7 Wonders Architects – The Quick Version of a Quick Game

7 Wonders is a great, last brand, and one of the best games ever made. It is rated very high on Board Game Geek, and for good reason. While there might be a lot of things that need to get put out on the table, and the first few times you play may seem a bit daunting, the game itself is very streamlined, and with the right group, can be played very quickly.

When 7 Wonders Architects was released a little while ago, a lot of people wondered if there was a need for this box set, myself included. But now that I’ve played it a few times, I see why it exists!

Architects differs from base 7 Wonders in one major way – instead of drafting cards passed to you by a player sitting on your left or right, players are instead drawing cards from decks, either the deck on their left or the deck on their right. There are also a few other decks in the middle of the table, but for the most part you will be worried about the decks between you and the other players on either side of you.

This is actually a pretty significant change, as now you are really just fighting over cards in each deck with one other person, instead of wondering what everyone else might take should you pass specific cards along.

Aside from that, the game still works very much the same. You will collect military cards to have a strong military presence (and score points), you will collect green science cards, although they function a bit differently allowing you to select special tiles when a set is made; and of course you will also collect resource cards that you will use to build your wonder.

In 7 Wonders Architects, there is a much bigger emphasis on completing your wonder. I’ve played many games of 7 Wonders where I’ve build only a few – and even a few times none – of the Wonder steps. In Architects, it’s a bit more important that you focus on building up those Wonders.

There are also straight victory point cards (blue) that function just like they do in the regular game. THere is also a cat statue worth 2 points at the end of the game, but it also gives you the special ability to look at the top card of the central facedown deck that all players can draw from. Having the cat is important and gives you a strategic advantage over your competition, so don’t expect to hold onto it for long!

7 Wonders Architects is a family-weight experience that is easy to teach and even easier to set up, thanks to the included GameTrayz inserts. There is one for each Wonder, so getting setup is as easy as passing out the various trays and giving one to each player.

Everything they need to play is included in that tray. Cleaning up takes a bit more work as you will need to sort cards, but the great, clean experience is worth that hassle. If you love 7 Wonders but want something you can easily teach to friends or to younger kids in your family, 7 Wonders Architects is a solid choice. And with a new expansion coming, now is a great time to pick up this masterpiece!