When first considering a plan of attack, it is important to remember that your main goal is to collect the most victory points at the end. If you want to try for this plan, remember to build up the grey manufactured goods during the first Age because all the Age I science cards will require one of the three manufactured goods and will all allow you to build more science buildings for free in Ages II and III. A book could be written about the subject, but for now, I would like to focus on the more straightforward options. While I can play 7 Wonders without feeling like I need to add Leaders and Babel, Cities is one of those “must-have” expansions that makes it hard to go back to the back to the original. While you can lose up to 6 points during the conflict stages, you can lose a lot more than that by ignoring other cards along the way. New Armada and Island cards enrich the game and increase the interaction between players. One of the best parts about this game is that there are many different ways to accomplish this goal. It may be worth memorizing or peeking at the rule book during Ages I and II to remember what resources will be require to build the guilds you hope to draft. Each Leader will be more or less useful depending on which round you choose to play it and since you can't play all of them at the beginning or all at the end, it can be beneficial to plan which round you will play each one as you are drafting them. Even though you start with six gold at the beginning of the game when using the Leaders, be careful not to use too much of your gold on your first leader forcing you to discard cards for gold later in the game. It gives you three gold and one victory point for each Wonder you have. One last thing to note about Science buildings is that there are multiple copies of each one in each Age if you are playing with 7 players and it is very easy to accidentally play the same one twice which is not allowed. Cities also has a few cards that just feel a little too powerful, which might turn people off. This can be a very good card to draft if you are playing the B side of The Pyramids of Giza that have 4 possible wonders. Through extensive research, we bring everything you need to know about board games. They could be used as a solid primary goal but it would be very useful to have a secondary scheme. Yes, we have a clear favorite, but that doesn’t mean that the others aren’t worth buying. First of all, there’s definitely a disparity in the quality of leader cards. This can be a very powerful combination. However, the resources required are all raw goods which can be difficult to fulfill if you are drafting a lot of manufactured goods to be able to play your Science cards. All rights reserved. Babel is certainly the most ambitious of the three major 7 Wonders expansions, and that is both its greatest strength and weakness. 7 Wonders: Armada is an expansion for 7 Wonders that can be combined with the base game or any combination of expansions. amzn_assoc_default_search_phrase = "7 wonders wonder pack"; Most of the Wonders will reward you with about 10 points on the A side and between 3 and 20 points on the B side plus other bonuses. In 7 wonders, there are several ways to accumulate victory points and even some ways to lose them. Cities, on the other hand, still feels like 7 Wonders, albeit a slightly more complex version of it. amzn_assoc_region = "US"; If you are close, but ahead, they will be incentivize to spend precious draws to outrace you instead of building up a different part of their civilization. You’re not only just concerned about your little area, your actions can now directly affect everyone on the table. (and I will need to look into that Cities Expansion…) Wow incredible review. After many years, 7 Wonders has earned the coveted distinction of being a definitive gateway game. They should not be relied on for many points, but can often help you achieve your primary plan. So now I want to play it again!! 7 Wonders Armada is an expansion for 7 Wonders. It adds a nice layer of depth to the game while still being simple and unintrusive. 7 Wonders: Armada is an expansion for 7 Wonders that can be combined with the base game or any combination of expansions. Leaders and Babel are great, but they alter the overall “tone” of the game — Leaders makes it more strategic, and Babel makes it more aggressive and interactive. Having one of each resource can gain you a fair amount of gold during the game as well allowing you access to many other types of buildings. the Variety of card types, and the idea of Ages is very confusing. . If you like the content of a board game on this site, please consider to buy the game. One great thing about the base game is that you can quickly just shuffle each deck and have another go right after you’ve completed the three ages. It would a waste of a turn if you draft the Bazar, which allows you to take one gold from the bank for each manufactured resource you and your neighbors have, if none of you had any of these grey cards. However, there are some nitpicks. The side B variants are often more complicated but also more rewarding. If you are close, but ahead, they will be incentivize to spend precious dra… amzn_assoc_search_bar = "true"; One Commerical building to watch for is the Arena. The Military tree can work very well with the Science tree, allowing you to build some of the Age II and III buildings for free. We hope to update this list with its inclusion when it comes out, so check back and see our verdict! Some of them just feel better than others, and since the first round is a draft that goes around your circle only once, sometimes certain players are able to draft a pull a hand of great leaders that synergize well with each other, while others might be left with relatively useless hodgepodge leaders that are better used as discard fodder or wonder cards. Only registered users can write reviews. While it seems unusual to end the game with more than 15 gold, it can still supplement your final victory points and should be worth remembering that every 3 gold you spend is a victory point you could have at the end of the game. That’s not to say it’s bad — on the contrary, it can be a fantastic addition to your game if you’re a fan of its mechanics. Make sure to pay attention to the building chain to access some of these buildings for free during Ages II and III. You broke it down in a way that reads easy, and covers everything – perfectly answering my mental questions! This 7 Wonders expansion allows you to build fleets of Ships to conquer the seas. Overall, it’s a pack that’s worth your money, but it’s at the bottom of our list on the virtue of being an extra accessory more than an actual expansion. Advancing on the green track allows you to discover islands, and to do this, you draw the island deck of whatever level you reached, then choose one of the islands in that deck and put it into play. In the base game, interaction is limited to purchasing resources from your neighbors and comparing military totals. While we have ranked each expansion from best to worst on this list, we want to go ahead and say that each and every 7 Wonders expansion is a quality product that enhances the game well in its own right. The square board is the tower of Babel, and the large cards are the great projects. 7 Wonders, the most awarded game in the world! But once everyone gets the hang of it, it really is a wonderful game. With close to 2 million copies sold across the world and more than 30 international awards, 7 Wonders is a must-have in modern board gaming. While planning ahead can be difficult, it is possible with a fair amount of tech tree knowledgeand a keen eye on your opponents to form a simple yet effective strategy. Therefore, until you have a strong handle or a very specific use for the situational cards, I feel it is better to start out by drafting two or three of the leaders that gain you points in a controlable way. So, don't waste too many actions preparing for a card that may not even be an option. You must pay attention to your opponents and try to find your own niche while destroying theirs. Even so, Armada is definitely its own beast. The blue cards are pretty straight forward and vary between 2 and 8 points with no other bonuses.Keep an eye out for the Courthouse and the Senate which can be built for free using the Science buildings. While this is still a simple concept, it can be difficult to plan around and calculate the usefulness of the card. amzn_assoc_default_category = "All"; The simplest answer is that you must know when a good opportunity presents itself. In a nutshell, tactics involve making decisions on the fly — essentially being able to choose the most beneficial action based on what is given to you in the very moment. Leaders is interesting because it adds a layer of strategy on top of the tactics. And, of course, this is more of a subjective thing than a straight critique, but if the tactical, on-the-fly nature of 7 Wonders appeals to you, you might not like the fact that this expansion allows players to plan ahead. With this expansion, each player gets a separate "naval" board at the start of the game in addition to their wonder board. 7 Wonders: Cities is the second expansion released for 7 Wonders, and it sits at the top of our list as being the best of them. This can be a very profitable strategy with a total of 76 points possible in a 7 player game. It’s a bummer having the most military shields, only for your opponent to play a third age card that has a whopping five shields on it, tipping the scales in their favor. For example, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon will let you choose one of any Science symbol to add to the cards that you drafted at the end of the game if you build the second Wonder. These games deserve it. If one of your opponents has an ability that allows them to build cards from the discard pile, be careful which card is used to build your wonder and which card is discarded. © MMXV The Games Capital. 7 Wonders fits this criteria, being an immensely satisfying exercise in tactics and strategy, while being simple enough to appeal to casual audiences. amzn_assoc_placement = "adunit0"; Pay careful attention to the cards that depend on your neighbor for either resource trading or income. As an example, you may pick a leader that gives you bonuses for building up your science cards making them suddenly more worthwhile than your civilian structures. The total amount of points, if you drafted every one, is 48 points in a 7 player game, but require a lot of varied resources.