This week, I want to give a shout out to one of the best board games of the past decade: "7 Wonders":
7 Wonders is a strategy, building and resource management card drafting game wherein players assume control of one of seven ancient cities, each representing one of Antipater of Sidon's original Seven Wonders of the Ancient World: the Great Pyramid of Giza, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the Mausoleum of Helicarnassus, the Colossus of Rhodes, the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, the Lighthouse of Alexandria, and the Statue of Zeus at Olympia.
There are three decks of playing cards (called a "Age cards"), that are unsurprisingly only played in one particular Age of the game. The Age cards represent different types of structures that the player can build to provide a resource and/or a mechanical benefit. In addition, some structures are tiered to unlock further structures and/or mechanical benefits.
Furthermore, the each city has a different game board (called a "Wonder board") with different powers and resources that can affect a player's strategy. Games are for 2-7 players and the player with the highest total of victory points at the end wins.
Winner of the prestigious 2011 Spiel des Jahres Kennerspiel, as well as numerous other awards, 7 Wonders is well designed, fast paced (turns are resolved simultaneously and the game can be finished in less than an hour) and deceptively challenging: While the mechanics are simple (pick a card each turn), the strategy and scoring are not.
At the beginning of each Age, each player receives a hand of 7 cards, dealt randomly, from the corresponding Age deck. After picking a card, the players passes their remaining hand of cards to the player sitting to the left (or right depending on the Age) and receive the remaining hand of cards from the player sitting next to them. This means players know what cards they are passing on and can influence the receiver's options in the next turn. However, since players will be passing cards to the left twice and to the right once, they have more influence on the left neighbor than the right neighbor.
There are three decks of playing cards (called a "Age cards"), that are unsurprisingly only played in one particular Age of the game. The Age cards represent different types of structures that the player can build to provide a resource and/or a mechanical benefit. In addition, some structures are tiered to unlock further structures and/or mechanical benefits.
Winner of the prestigious 2011 Spiel des Jahres Kennerspiel, as well as numerous other awards, 7 Wonders is well designed, fast paced (turns are resolved simultaneously and the game can be finished in less than an hour) and deceptively challenging: While the mechanics are simple (pick a card each turn), the strategy and scoring are not.
At the beginning of each Age, each player receives a hand of 7 cards, dealt randomly, from the corresponding Age deck. After picking a card, the players passes their remaining hand of cards to the player sitting to the left (or right depending on the Age) and receive the remaining hand of cards from the player sitting next to them. This means players know what cards they are passing on and can influence the receiver's options in the next turn. However, since players will be passing cards to the left twice and to the right once, they have more influence on the left neighbor than the right neighbor.
There multiple potential paths to winning, although some may be more efficient than others for a given civilization. Players must decide which strategies and resources to focus on and which to ignore. However, it's not always clear at the time what is the optimal choice or the what is value of a particular choice!
So, if you are looking for a fast, fun, challenging and replayable strategy board game (especially if you are a history buff), this may be the game for you!
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