What Is 7 Wonders?

7 Wonders is a card-drafting civilization game where each player develops one of seven ancient cities over three ages. Every round, you pick one card from a hand of cards, play it (or use it to build a wonder stage), then pass the remaining hand to your neighbor. Cards provide resources, military strength, scientific symbols, and victory points. After three ages of drafting, you tally scores from seven categories and the highest total wins.

The game seats 3 to 7 players, plays in about 30 to 45 minutes regardless of player count (since turns are simultaneous), and scales cleanly. It is an excellent gateway to modern drafting games.

How to Play 7 Wonders

Components

• 7 Wonder boards (double-sided: A side for beginners, B side for variety).

• Age I, Age II, Age III card decks (card count varies by player count).

• Conflict tokens (+1, +3, +5 and -1).

• Coins (value 1 and value 3).

Setup

1. Each player takes a Wonder board (randomly or by choice). Beginners should use the A side.

2. Each player receives 3 coins from the bank.

3. Separate the Age cards into three decks. For each Age, include only the cards marked for the current player count (e.g., for 4 players, include cards labeled 3+, 4+). Shuffle each deck.

4. Sort conflict tokens by value and place them within reach.

Game Structure

The game is played over 3 Ages (I, II, III). Each Age follows the same steps:

Card Draft (6 rounds per Age)

1. Deal each player 7 cards from the current Age deck.

2. Simultaneously, every player selects 1 card to play and places it face-down.

3. All players reveal and resolve their chosen cards at the same time.

4. Pass the remaining hand to your neighbor (left in Ages I and III, right in Age II).

5. Repeat until 6 cards have been played. The last (7th) card is discarded.

Playing a Card

When you play a card, you have three options:

A) Build the structure: Pay its resource cost (using your own production, buying resources from neighbors for 2 coins each, or using commerce discounts). Place the card face-up in your play area.

B) Build a wonder stage: Place the card face-down under the next unbuilt stage of your Wonder. Pay the wonder stage's resource cost (not the card's). Gain the wonder stage's reward.

C) Discard for coins: Place the card in the discard pile and take 3 coins from the bank.

Card Types

• Brown / Gray (Raw & Manufactured Resources): produce resources every turn.

• Red (Military): provide military shields for conflict resolution.

• Blue (Civic): award victory points directly.

• Green (Science): show one of three scientific symbols; score via sets and groups.

• Yellow (Commercial): provide coins, trade discounts, or resource production.

• Purple (Guilds, Age III only): award victory points based on conditions involving neighbors.

Military Conflict (end of each Age)

After all cards in an Age are played, each player compares military shields with each immediate neighbor (left and right):

• More shields: gain a Victory token (+1 in Age I, +3 in Age II, +5 in Age III).

• Fewer shields: take a -1 Defeat token.

• Tied: nothing happens.

End of Game

After Age III military conflicts are resolved, tally final scores.

Winning and Ties

• Winner: highest total victory points.

• Tiebreaker: most coins remaining. If still tied, players share the victory.

Scoring & Ranking

Victory Point Categories

Final score is the sum of 7 categories:

1. Military Conflict: sum of your Victory tokens minus Defeat tokens.

2. Coins: 1 victory point per 3 coins remaining (rounded down).

3. Wonder Stages: victory points printed on each completed wonder stage.

4. Civic Structures (Blue): face-value victory points on each blue card.

5. Commercial Structures (Yellow): some yellow cards grant end-game victory points.

6. Guilds (Purple): victory points based on conditions (e.g., count of brown cards you and your neighbors have).

7. Science: points from sets of scientific symbols. Each identical set of 3 different symbols scores 7 points. Each group of identical symbols scores the square of its count (e.g., 3 of the same = 9 points). These stack.

Recording a Match

Minimum record

• Final total score for each player (integer).

Recommended record

• Final total score per player.

• Score breakdown per category (military, coins, wonder, civic, commercial, guilds, science).

• Wonder board used by each player.

Tiebreaking

If tied on total victory points, the player with more coins remaining wins. If still tied, players share the win.

How to Log a 7 Wonders Match

1. Select the Standard variant.

2. Add all players (3 to 7).

3. Enter each player's final total score (integer).

4. The system will rank by highest score.

Optional fields worth recording:

• Score breakdown by category (military, coins, wonder, civic, commercial, guilds, science).

• Which Wonder board each player used (e.g., Giza A, Babylon B).