7 Wonders

Overview

Players lead one of the seven greatest cities of the ancient world, developing it over three Ages by simultaneously drafting cards to construct buildings, erect stages of their Wonder, or sell cards for coins. Each Age, 7 cards are dealt to each player; players choose 1 card per turn, then pass the remaining hand to a neighbor (left in Ages I and III, right in Age II). At the end of each Age, players compare military strength with their immediate neighbors. After three Ages, victory points are tallied from military conflicts, coins, blue cards, green cards (science), yellow cards, purple cards (guilds), and Wonder stages. The player with the most victory points wins.

Components

• 7 Wonder boards (each double-sided: Day side and Night side, showing 2-4 construction stages)
• 148 Age cards:
  • 49 Age I cards
  • 49 Age II cards
  • 50 Age III cards
• 78 Coins: 54 coins worth 1, 24 coins worth 3
• 48 Military Conflict tokens:
  • 24 Defeat tokens (-1 each)
  • 24 Victory tokens: 8 per Age (+1 for Age I, +3 for Age II, +5 for Age III)
• 1 score pad
• 3 Description of Effects sheets
• 1 List of cards and chains sheet
• 1 rulebook

Card Types

Color	Name	Function
Brown	Basic Materials	Produce common resources: Clay, Stone, Ore, Wood
Grey	Manufactured Products	Produce rare resources: Glass, Cloth, Papyrus
Blue	Civil Buildings	Provide victory points directly
Yellow	Commercial Buildings	Provide commercial advantages (cheaper trading, coins, resources, or VP)
Red	Military Buildings	Increase military strength (shield symbols)
Green	Science Buildings	Provide science symbols in three domains (Tablet, Compass, Gear)
Purple	Guilds (Age III only)	Provide victory points based on specific conditions

Wonder Board Anatomy

Each Wonder board shows:

• Name of the Wonder
• Day or Night side indicator
• Starting resource (produced for free every turn)
• Construction stages (2, 3, or 4 stages depending on the board/side), each with a cost and an effect

Card Anatomy

Each card shows:

• Cost zone (upper left) — resources, coins, or blank (free)
• Effect (center)
• Building name (bottom)
• Minimum players required (bottom right number, e.g., 3+, 4+, 5+, 6+, 7+)
• Chain symbols (optional, upper right) — one or two symbols enabling free construction of later cards
• Colorblind-friendly symbol (identifies card type)
• Back: Age number and passing direction arrow

Setup

1. Wonder boards: Each player randomly takes 1 Wonder board and chooses their preferred side (Day or Night). For first games, use the Day side.
2. Starting treasure: Each player takes 3 coins (value 1 each) and places them on their Wonder board.
3. Reserves: Place remaining coins and all Military Conflict tokens in the center of the table.
4. Prepare Age cards:
   • Separate cards into three decks by Age (I, II, III).
   • For each Age, remove cards whose minimum player number exceeds the current player count. (Example: in a 5-player game, keep all cards marked 3+, 4+, and 5+; remove 6+ and 7+ cards.)
   • Age III Guilds (Purple cards): Remove all Purple cards from the Age III deck. Randomly draw (number of players + 2) Purple cards and shuffle them into the Age III deck. Return the rest to the box. (Example: 5 players = 7 Purple cards.)
   • Shuffle each deck and place face down in the center.

Turn Structure

Each Age consists of 6 turns played simultaneously by all players. Each turn has three phases:

1. Choose a Card

Look at your hand of cards (without showing them to others). Choose 1 card and place it face down in front of you. Set the remaining cards aside face down.

2. Play the Card

When all players have chosen, reveal simultaneously. Each player performs exactly one of three actions with their chosen card:

• A. Construct the Building — Pay the card’s cost and place it face up above your Wonder board. It remains in your City for the rest of the game.
• B. Construct a Wonder Stage — Pay the cost shown on your Wonder board for the next uncompleted stage. Tuck the card face down under your board beneath that stage. The card’s printed effect is irrelevant; only the Wonder stage’s effect activates.
• C. Sell the Card — Discard the card face down to the discard pile and take 3 coins from the reserve.

Important: You can never construct two Buildings with the same name (no duplicate cards in your City).

Card placement: Stack cards of the same color, keeping effects visible. Stack resource cards above your starting resource.

3. Pass Your Hand

After all players complete their action, pass your remaining cards to:

• Ages I and III: Neighbor on your left
• Age II: Neighbor on your right

The direction is shown on the back of the Age cards.

Sixth (Last) Turn

On the last turn, you receive a hand of only 2 cards. Choose 1 to play; discard the other face down (no coins gained from this discard). Play the chosen card normally, then proceed to Military Conflict resolution.

Resolution of Military Conflicts (End of Each Age)

After the 6th turn of each Age:

1. Each player totals their military strength (shield symbols on constructed Red cards and Wonder stages).
2. Compare your strength with each neighbor (left and right) separately:

Comparison	Result
Your strength > neighbor’s	Take a Victory token for the current Age
Your strength < neighbor’s	Take a Defeat token (-1)
Your strength = neighbor’s	Neither player takes a token

Victory token values by Age:

Age	Victory Token Value
Age I	+1
Age II	+3
Age III	+5

Each player can gain 0, 1, or 2 Victory tokens and 0, 1, or 2 Defeat tokens per Age (one comparison per neighbor). After resolution, proceed to the next Age (or end of game after Age III).

Actions

A. Construct a Building

Pay the construction cost shown in the card’s cost zone and place the card face up in your City. There are four types of costs:

No Cost (Free)

If the cost zone is empty, the card is free.

Coin Cost

Some cards cost 1 coin. Pay 1 coin from your Treasure to the reserve.

Resource Cost

Cards may require one or more resources. Resources can come from:

Your own City (free to use):

• Starting resource on your Wonder board
• Brown cards (common resources)
• Grey cards (rare resources)
• Yellow cards that produce resources
• Wonder stages that produce resources

Each resource symbol can only be used once per turn, but resources are never consumed — they remain available every turn for the entire game.

Buying from neighbors (2 coins per resource):

• You may buy resources from your immediate neighbors (left and right only).
• Pay 2 coins per resource to the owner of the resource.
• You can only buy resources from their: starting Wonder resource, Brown cards, and Grey cards.
• You cannot buy resources produced by Yellow cards or Wonder stages.
• The neighbor keeps their card and can still use the bought resource themselves.
• Each resource symbol can only be bought once per turn by the same player.
• Bought resources must be used the same turn.
• If a neighbor’s card produces a choice of resources, you choose which to buy regardless of what they chose.
• You cannot prevent a player from buying your resources.
• Both neighbors can buy the same resource from your City.
• You must spend coins at the beginning of your turn; you cannot use coins received from other players during the same turn.
• You cannot buy resources from a Building your neighbor constructed that same turn.

Free Construction via Chains

Starting in Age II, some cards show a chain symbol in the cost zone. If you have previously constructed a card with the matching chain symbol in the upper right corner, you can construct the new card for free (ignoring its resource cost). If you lack the chain symbol, you may still construct the card by paying its normal resource cost.

Some cards grant access to two chains (two symbols in the upper right corner).

B. Construct a Wonder Stage

Pay the cost shown on your Wonder board for the next stage (not the cost on the card). Tuck any card from your hand face down under the board at that stage. The card is consumed — its printed effect and name do not matter.

Rules:

• Wonder stages must be constructed left to right (stage 1 before 2, stage 2 before 3, etc.).
• You may construct a stage in any Age (e.g., stage 1 in Age III is legal).
• Constructing Wonder stages is optional — you do not have to build any or all stages.
• Once constructed, the stage’s effect is available for the rest of the game.

C. Sell a Card

Discard your chosen card face down to the central discard pile. Take 3 coins from the reserve.

Scoring / Victory Conditions

The game ends after the Resolution of Military Conflicts at the end of Age III. Use the score pad to tally victory points in these categories:

1. Military Conflicts

Sum all your Military Conflict tokens (both Victory and Defeat). The total may be negative.

Token	Value
Defeat	-1 each
Age I Victory	+1 each
Age II Victory	+3 each
Age III Victory	+5 each

Maximum possible military score: +18 (6 Victory tokens: +1, +1, +3, +3, +5, +5) Minimum possible military score: -6 (6 Defeat tokens at -1 each)

2. Treasure (Coins)

1 victory point per 3 coins in your Treasure (rounded down, remainder is lost).

3. Wonder Board

Add victory points from constructed Wonder stages (varies by Wonder).

4. Blue Cards (Civil Buildings)

Sum the victory point values printed on all Blue cards in your City.

5. Yellow Cards (Commercial Buildings)

Some Yellow cards provide victory points based on specific conditions (see Description of Effects sheet). Add these.

6. Green Cards (Science)

Science symbols provide victory points in two ways that are added together:

A. Identical Symbols (Squared)

For each type of science symbol, score the square of the number you have:

Number of Identical Symbols	Victory Points
1	1 (1^2)
2	4 (2^2)
3	9 (3^2)
4	16 (4^2)

Formula: VP = (count of symbol A)^2 + (count of symbol B)^2 + (count of symbol C)^2

B. Sets of 3 Different Symbols

For each complete set of all 3 different science symbols, score 7 victory points.

Combined formula: VP = (Tablets)^2 + (Compasses)^2 + (Gears)^2 + (7 x number of complete sets of 3)

Examples:

• 3 Tablets, 2 Compasses, 1 Gear = 9 + 4 + 1 + 7 = 21 VP
• 2 Tablets, 2 Compasses, 2 Gears = 4 + 4 + 4 + 14 = 26 VP
• 4 Tablets, 0 Compasses, 0 Gears = 16 + 0 + 0 + 0 = 16 VP

Note: Science symbols on constructed Wonder stages count toward science scoring.

7. Purple Cards (Guilds)

Score victory points according to each Guild card’s specific condition (see Description of Effects sheet). Guilds typically award VP based on what you and/or your neighbors have built.

Tiebreaker

If tied on total victory points, the player with the most coins in their Treasure wins. If still tied, all tied players share the victory.

Special Rules & Edge Cases

Card Drafting Direction

Age	Pass cards to
Age I	Left
Age II	Right
Age III	Left

Duplicate Building Rule

You can never construct two Buildings with the same name. If you already have a card named “Barracks” in your City, you cannot construct another “Barracks.” You may still use a duplicate card to build a Wonder stage or sell it.

Minimum Player Count on Cards

Cards have a minimum player count (3+, 4+, 5+, 6+, 7+). Only cards whose minimum is less than or equal to the actual number of players are included in the game. This scales the game for different player counts.

Purple Card (Guild) Distribution

In Age III, Purple cards are not all used. Randomly draw (number of players + 2) Purple cards to include; return the rest to the box. This adds variability between games.

Resource Production and Trading

• Resources are never consumed. A resource card produces its resource every single turn.
• Each resource symbol may only be used once per turn (either by you or sold to one neighbor who buys it).
• Both neighbors may buy the same resource from you in the same turn.
• You cannot buy resources produced by Yellow cards or Wonder stages from neighbors — only starting resources, Brown cards, and Grey cards.
• Coins received from other players during a turn cannot be spent that same turn.
• You cannot buy resources from a card a neighbor just constructed that turn.

Wonder Stage Construction

• Stages must be built in order (left to right) but can be built in any Age.
• Any card can be used to construct a Wonder stage — the card’s type, cost, and effect are irrelevant.
• Building Wonder stages is optional. You are not required to complete your Wonder.
• Wonder stages that produce resources or provide other effects are active for the rest of the game once built.

Last Turn Discard

On the 6th turn of each Age, you receive 2 cards. You play 1 and discard the other face down. The discarded card does not earn you 3 coins (unlike selling, which is a deliberate action with a different card).

Coin Values

When the rules say “take x coins,” it means take coins totaling that value (using any combination of 1-value and 3-value coins). Coins are worth 1 or 3 but represent abstract wealth.

Day vs. Night Sides

Wonder boards have a Day (simpler) and Night (more complex/varied) side. Players may freely mix sides at the table. Day side is recommended for new players.

Selling a Card

Selling always yields exactly 3 coins, regardless of the card’s type or value.

Player Reference

Turn Summary

1. Choose 1 card from hand (face down)
2. Simultaneously reveal and perform one action: Construct Building / Construct Wonder Stage / Sell (3 coins)
3. Pass remaining hand left (Ages I & III) or right (Age II)

Key Numbers

Item	Value
Starting coins	3
Cards dealt per Age	7 per player
Turns per Age	6
Total Ages	3
Coins from selling a card	3
Cost to buy 1 neighbor resource	2 coins
Coins per VP (treasure scoring)	3 coins = 1 VP
VP per complete science set	7 VP
Purple cards included in Age III	Players + 2
Player count range	3-7

Military Victory Token Values

Age	Victory	Defeat
I	+1	-1
II	+3	-1
III	+5	-1

Science Scoring Quick Reference

Formula: (Tablets)^2 + (Compasses)^2 + (Gears)^2 + (7 x complete sets)

Identical Symbols	Points
1	1
2	4
3	9
4	16
5	25

Each complete set of all 3 different symbols = 7 additional VP.

Card Passing Direction

Age	Direction
I	Left
II	Right
III	Left

Resource Trading Summary

Source	Cost	Available to buy?
Neighbor’s starting resource	2 coins	Yes
Neighbor’s Brown cards	2 coins	Yes
Neighbor’s Grey cards	2 coins	Yes
Neighbor’s Yellow cards	—	No
Neighbor’s Wonder stages	—	No
Your own resources	Free	N/A (always available)

Scoring Categories Checklist

1. Military Conflict tokens (sum all, may be negative)
2. Treasure (1 VP per 3 coins)
3. Wonder stages (VP printed on stages)
4. Blue cards (VP printed on cards)
5. Yellow cards (conditional VP per card effects)
6. Green cards (science formula)
7. Purple cards (conditional VP per card effects)