How to Play 7 Wonders

Easy explanation and reference how to play 7 Wonders Rules Guide. Get your game started quickly. This section focuses on 7 Wonders gameplay. Click here for details on how to setup the game.


Players: 2 to 7 | Game duration from: 30 mins | Game Complexity: EASY How to play 7 wonders rules in simple steps 7 wonders rules pdf / rulebook

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7 Wonders Game Setup

Find out how to play 7 wonders with our simple explanations. In this section, we look at game setup.

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7 wonders strategy tips to help you gain an advantage over your opponents and win. At Daroolz, we help you learn how to play and do well in board games.

7 Wonders

Get your game started quickly with this easy read how to play 7 wonders rules guide.

7 Wonders Rules FAQs

What is the goal of 7 wonders?

7 Wonders is a 2-7 player game where players lead one of the 7 great cities of the Ancient World. Cards are drafted over multiple rounds to build cities, develop commercial routes, grow militaries and erect architectural wonders. Players score points based on their cards and their military battles.

Is 7 Wonders easy to learn?

7 Wonder is pretty easy to learn. It has a straight forward gameplay where each turn involves choosing a card, taking an action and moving on to next hand. A game takes about 30 minutes. While it is easy, the game offers very deep strategic play.


7 Wonders takes place over 3 Ages.
Each Age uses one of the 3 card decks.
Ages are played similarly, with each player playing cards to develop their city and build their Wonder. At the end of each Age, players compare their military strength with their two neighboring cities (players to their right and left).
At the end of the third Age, player with the most victory points wins the game.


Construction in 7 Wonders

Players build structures (cards) and Wonders (board) in all 3 Ages of the game.
Structures may come free (some with conditions) or have a resource or coin cost.
Wonders all have a resource cost.

Coin Cost
Some brown cards cost a coin, which is paid on the turn of construction.

Free Construction
Some cards have no cost and can be put into play for free.

Resource Cost
Some cards have a resource cost and require player to produce the corresponding resources AND/OR buy them from one of his or her two neighboring cities.

Production
Wonder board and its brown cards, its gray cards, and some yellow cards produces city resources. To build a structure, a player’s city must produce the resources indicated
on its card.

7 Wonders 1

Commerce

Purchasing required resources through commerce
When wanting to build a structure requiring resources you don’t have, you can purchase the resources from your neighboring city (your left or right player) if they produce it.
The resources a player can buy from their neighboring cities are those:

  • initially produced by the city (as indicated on the board)
  • from its brown cards (raw materials)
  • from its gray cards (manufactured goods)

Some resources cannot be purchased
You cannot buy resources produced by some commercial structures (yellow cards) or by some Wonders : these resources are reserved to their owner.

You give 2 coins to the resource owner to purchase their resource.

Clarifications

  • selling a resource to a neighboring city DOES NOT prevent you from using it, during the same turn, for your own construction purposes.
  • it is possible buy one or more resources from both neighboring cities
  • resources bought can only be used on the turn in which they are bought
  • players can never refuse to sell resources.
  • some commercial structures (yellow cards) reduce the monetary costs of buying resources from 2 to 1 coin
  • if both neighbouring cities produce a coveted resource, you can from either player
  • to buy resources, you must have the coins at the beginning of the turn. The coins earned through commerce during a turn cannot be used on that turn, only during the next one

Free Construction (Chains)

Some Age II and Age III structures have the name of a previous age structure on the right of their resource cost. You can build the structure for free if you have built the stated previous Age structure

7 Wonders 2

Step by Step How to play 7 Wonders

Learn How to Play 7 Wonders Step by Step. There are 3 Ages. At the start of an Age, each player receives a hand of 7 cards, dealt randomly, from the Age’s deck. Each age comprises 6 game turns. During each turn, players put into play a single card, simultaneously. A game turn involves
1. Choose a card
2. Action
3. Move on to next hand

richardlow 30 minutes

1. Choose a Card

Each player looks at their hand while keeping it hidden from others and selects a card before placing it face down before them. Any remaining cards are placed between their left-hand neighbour and themselves.

Action

Once every player has selected their card, they perform the following possible actions simultaneously with the chosen card:
A. Build the structure
B. Build a stage of Wonder
C. Discard the card to gain coins

2a. Action: Building the structure

Card Placement when building structures in 7 wonders

You build the structure represented by the selected card.
Brown and Gray cards are placed beneath one another, starting from the upper left corner of the Wonders board.
Other cards are placed face up, in the area in front of your Wonder board.

2b. Action: Building a stage of wonder

7 wonders - build of stage of wonder

Pay price shown on Wonder board. Use your card of choice as a construction marker by playing the card, face down, half hidden under the Wonder
board to show that this stage of your Wonder is now built. The card has no effects, and is not considered to be a structure.

Clarification :
Stages of a Wonder MUST be built in order, from left to right.
Wonder construction is not mandatory.
The card used to mark the construction of a Wonder stage remains hidden.
Most Wonders have 3 stages but these are not associated with Ages.
It is possible to build multiple Wonder stages in a single Age or to begin construction during age III.
Each stage can only built once per game.

2c. Action: Discard the card to gain coins

You can choose to discard your card to take 3 coins from the bank.
Discarded card remains face down on discard pile in the centre.
If your chosen card does not allow you to build either the structure or wonder stage, discard the card and take 3 coins from the bank. 

3. Move on to Next Hand

Take the hand of cards handed from your neighbour. This direction of the hands rotation changes with each Age.
During Age I, cards are passed to the player to the left.
During Age II, cards are passed to the player to the right.
During Age III, cares are passed to the player to the left .
Special Case: Sixth Turn
At the beginning of the final turn (6th) of each age, you receive a two-card hand from your neighbouring player. Choose one (like in previous turns) and the second is then discarded, face down. The selected card is then played normally, then the Age ends.
Clarification : the unselected and discarded card is discarded without the
players getting 3 coins for it.

End of an Age

7 wonders End of Age example

Players proceed to resolution of military conflicts at the end of each Age (6th turn).
You compare the total shields on your military structures (red cards) with the total of each of the two neighbouring cities: If your total is higher than a neighbouring city, take a Victory token corresponding to the Age just played
– Age I: +1
– Age II: +3
– Age III: +5
If you have a lower total, take a Defeat token (-1 Victory Point)
No token is taken if the shield total is equal to your neighbouring city.

End of Game and Winning

The game ends at the end of the third age, after the Conflict tokens have been handed out. Each player counts their victory points and the player with the highest total is declared the winner.
In the case of a tie, the player with the most coins in their treasure is the winner.
A tie on coins is not broken further.


Counting Victory Points

Count points in this order.

1. Military Conflicts

Each player adds their Victory & Defeat tokens (this total can be negative).

2. Treasury Contents

For every 3 coins in their possession at the end of the game, players score 1 victory point. Any leftover coins score no points.

3. Wonders

Each player then adds to their score the victory points of their wonder.

4. Civilian Structures

Each player adds the victory points of their Civilian structures and this amount is indicated on each Civilian structure.

5. Scientific Structures

The scientific cards earn victory points in two very different ways:
– from sets of identical symbols
– from sets of 3 different symbols

Be careful: the victory points earned by both methods are cumulative.

Sets of identical symbols

For each of the 3 existing scientific symbols, the player wins the following points:

  • Only 1 symbol: 1 victory point
  • 2 identical symbols: 4 victory points
  • 3 identical symbols: 9 victory points
  • 4 identical symbols: 16 victory points

Note:- the number of points gained is equal to the number of symbols squared- there are 4 green cards fo=r each symbol, for a maximum of 16 victory points per family of symbols- this maximum can increase with the Scientific Guild and Wonder of Babylon: 5 identical symbols = 25 victory points & 6 identical symbols = 36 victory points. 

Sets of 3 different symbols

For each of the 3 different symbols, each player scores 7 victory points.

6. Commercial Structures

Some commercial structures from Age III grant victory points.

7. Guilds

Each guild is worth a number of victory points. This depends on the configuration of the player’s city and/or that of the two neighbouring cities.



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