7 Wonders

What is 7 Wonders?

7 Wonders is a civilization-themed card-drafting game in which everyone chooses and plays at the same time. You develop an ancient city through three Ages, adding resource production, commerce, military strength, science and prestigious buildings. A personal wonder board offers another way to turn cards into benefits.

Each selection also changes the hand you pass to another player. Your city’s growth and the opportunities you leave behind are connected. The current base game is designed for three to seven players; it originally appeared in 2010, and this guide follows the second-edition English rules.

Who is it for?

Our editorial assessment is that 7 Wonders suits groups who enjoy card combinations but want simultaneous choices rather than a long sequence of individual turns. Repos advertises a 30-minute duration. A first session needs extra explanation for card symbols, resource access and science scoring.

It is a competitive game with several scoring routes. Your immediate neighbors matter especially for trading and military conflicts. If there are only two players, 7 Wonders Duel is the separate game designed for that situation; its open-card layout and victory rules should not be substituted into this multiplayer design.

How an Age works

Deal each player seven cards from the appropriate Age deck, prepared for the player count. Across six simultaneous turns, choose one card, resolve your action and pass the remaining hand. Pass left in Ages I and III and right in Age II.

The three basic uses of a chosen card are:

1. Construct its building: pay the listed cost, or use an applicable free-construction chain, and add the card to your city.
2. Construct the next wonder stage: pay that stage’s cost and tuck the card underneath it. The chosen card’s normal building effect does not apply.
3. Discard for money: put the card in the discard pile and take three coins from the reserve.

On the sixth turn, select one of the last two cards and discard the other without receiving money for that unused card. Resolve military conflicts at the end of each Age, then continue to the next deck.

Production, trading and free chains

Resource symbols represent production available on each turn, rather than cubes you accumulate and spend permanently. You can use your city’s production and buy eligible missing resources from your two immediate neighbors. The normal price is two coins per resource, with particular commercial effects providing discounts.

Buying a resource does not remove the neighbor’s building or prevent its owner from using that production. Purchase eligibility follows the rulebook: a neighbor’s wonder resource and brown or gray buildings are available for trade, while their yellow-card and wonder-stage production is not.

A chain symbol can make a later building free if your city already contains the matching earlier symbol. Check this before spending money. You cannot construct two buildings with the same name, and wonder stages must be built in their printed order.

How military and science score

At each Age’s end, compare your shields separately with each immediate neighbor. A defeat is worth −1; victories are worth 1, 3 and 5 in Ages I, II and III. A tied comparison awards neither player a token. Military contributes to final points rather than triggering Duel’s immediate military victory.

Science has two scoring parts that are added together: square the number of each matching symbol, then add seven points for every complete set of three different symbols. For example, two symbols of one type and one of each other type score 4 + 1 + 1 + 7 = 13. Use your cards’ and wonder’s exact effects when flexible science symbols are involved.

Final scoring also includes wonder-stage points, blue buildings, relevant yellow buildings, guilds and one point per complete set of three remaining coins. The highest total wins. A tie is broken by remaining treasure; players still tied share victory.

Beginner decisions that matter

• Plan access rather than owning everything. A resource available cheaply next door may be enough. Compare buying it later with spending a card choice on your own production.
• Keep money available. Resource access is useful only when you can pay for it. Reserve coins for plausible future purchases instead of assuming every attractive card will be free.
• Watch the passing direction. The player who receives your leftovers changes in Age II. Track which city is likely to benefit from a card you leave behind.
• Read your neighbors before adding shields. Military is a relative contest. More strength has little value if it does not change an upcoming comparison.
• Count science as a collection. A symbol’s value depends on the matching symbols and sets already present. Compare the full resulting score rather than assigning every green card the same value.
• Use your wonder deliberately. A stage can provide a useful alternative when the hand contains no appealing building. Compare its cost and benefit with the card you sacrifice.

These are editorial starting principles, not a fixed winning opening. Available hands, wonder sides, player count and neighboring cities determine which route is practical.

Expansions and other 7 Wonders games

Repos lists Cities, Leaders, Armada and Edifice as expansions for 7 Wonders. Each adds its own setup and rules. Check the edition compatibility of the box you are buying rather than assuming first- and second-edition components are identical.

Duel, Architects and Dice are separate games in the same family. First-edition two-player variants are also outside this current 3–7-player base-game scope. Start a learning session with the rulebook matching the actual box on the table.

Continue exploring

Featured in: Best Board Games for 3 Players · Best Board Games for 4 Players · Best Board Games for 5 Players · Best Board Games for 6 Players.

• Sushi Go Party! for a lighter simultaneous card-drafting game that supports up to eight players.
• Codenames for a much lighter team word game that also handles larger groups well.
• 7 Wonders Duel for a direct two-player civilization contest.
• Splendor for a smaller resource engine and shared card market.
• Wingspan for a personal card engine with repeated habitat activations.
• Browse the full game archive.

7 Wonders expansions

Compare 7 Wonders expansions · Browse all expansion guides

Focused 7 Wonders rules

Military conflicts · Chaining & free construction · Scoring

Sources, scope and corrections

• Official 7 Wonders game page — product scope, specifications and publisher context.
• Publisher base-game rules — actions, scoring and setup.
• Repos Production credits — designer and publication credits.
• Asmodee’s edition announcement — original 2010 release and second-edition context.
• Asmodee’s current product specifications — 3–7 players, 30 minutes and minimum age 10.

Edition scope: Current English 7 Wonders second-edition base game, Repos rules ©2020, for 3–7 players. The game originally released in 2010. First-edition two-player variants, expansion changes and the standalone Duel, Architects and Dice games are excluded. Sources checked September 15, 2026. Consult your own box’s rulebook when its edition or components differ. Read our corrections process.