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Blog post by John Barker
Wondering what board game John will be talking about this week? Tired of hearing about small box games and looking to get stuck into something a bit more colossal? An ancient classic from 2010 with a fresh new face, it’s 7 Wonders 2nd Edition by Antoine Bauza!
7 Wonders is a competitive card game for 3-7 players themed around the idea of building up an empire through 3 different ages of civilization, each centred around a different wonder of the world. The idea is that each age you will place down various buildings, either to score points in a variety of different ways, or to help you be able to score larger amounts of points in a later age.
The primary mechanic of the game is card drafting, which essentially means you will pick the most useful card (each representing a building of one function or another) from your hand to keep, then each player passes their remaining cards around before picking their next card, and so and so forth until all the cards have been picked. This works fantastically on many levels, particularly as it ensures not only that the game does not come down to simply having a lucky hand, but also that you’re likely to be able to pursue whichever strategy you like, whilst others will have the chance to try and block you.
Another interesting mechanic is that while your choices will have the potential to affect everyone at the table, you will be far more directly affected by your neighbours (the players sitting either side of you) as certain elements of the game such as the ability to trade for resources, will be limited to these players.
When you first open up the box and dip into the rulebook you may find all the different symbols a bit daunting, but bear with it, once you get going you will find it’s all actually fairly self-explanatory and easy enough to get to grips with. In-fact once you’ve got the hang of it, a game can easily be played in around 30 minutes no matter how many players you have, since you all take turns at the same time!
Given that the new 2nd edition of the game has just been released, there’s never been a better time to grab a copy of this fantastically fun and versatile game, so why not pop down to Toyville and pick up a copy, usually retailing for £39.99 but currently on special offer for the next week at £35.99.
