User Manual

Game Overview
A game begins with Age I, continues with Age II and ends with Age III. Vic-
tory points are counted only at the end of Age III.
Overview of an Age
At the beginning of each Age, each player receives a hand of 7 cards, dealt
randomly, from the corresponding deck.
Each Age is made up of 6 game turns. During each turn the players put into
play a single card, simultaneously.
A game turn takes place as follows :
• 1. Choose a card
• 2. Action
• 3. Give your hand of cards to the player sitting to your left or right
and receive another hand of cards from the player sitting next to you.
1. Choose a Card
Each player looks at their hand without showing it to other players and
selects a card before placing it face down before them.
The remaining cards are placed between their left-hand neighbor and
themselves (see end of an Age).
2. Action
Once every player has selected his or her card, they perform their action
simultaneously.
Three actions are possible with the chosen card :
• a. Build the structure
• b. Build a stage of their Wonder
• c. Discard the card to gain 3 coins
Note : during your rst game, you can follow the action of each player,
one after the other, to become more familiar with the game...
2.a. Build the Structure
Most often, the player will build the structure represented by the selected
card (see Construction in 7 Wonders).
Important : a player can never build two identical structures
(meaning those with the same name/the same illustration).
2.b. Build a Stage of a Wonder
To build each stage of his or her Wonder, the player will use a card of their
choice as a construction marker :
To do that, the player must pay the price shown on the Wonder board and
not the one shown on the structure’s card.
The player then plays the card, face down, half hidden under the Wonder
board to show that this stage of their Wonder is now built. The card then
has no other effect, and is not considered to be a structure.
Example : a player wants to build the second stage of his Wonder, the
Lighthouse of Alexandria. He chooses one card from his hand. His City
grants him the two units of Ore required for his construction, he the-
refore places his card in front of the wonder stage, half covered by his
board in order to indicate that this stage has been constructed.
Clarication :
• The stages of a Wonder MUST be built in order, meaning from left to right.
• the construction of the Wonder is not mandatory. A player can win
the game without having nished (or even started) the construction
of his or her Wonder.
• the card used to mark the construction of a Wonder stage remains
hidden. Players would be advised to use a card they do not want to
give their neighbor (see Move on to the next hand).
• most Wonders have 3 stages but these are not associated with Ages.
It is therefore possible to build multiple Wonder stages in a single
Age or to begin construction during age III.
• each stage can only built once per game.
2.c. Discard the Card to Gain 3 Coins
A player can choose to discard his or her card to take 3 coins from the bank
and add them to his or her treasury.
The cards discarded this way remain face down and form a discard pile in
the center of the table. It can be useful to discard a card you cannot build
but which would be of interest to your neighbor.
Note : if a player has chosen a card but is unable to build either the struc-
ture or the Wonder stage, that player is then forced to discard the card
and takes 3 coins from the bank.
3. Move on to the next hand
Each player takes the hand of cards handed from his or her neighbor.
Be careful : the direction of the hands rotation changes with
each Age :
• during Age I, the hand of cards is passed to the player
sitting to the left (clockwise).
• during Age II, the hand of cards is passed to the player
sitting to the right (counter-clockwise).
• during Age III, the hand of cards is passed to the player
sitting to the left (clockwise).
Special case : sixth turn
At the beginning of the sixth and nal turn of each Age, the players will
receive a two-card hand from their neighboring player.
Each player then chooses one (like in previous turns) and the second is
then discarded, face down.
The selected card is then played normally.
Then the Age ends.
Clarication : the unselected and discarded card is discarded without the
players getting 3 coins for it.
Example : Sophie gets a hand of 7 cards at the beginning of the rst Age.
In the rst turn, she puts into play one of her cards.
She then hands the remaining 6 cards to the player sitting to her left,
and gets a hand of 6 cards from the player to her right.
Later, during the sixth game turn, she gets a 2 card hand from the player
to her right. She discards one and puts the other one in play according
to the game’s rules.
End of an Age
Each Age ends after its sixth game turn.
The players must then proceed to the resolution of military conicts.
Each player compares the total number of shields present on their military
structures (red cards) with the total of each of the two neighboring cities :
• If a player has a higher total than a neighboring city, that
player takes a Victory token corresponding to the Age just
played (Age I : +1, Age II : +3 or Age III : +5)
• If a player has a lower total than that of a neighboring city,
that player takes a Defeat token (-1 victory point)
• If a player has an equal total to that of a neighboring city,
no token is taken.
Each player therefore gets, depending on the situation, 0, 1 or 2 tokens
which are placed on his or her Wonder board.
Example : Age II has just ended. Alexandria (3 Shields) shares a border
with Rhodes (5 Shields) to the left, and Ephesus (2 Shields) to the right.
Alexandria takes a Defeat token (-1 victory point) and places it on the
left side of their board as well as a Victory token (+3 victory points,
Age II), placed on the right side of their board.
The brown and gray cards are placed beneath one another starting
from the upper left corner of the Wonders board. This allows players
to quickly see all resources produced by each player.
The other cards are placed face up, in the area in front of the player’s
Wonders board. All of this area corresponds to a player’s city.
In order to save space, stack your cards by color while leaving the name
of each structure visible.
CARD PLACEMENT
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5
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