7 Wonders 2nd edition

The cover, cards' design, the Wonders, the insert everything has been redesigned.   Rules have been entrerly revised to make them more accessible, in just 8 pages with new player aid.

Improved card layout allowing inforamtion to be more easily read.  The guild cards, spread outover the many 7 Wonders expansions, have been consolidated and added to the new base game.

Wonders are bigger and more prominent with a day side and a night sidefor a more flavourful experience. Both the base game and the expansions are also moving to larger, standard-sized boxes.

Now colourblind friendly with more symbols to help.

Due to the visual change of the back of the cards, expansions from the new edition cannot be played together with the old edition's base game, and vice versa.This is part of an editorial choice to revamp the entirety of the game to make it more accessible and reach new players. This choice has allowed them to remove the colours on the backs of the cards, which could cause some confusion (as blue, purple and brown were also colours used to signify different things elsewhere in the game). In their place, they are able to introduce some beautiful bronze, silver and gold colours to tie the game into its theme and cover.

You are the leader of one of the 7 great cities of the Ancient World. Gather resources, develop commercial routes, and affirm your military supremacy. Build your city and erect an architectural wonder which will transcend future times.

7 Wonders lasts three ages. In each age, players receive seven cards from a particular deck, choose one of those cards, then pass the remainder to an adjacent player. Players reveal their cards simultaneously, paying resources if needed or collecting resources or interacting with other players in various ways. (Players have individual boards with special powers on which to organize their cards, and the boards are double-sided). Each player then chooses another card from the deck they were passed, and the process repeats until players have six cards in play from that age. After three ages, the game ends.

In essence, 7 Wonders is a card development game. Some cards have immediate effects, while others provide bonuses or upgrades later in the game. Some cards provide discounts on future purchases. Some provide military strength to overpower your neighbors and others give nothing but victory points. Each card is played immediately after being drafted, so you'll know which cards your neighbor is receiving and how his choices might affect what you've already built up. Cards are passed left-right-left over the three ages, so you need to keep an eye on the neighbors in both directions.

Though the box of earlier editions is listed as being for 3–7 players, there is an official 2-player variant included in the instructions.