
As the game progresses through its three rounds, you'll also notice that the cards get more powerful as well as increasingly expensive. The third round also brings a whole new card type into play, the purple coloured Guilds.Only a few will ever be available in a game, and getting them in front of you can be a massive boon as they can potentially bestow huge bonuses. The only problem is making sure that they're worth actually bring out as – like you'd expect – they're expensive.
Finally, throughout the game you'll also be looking to build the stages of your Wonder. Each stage will again contribute towards your final score or present a way that'll make your life that little bit easier. Rather than playing a card face up during a turn, you'll need to place it face down beneath the stage you're looking to build – sure, it means that you're not adding to your civilisation, but there's a reason the game is called 7 Wonders. They're worth investing the cards as, again, you'll end up with a decent points boost when things wrap up.
Of course, none of these strategies are necessary. It's perfectly possible to win the game by focusing specifically on one or two (and in fact you'll invariably end up losing if you spread yourself too thin). 7 Wonders hits that sweet spot of combining simple rules with a wide range of paths to victory, meaning that you've always got options open to you.Your best bet is to start focusing after a couple of turns, looking at what other players aren't doing and react accordingly.
So, the game itself is pretty damn good. It's also well produced – the cards are good and thick, though I'd suggest sleeving them the moment you crack open the box as they can start wearing down pretty quickly. That's to be expected in a game where the components are constantly being handled though, so it's no reflection on how it's been made. All the cardboard bits are nice and thick and will stand up to plenty of use (though if you somehow manage to hunt down a copy of the first edition, you'll be delighted to note that all the coins are wooden).
You can expect your early plays will prove somewhat daunting, but seriously – stick with it. With so many different routes to victory and everything being represented by symbols it can be a bit confusing at first, but once you get over those initial hurdles you'll realise this is a game that offers an incredibly deep gameplay experience. Avoid the two-player version of the rules – they're a bid duff – and sit down with a good sized group and a copy of this. See for yourself why it's so damn good!
