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7 Wonders Armada Expansion
You could earn
2013 Victory Points
with this purchase
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Description
7 Wonders is undoubtedly a modern classic in board games. The card drafting combined with a quick play time makes it a go to ‘gateway’ or entry level game. Various expansions have been released over the years and the danger or adding ‘too much’ is always a worry. Armada adds a lot of content but does it in a way that compliments the base game nicely - there is even a recommendation to not mix it with other expansions! The downside of Armada is it almost doubles the game length, now being as the base game only takes 20 minutes this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it does mean I won’t use it every game or with new players. Armada adds a new side board split into four columns. At the base of each column you place a plastic ship, one red, one blue, one yellow and one green. As you take your turns normally you can also move one of your ships up it’s column as long as you can pay the costs and have played a card of the same colour. These costs are familiar to anyone who has played the base game - access to various resources from the cards you have drafted. Each time you go up a column you gain a reward, including rewards you are familiar with or new ones like naval strength and visiting islands. Naval strength is separate to military strength, which is now called land strength. Naval battles are waged against everyone not just your neighbours. Islands are new cards you visit with your green ship for Island cards which offer your rewards, such as resources, points and extra moves. The added gameplay time comes not from complexity (all the options are straightforward) but from the increased options Armada adds. Now, when drafting cards, you aren’t just thinking of your tableau but also of your ships and which rewards are worth gaining early, at the potential cost building up the cards you want on the table. Where as in the base game the choice was sometimes obvious, Armada makes it pleasingly difficult. Player Count: 2-7 Time: 40 Minutes Age: 10+
7 Wonders, the card drafting, set collection game where players are the leader of one of the seven great cities of the Ancient World. Players will build up their civilisation building Wonders, Civic buildings, Economic buildings and military strength. 7 Wonders is played over three ages, where players receive and draft cards to be played in to their civilisation, paying resources to play the cards accordingly. These cards have various immediate effects, discounts on future purchases, military strength and victory points.
It is a quintessential game for a lot of board gamers and is well known and well-loved by a plethora of fans. The end of October will see another expansion released for the game; 7 Wonders Armada.
What we know!
7 Wonders Armada has been in the making for almost seven years now. It is an expansion for the core game and can be combined with any of the already available expansions. This expansion introduces a separate naval player board, sitting alongside each player’s original player. The naval board contains ships in various colours (red, green, yellow and blue) which are tracked and moved on the new board.
As well as a new player board extension there are also new cards (red, green, yellow and blue) which are shuffled into the main deck of cards from the base game. There is also a slight change to the ruleset to accommodate the new board. When any red, green, yellow or blue card is purchased the player can move their ship in the respective colour along the naval board, paying the respective costs. Depending on which ship is moved and how far, various bonuses are awarded based on the colour of the ship.
The red ship represents the naval strength of your empire (and ties in with the red military cards nicely). At the end of the era, all player’s compare their naval strength and earn victory points based on how strong their naval strength is. Yellow and blue ships allow you to gain more money and bonus victory points. The green ship adds an additional exploration mechanic to the game. At various points on the green track new islands are discovered which are represented by a deck of cards. These new islands add new resources and additional strength to your empire.
Initial Thoughts on 7 Wonders Armada
7 Wonders Armada does not offer a massive change to the base game, but I think it offers enough extra content and gameplay to make it a worthy addition for any 7 Wonders fans. There are extra cards to increase the replay-ability of the game, the extra board extension with the different coloured ships and bonuses is a nice addition and the added island cards tie in with the nautical theme nicely. All in all I think this is a solid addition to the 7 Wonders world.
It will be interesting to see how this plays as a single expansion with the main game and with all the other expansions available for 7 Wonders. It does add another layer of strategy to the game and hopefully it will integrate seamlessly with the other expansions.
7 Wonders Armada is due to be released at the end of October. If you are a fan of 7 Wonders, or fancy changing up the gameplay a little then 7 Wonders Armada is worth checking out. I will certainly be checking this out when it is released.
