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Have you got any board games that double up as other things? Nope, I don’t mean Big-Box door-stops (or lids as make-shift snack receptacles!). But games that have real-life utility. No? Well, I didn’t either. Until Seven Bridges, that is!
For this game is a “stroll and write” with a difference. Designed by Ron Halliday, you will be exploring the historic city of Konigsberg using your trusty pencil and dice. And, channelling your inner Anneka Rice, you will be aiming to score points whilst you are there. How? By visiting as many features as possible via its famous seven bridges.
But, rather unexpectedly, real life and rolled dice meld together here. Because, in Seven Bridges, your sheet is a bona fide map of Konigsberg of old! If Google Maps had been invented, you could have walked your way around the city (now Kalingrad) without a dropped pin or post-code.
So, with top marks already for geographical and historical accuracy, Seven Bridges gets my practical-gamer vote. But why else is this wonder-puzzle pleasing me so much? Let’s take a stroll together and find out.
Speedy Set up!
Firstly, Seven Bridges is a 30 second set up. Score! Each player simply needs a sheet and a pencil. The only other things you need to do are place the 6 route dice on the table, and decide who is going to be the first player.
The starting square is chosen by rolling dice in order to give a map quadrant, row and column number. Then, the first player rolls all 6 dice and the game is afoot!
Taking a Turn Around The Town!
Played over five rounds, your aim in Seven Bridges is to visit as many buildings, landmarks, trees, and, of course, bridges as possible. But your moves are prescribed by the actions on the dice. Plus you only get to use the dice that you draft on your turn.
What you can score at end-game is determined by how many bridges you have visited over the preceding 5 rounds. Therefore, if you visit 6 bridge, you will score your highest six scoring conditions (out of seven). If you only visited 4, however, you only get to score the top four….ooft!
So, on your turn, you roll and pick the dice you want to draw on your map. The adjacency rule is strong in this one, however, my puzzling padawan. So remember that you can only link up to previously drawn connection points.
Each dice face will show one of a number of different straight roads, cross-roads, half roads, and bends. You cannot go over previously drawn roads. Plus, if you cannot draw the action in its entirely (save for the 2/3 straight road options), then you cannot use it. You won’t lose the chance to mark your sheet that turn if you can “downgrade” it to a lower value one. But, if you can’t, then it is one-dice-down for you!
Lovely Landmarks!
If you draw a line past a landmark (indicated by a letter on the map), you will get points on the Landmark track and gain a bonus action. Bonuses are split into extra dice which you will draw immediately, and reserved powers (including access to footpaths or forcing an opponent to re-roll) for triggering later in the game.
Bountiful Bridges!
Similarly, if you cross a bridge, you will get points on the bridge track (although no boosting bonuses). “But what if I visit all seven bridges in a nice neat loopy-de-loop? What super-duper rolly-writey, combotastic, bonus bonanza will I get?”, I hear you cry! Well, dear friends, therein lies the logical lunacy of this game. None. Because you can’t.
There I said it.
Yup, you are playing a game where it is mathematically impossible to achieve its title! You cannot walk around the two halves of Kӧnigsberg crossing each of the seven bridges only once. Say what now?
It’s true! And I am not just saying it because I haven’t been able to do it. This prickly puzzle is based firmly in the realm of fact, thanks to a very smart man called Leonhard Euler. Indeed, over 300 years ago, his Kӧnigsberg conundrum formed the very basis of graph theory! (I’m not ashamed, I had to look it up too!).
Mathematically Mind Blowing!
Of course, you can dash around the map like a loon, criss-crossing over the bridges. Well, if you use your drafted dice wisely, that is. You will need to grab every available bonus action if you are in with a chance of doing so. And this is mainly because there are never enough dice to do everything you want!
In Seven Bridges, you always have to consider what you are giving up. If you’re spreading yourself thinly across the map, is that going to mess up your loop? With a closed circuit being one of the scoring conditions (90 degree bends multiplied by the number of bridges crossed within it), it can be a points-payday! But if you’re hitting the loop hard, will you miss out on trees, buildings, and those lovely landmarks which get you those beautiful bonus actions? You also have to factor in your opponents’ plans. And I NEVER miss an opportunity to hate-draft my husband, even if it messes up my own game!
Crunch City!
As you have probably realised, Seven Bridges is all about tricky trade-offs. Deciding what to do for the best when you can’t do it all. The potential for game-changing combos is also high. A drafted dice could trigger a landmark which leads to a bonus action that could get you over a bridge, walking amongst the trees, or even past another landmark…….you get the idea. And I love that. I find Seven Bridges very crunchy, very thinky, but, strangely, also very calming!
Part of my sense of serenity could be down to the components. The game is obviously thematic – the map looks like it is textbook ready, the colours are understated, and the dice and pencils are simple, wooden affairs. It feels almost hygge (if a board game can ever be classified as such). And no doubt about it; my mind feels like it is strolling around Russian Kӧnigsberg when playing it.
I would say that the (double sided!) sheets can become a little tricky to read as you colour in more and more buildings etc. you pass. You are also going to want to upgrade the eraser to something a little more robust if you write-regret-erase-write-regret-erase as I tend to do! But those are minor points in what is most definitely a next-level roll and write.
Strolling Solo!
There is also a brilliant solo mode where you face-off against Euler himself. And you have been warned; Euler basically scores almost everything you don’t, which is incredibly intense! Personally, I love games where the single player variant is more than beat-your-own-score, the AI’s moves are pre-set, and it is easy to operate. Having to think for myself is hard enough in this game, so not having to do it for him as well is brilliant. Plus, knowing that the difficulty level increases from 1 – 9 (based on where your starting line is), keeps me coming back for more!
Final thoughts!
I think Seven Bridges is superb. Mainly because it does several things that, for me at least, very few games achieve.
Firstly, it is simultaneously tense and relaxing. I may stop along a route, my mind reeling as I try to figure out how best to boost my scores. But, strangely, I feel like Seven Bridges gives me permission to do that. It lets me stop and take in the imaginary view of Kӧnigsberg whilst I am puzzling things out.
Secondly, Seven Bridges is a game that is ahead of the curve in terms of integrating theme into the gameplay of a genre renowned for poorer performance in this respect. Granted, it isn’t a whizz-pop-colour-drop type game, but it plays and feels like a stroll around historical Russia.
Finally, through a combination of strategy and luck, winning Seven Bridges often comes down to the wire. Runaway leads have been rare in our games which maintains the tension and hope throughout. And I think that is in part because you can mess with your opponents, either through some sneaky drafting, or clever bonus use. Furthermore, because set up and tear down takes seconds, I can be playing almost as soon as I take the box off my shelf. And that is always a winning combination for me.
If you are looking for a top-tier roll and write game that will make your brain burn as it is dipped in warm honey, Seven Bridges could be a game for you!
