7 Wonders Duel – The 3 Big Changes From The Original!

How Different Is It From The Original 7 Wonders?

There are 3 main differences from the original to 7 Wonders Duel. The main differences are in setup, interactions, and also the military system.

The setup in the base game has you picking cards from a hand that’s dealt out each round. With Seven Wonders Duel, you have an “Age Structure” that you and other player takes turns choosing from.

Inside the structure, there are face-up and face-down cards. As you progress up the structure you will be flipping up the face-down cards to reveal what’s underneath.

So instead of passing cards around in the base game, you shuffle the current age deck and build your structure. Which is a big change from the base game.

The interactions also have changed due to only having one other player to duel. It also slightly adjusts the way you can trade for different resources. In the case of a resource being needed from the other player, you would normally pay the player who had the resource, but in 7 Wonders Duel you will pay the “bank”.

If you need money, you may sell/discard one of the cards on the “Age Structure” to gain 2 coins + 1 coin for each yellow card you have in your play area. Which can help do two things, gain lots of coins, and strategically steal a specific card away from your opponent.

The interactions are next on the list to go over. The first is that a total of only 7 Wonders can be activated in a game, so if your opponent has all 4 of their wonders activated, you will only be able to activate 3 out of 4 of your wonders.

The Military also has seen changes that will simplify the war between the two players. Instead of winning coins over rounds of different shield fights, you will simply move the conflict pawn forward for each shield a player gains on one of their cards or wonders.

As the conflict pawn progresses closer to the ends of the board, that player will lose coins due to the conflict pawn passing specific sections.

If the war token makes it to the last section of the board, the game ends immediately, no points are totaled, and the player has won the game.

Now imagine the game ends and the conflict pawn is on the second space towards your opponent. You will gain a total of 2 victory points for the position of the conflict pawn.

How’s The Box Organization?

The box organization is good. There are no lumps or bumps when you want to close everything up. Everything fits nicely in their appropriate spots. And no components get jostled inside the box when it’s handled a few times.

With all that being said, 7 Wonders Duel gets my adequate box seal of approval!

What Are Your Thoughts On The Components Of The Game?

I thought the components were all quite nice and simple for the game. They didn’t need to do anything exciting to make a solid game. The coins were cool to look at, but overall fairly simplistic. The conflict pawn was well made and made sense in-game use. The progress tokens were similar to the coins, simplistic and adequate for gameplay. And the cards were nicely diversified with different colors that helped separate them from each other.

What Are Your Thoughts On Gameplay And Balancing?

7 Wonders Duel has beautifully made gameplay and in my opinion well balanced. I never felt like I was hopeless. Even when I was clearly behind the other player, I always had a few different options to try to win, which was nice. It sucks when you’re behind and you feel like there’s nothing you can do to come back.

The multiple victories solutions make it feel like you still can make something happen. There have been a couple of times now where I was winning and the next thing I know my wife snuck up on me and scored a military victory.

There are layers of luck involved, but it’s mainly with the “Age Structure” cards. With face-down cards, you never know if the next card will be something you need to win or lose the game.

The war track is the next big gameplay mechanic. When I first started playing the game I thought that a military victory would be the best and easiest way to win. I tried that strategy out a few times and had great success. The track isn’t so long, which enables you to make early game progress if you have the resources. Then later in the game, the 3 shield cards just move so fast that they force your opponent to address your military threat. There’s a progress token called “Strategy”, that will give you an extra shield for all new military buildings you play.

Overall, I think the gameplay opens many different avenues to get to victory. Each can be observed by your opponent in a way that it doesn’t feel cheap to win. Although I do lean towards military victories being the easiest, the opponent has options to defend themselves nicely. Which for my wife and I, feels like a well-balanced game.

What’s The Best Way To Win?

There are 3 different ways to win a game of 7 Wonders Duel. The first is by having the most points by the end of the game. You get points through cards, coins, progress tokens, and wonders themselves.

The second way is by getting what is called a scientific victory. To get a scientific victory you must collect 6 out of the 7 scientific symbols. You can collect these scientific symbols by getting scientific cards in the “Age Structures” and the “Law” progress token. This can be a tricky win as your opponent will see you going for it. Then will do everything in their power to stop you.

The third and last way to win is by military victory, as previously mentioned it is a very simplistic method. Each shield that you gain progresses the conflict pawn further toward your opponents’ side of the board. As you progress you will deduct coins from their city’s treasury and will be given back to the bank. Then at the last slot will be your precious victory.

A military victory is the best way to get an easy win in 7 Wonders Duel. For two reasons, first, you will get lots of bigger shields later on in the game, and also the “Strategy” progress token will help to penalize your opponent every time you play a shield card.

So what I’ll do is this, slowly roll the shields in the beginning, don’t be too suspicious about it, you are trying to slowly play the military win. The main focus is to stay on their side of the board. Try to get a decent lead so to try and surprise them will be a big military push when you get into Age 3 with the 3 shield cards. Also if you see an opportunity to grab one of the military progress tokens, do it, it’s worth it every time. When Age 3 comes around, try and make that final push to finish them off.

Keep in mind this is just my go-to easy-win strategy. I would recommend trying it out a few times and seeing if it works with your play style.

Is There Extra Content For The Game?

Yes, my wife and I have the Pantheons expansion. It’s a great addition to the base game so far, we’ve already played it probably a dozen times and we enjoy it. It adds all your favorite Greek gods so you get to play around with new and extra powerful mechanics. I highly recommend it, here’s a link to Amazon to check current prices.

There is another expansion out called “Agora”. I have not gotten the chance to play that expansion yet, but as soon as I do, this section will be updated. From what I know about the expansion it builds on and adds content about senators and their influence on the development of your cities. If you are interested I will put a link below to Amazon to check current prices!

How Do The Guild Cards Work? Is It Complicated?

The simple answer is no. They will need some explaining though. So the guild cards are incorporated into Age 3. Before building the structure for Age 3, replace 3 normal Age 3 cards with 3 guild cards. When you deal out the structure, you will be able to see the difference in cards due to the cards’ color difference. You might think that something must be wrong but I promise you it’s not. 

The majority of the guild cards are used to gain points for a specific color type from your opponent and you. For example, a guild card might say you get 1 coin and 1 point at the end of the game for the person who has the most blue cards. So if you have 5 blue cards, and your opponent has 4 blue cards, you will gain 5 coins right now. Why 5 coins? Because you had the most blue cards currently with 5. Now at the end of the game, you will get points for the amount of blue cards between you and your opponent. So if you stayed at 5 blue cards and your opponent passed you have 7 blue cards at the end of the game. You will receive 7 points for that guild card. 

What Are Your Top 3 Favorite Wonders To Choose?

1. The Temple of Artemis – Take 12 coins from the bank, and immediately play a second turn.
   • This wonder is always my first to be completed. The coins will give you an extra boost for any resources that you’re lacking. Then the second turn is like the icing on top.
2. The Hanging Gardens – Take 6 coins from the bank. Immediately play a second turn. This Wonder is worth 3 victory points.
   • This wonder is a step down to “The Temple Of Artemis”. If I can’t get my hands on Artemis then this wonder is my backup. Decent amount of coins, another turn, and a couple of victory points? Not too bad if you ask me.
3. The Great Library – Randomly draw 3 Progress tokens from among those discarded at the beginning of the game. Choose one, play it, and return the other 2 to the box. This Wonder is worth 4 victory points.
   • If I’m going for a military victory I will complete this wonder to try and get the “Strategy” progress token easily. It also might be a good way to gain the “Law” progress token. Either is usually a good choice.

What Do You Think Of The Artwork Of The Game?

I find the artwork and board design to be quite simplistic and appealing. It sticks to the 7 Wonders vibe. The coins are great and fun. The board itself is simple and well-made. Every small detail like where the special “Lose 2 coins and Lose 5 coins” tokens has a little print on the war track made for you to see. It’s the little details that I appreciate the most. Overall, it’s nothing beautiful or meant to be spectacular, but it does its job and sets the vibe subtly.

Would My Kids Be Able To Play With Me?

I think this game would be best for kids right around pre-teen to teenager. If your kiddo likes strategy and resource management games, then this would be a good one to play with them. It might be a little unfair at first, but once they play a couple of games, they should be able to give you a run for your money.

How Old Should My Kids Be To Try Playing 7 Wonders Duel?

I think the youngest I would try and teach someone would be right around that 12-year-old area. My daughter isn’t into many board games, but I know that she would be able to understand and play properly after playing a game or two with her.

How Do I Layout The Age Cards Properly?

I will be providing a picture of the greatly appreciated and helpful “Card Structure” Card.

Age 1 – Age 1 is like an upside-down pyramid. 6 face up at the top, then 5 face down, 4 face up, then 3 face down, and then ending with 2 final face up cards.

Age 2 – Age 2 is the opposite of Age 1, flipping itself on this head and becoming a normal pyramid shape. 2 face cards on top, then 3 face down, 4 face up, then 5 face down, and finally 6 cards to make the bottom all face up.

Age 3 – Age 3 is the special one of the group and is more in oval kind of shape. Starting at the top with 2 face up, then 3 face down, then 4 face up, then 2 face down as connecting pillars, 4 face up again, 3 face down, and finally the last two are face up.