How to Play 7 Wonders (Second Edition): Leaders

1. Game Objective

In this 7 Wonders expansion, your goal is to lead your civilization to success by relying on the help of great historical figures: the Leaders. Each Leader Card influences the development of your city in a unique way. Although the expansion introduces new mechanics, the victory conditions remain the same as in the base game.

2. Setup

The setup follows the normal rules of the base game, with one exception: each player receives 6 Coins at the start of the game (instead of 3).

• Wonder Boards: The Rome and Abu Simbel boards are used only when playing with this expansion.
• Leader Cards: They must be separated into three decks (Standard, Specialist, and Cities). For your first games, it is recommended to use only the Standard Leaders.
• Coins: Add the new Coins with a value of 6 to the bank.

3. Game Flow

The game follows the normal rules of 7 Wonders, but with the addition of two new phases:

1. Drafting Phase: Occurs at the beginning of the game. Each player receives 4 random Leader Cards. Players choose one card, pass the rest to their neighbor on the right, and repeat the process until each player has 4 Leaders in hand.
2. Recruitment Phase: Occurs at the beginning of each Age. Players simultaneously choose a Leader from their hand to play.

4. Actions and How to Play

During the Recruitment Phase, when choosing a Leader, you may perform one of the following three actions:

• Recruit this Leader: Reveal the card and pay its cost in Coins to the bank. Place the Leader face up next to your Wonder Board to enjoy its effect. The cost varies according to the Age: 1 Coin in Age I, 2 in Age II, and 3 in Age III.
• Build a stage of your Wonder: Use the Leader card as material to build a stage of your Wonder, following the normal rules.
• Discard this Leader: Discard the card to receive 3 Coins from the bank.

After the Recruitment Phase, the Age proceeds normally. In Age III, each player will have 2 Leaders; choose one to play and discard the other into the box (unless you are using the Night side of the Rome Wonder).

5. End of Game and Scoring

The game ends at the end of Age III, after the Military Conflict Resolution. Scoring is performed following the rules of the base game, adding the points provided by the Leaders and other elements.

Note on Green Cards: As it is possible to accumulate more scientific symbols, use the scoring table provided in the manual to calculate points based on the number of identical symbols (e.g., 1 symbol is worth 1 point, 2 are worth 4, 3 are worth 9, and so on up to 9 symbols being worth 81 points).

6. Tips for Winning

• To facilitate organization, place Leaders like Hannibal and Caesar near your Red Cards (military buildings), and Leaders like Euclid, Ptolemy, and Pythagoras near your Green Cards (scientific buildings).
• Consult the New Effects Description sheets included in the box to understand exactly how each Leader symbol can benefit your strategy.