7 Wonders

I got 7 Wonders as a gift, opened the box, saw the little wonder boards and the card backs sorted by age, and thought, ok, this is going to be pretty on the table at least. It mostly delivers on that promise. Seven players, or three, or two, all playing at once, passing hands around, nobody waiting except the one moment at the end of an age where everybody reveals combat at the same time and somebody groans.

The two player variant is the part that actually surprised me. You’re not really playing against one opponent, there’s a phantom third hand that gets played out by whoever isn’t using it that round, which is a weirder solution than I expected from a game this streamlined, and it mostly works, though it took me two full plays before I understood why the “extra” cards mattered at all.

Here’s my honest problem with it though. I keep building toward the science strategy because the icon combos look so good on paper, and I basically never pull it off, and I’ve started to notice I’m not alone in that, most people I’ve played with also just don’t take it, which makes me wonder if it’s a trap dressed up as a strategy. The coin/military/civic path is just more forgiving and I default to it more than I’d like to admit.

Meeple-wise there aren’t any, it’s all cardboard coins and wonder boards, and the coins have a decent weight to them, satisfying little clack when you’re counting out payment to a neighbor, small thing but I notice it every time. Packs down flat too, box fits fine in a backpack for a game night that might turn into a different game night.

Three stars feels a little low for something this well made, but I’ve owned it four years now and the shine has worn thin. It’s a great teach, a genuinely fun first two plays, and then it starts to feel like the same optimization puzzle with new art on it.