How to Play 7 Wonders Duel: Cards, Wonders & Victory Paths
7 Wonders Duel is a two-player civilization game played across three Ages. On each turn, take one accessible card from the shared layout and use it to construct a building, discard it for coins, or construct one of your Wonders. You can win immediately through military or scientific supremacy; otherwise the higher score after Age III wins.
Researched rules guide. Checked September 15, 2026 against Repos Production’s current base-game rules and game page. This page covers the standalone base game only; Pantheon and Agora add separate systems. No hands-on testing is claimed. Editorial standards.
On this page: Set up Wonders and Age decks · Take an accessible card · Use the card in one of three ways · Produce and buy resources · Build Wonders · Resolve military · Resolve science · Start the next Age · Score a civilian victory
Set up the board, Progress tokens and Wonders
Place the Conflict pawn in the center of the military track, place the four Military tokens, and reveal five randomly selected Progress tokens. Each player starts with 7 coins.
Choose Wonders using the two-round selection procedure. Four Wonders are revealed: the first player chooses one, the second chooses two, and the first takes the last. Reveal four more Wonders and repeat with the second player choosing first. Each player finishes setup with four Wonders.
For each Age deck, remove three cards at random without looking at them. For Age III, also add three randomly selected Guild cards before creating the 20-card structure.
Choose one accessible card
At the start of each Age, arrange the 20 cards in the pattern shown by the game aid. Some cards begin face up and others face down.
On your turn, you must choose an accessible card: one that is not partially covered by another card. After removing it and resolving your choice, reveal any face-down cards that have become accessible.
This means your move can change the options available to your opponent immediately.
Use the chosen card in one of three ways
- Construct the building: pay its cost and add it face up to your city.
- Discard for coins: discard the card and gain 2 coins plus 1 additional coin for every yellow building already in your city.
- Construct a Wonder: pay the Wonder’s cost and tuck the Age card face down beneath that Wonder. The Age card’s own building effect is ignored.
Resources remain available after construction
Brown and gray buildings produce resources. Some yellow buildings and Wonders can also produce resources. Production is not spent permanently: once a resource is in your city, it remains available on later turns.
If you lack a resource, buy it from the bank. The ordinary cost for each missing resource is:
2 coins + the number of matching resource symbols produced by your opponent’s brown and gray buildings.
Pay the bank, not your opponent. Your opponent’s yellow-card and Wonder production does not increase this trading price. Some yellow buildings reduce particular resources to a fixed 1-coin purchase cost.
Chain symbols can make later buildings free
Some earlier buildings provide a white chain symbol. If a later Age building shows that matching symbol in its cost area and you own the required earlier building, construct the later building for free.
Check chain eligibility before buying resources. A valid chain replaces the listed construction cost.
Only seven Wonders can be built in the entire game
Each player begins with four Wonder cards, but once the seventh Wonder is constructed, the last unbuilt Wonder is immediately removed from the game.
Some Wonders grant another turn. Resolve the Wonder, reveal any newly accessible cards, then begin the extra turn from the updated layout.
If an extra-turn effect is gained after the final card of an Age has been taken, the extra turn is lost because there is no card structure left.
Shields move the Conflict pawn immediately
Whenever you construct a red military building or Wonder with shield symbols, move the Conflict pawn that many spaces toward your opponent’s capital.
When the pawn enters a new military zone, resolve the Military token in that zone and remove the token from the game.
If the Conflict pawn reaches your opponent’s capital space, you win immediately by military supremacy.
Matching science pairs give Progress tokens
There are seven different scientific symbols in the base game.
Whenever you collect a pair of identical scientific symbols, immediately choose one of the available face-up Progress tokens and add it to your city.
If you collect six different scientific symbols, you win immediately by scientific supremacy. A matching pair by itself does not count as scientific victory; its immediate reward is the Progress token.
The weaker military position chooses who starts the next Age
An Age ends when all 20 cards in its structure have been played.
If the Conflict pawn is on one player’s side of the board, that player has the weaker military position and chooses who begins the next Age. If the pawn is in the center, the player who took the final card of the previous Age chooses who begins.
If neither supremacy occurs, score after Age III
Add:
- Military victory points from the Conflict pawn’s final position.
- Victory points from blue, green, yellow and purple buildings.
- Victory points from Wonders.
- Victory points from Progress tokens.
- 1 point for every complete set of 3 coins remaining in your treasury.
The higher score wins. If tied, compare points from blue Civilian buildings; if still tied, the players share victory.
Common 7 Wonders Duel rules mistakes
- Paying your opponent when buying resources: trading payments go to the bank.
- Spending production permanently: resource production remains available on later turns.
- Taking any visible card: it must be accessible, meaning no card partially covers it.
- Assuming both players can build all four Wonders: the seventh Wonder removes the final unbuilt one.
- Treating a science pair as victory: six different science symbols are required for scientific supremacy.
Continue learning 7 Wonders Duel
- 7 Wonders Duel game guide and expansion scope
- 7 Wonders Duel strategy: card access, economy, military and science pressure
- 7 Wonders for the separate 3–7 player drafting game.
- Victory & Scoring
Sources and scope
Checked September 15, 2026. This page covers the standalone base game. Pantheon and Agora add additional systems and victory possibilities.