So, with a possible six people attending, a game large enough to accommodate all was chosen. And, although one dropped out, it seemed that everyone was up for the challenge of a new game, and so Seven Wonders was brought out. In this game, the great architectural acheivements of ancient times are recreated.
So, basically, the seven wonders of the world are built as a kind of boasting competition. As well as developing your own commodities and buying commodities off your immediate neighbour (whether they like it or not) to build apothecaries, risqué altars and the like, you can also threaten your fellow players with your military might at the same time. Never attacking, just constantly waving a clenched fist and frowning furiously. You can also develop sciences, which like the monuments in Ra score big as sets but are fairly useless in small doses. Other cards enabled cut-price trading, straightforward victory-point style buildings and in the final round, Guilds, which had all kinds of canny ways to score decent points - if you could first get, and then buy, the Guild in question. All of the above (save for spending money) contribute to your victory points at the end.
Game one was a slow affair, as you’d expect with a table full of newbies. It was made slower still by a lengthy pause halfway through while rules were consulted for a long time and then when the game recommenced, we realised there’d been a mix up in handing cards from one player to another, a central mechanic of the game. It was noted that if ancient times had been anything like this, nothing would’ve got finished and we wouldn’t be reading about them in our history books today.
Game one results
Steve 48
Adam 45
Sam 42
Andrew 34
Joe 33
Since the evening was still young when we’d finished, it was decided to try the game again. This time, with the rules fresh in our minds, the rounds flew by. The passing of the cards between players was choreographed perfectly, and everything ran smoothly.
This time, Joe took maximum points for miltary conquests (18) and Adam specialised in blue buildings (26). But it was Steady Sam who took first place, picking up points in every category.
Game two
Sam 53
Adam 47
Joe 44
Steve 43
Andrew 39
A closer look at the scoresheets throws up an interesting bit of info. Neither of the two winners ever came top in any of the categories, which indicates that diversification not specialisation is what wins you this game.
The Leaderboard
| Played | Points | |
| Adam | 17 | 34 |
| Joe | 16 | 32 |
| Sam | 11 | 27 |
| Andrew | 19 | 21 |
| Steve | 6 | 16 |
| Jonny | 6 | 8 |
| Will | 2 | 4 |
| Quentin | 2 | 2 |
| Hannah | 1 | 1 |
| Jon | 1 | 1 |
Interesting spot there Ersby. I was definitely guilty of specialising in that second game — built no yellow or blue buildings whatsoever. Also remembered too late that there are no production buildings available in the third age, so you need to keep a close eye on what you and your neighbours can offer — I was unable to complete my wonder for lack of ore.
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