7 Wonders: How to Win With Every Wonder (Both Sides)

Every Wonder Board in 7 Wonders adds a little extra flavor to the game, and if you want to win you need to know how to adapt your game to the Wonder in front of you. Some Wonders are more intuitive than others but, in my opinion, they are all fairly balanced and have good winning chances if properly utilized. I’ll go into how to play with both sides of each Wonder, which side I prefer, and why.

If you haven’t checked out my strategy guides and tips for 7 Wonders I recommend you read them first and then return to this article after you’re all caught up. You can check them out here:

• 7 Wonders: Strategy Guide to Win as a Beginner (11 Tips)
• 7 Wonders: Intermediate Strategy & Gameplay Guide

Alexandria

Alexandria is one of the most straightforward and intuitive Wonders in the game. Both the Day and Night sides provide resource bonuses and Victory Points (VPs), with no additional mechanics to worry about.

Because of the basic resource bonus, both sides of Alexandria are great for 3 and 7-player games and the Night side in particular is great in 4-player games (for more explanation about why this is, see my posts linked above). Starting with a manufactured resource (Glass) is also a nice little bonus if you want to get an early jump on Science.

For both the Day and the Night side, I recommend that you try to complete the first two Wonder phases as soon as is practical. Gaining access to those additional flexible resources is very powerful, and the earlier you can use them the more valuable they’ll be throughout the game. Phase 3 should be completed sometime in Age 3 – typically towards the end of the round when the most valuable cards have already been claimed.

With access to your flexible resources, you should consider eliminating certain resources from the game so restrict your opponents’ options. This is especially true when playing the Night side of Alexandria where you essentially get a free Forum. You can discard some manufactured goods and/or the Forum card and make it very difficult (or impossible) for your opponents to ever have access to them.

Overall, both sides of Alexandria are easy and flexible to play with, if a little dull. I prefer the Night side because of the added flexibility of the manufactured goods and the potential to restrict my opponents.

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Babylon

Both sides of the Babylon Wonder call for a Science-heavy approach to the game due to the Science bonus in the second Wonder phase. The first phase of the Night side allows you to play the 7th card in your hand, essentially giving you an extra turn at the end of an Age.

The Day side of Babylon offers some straightforward VPs in the first and third phases and a Science bonus in the second phase. It’s important to secure access to 4 wood to complete the third phase, which usually isn’t too difficult because you start with 1 wood from your Wonder.

The Night side of Babylon is a little less straightforward. Many players rush to complete the first phase so that they get the benefit of the 7th card in all three Ages. This is a perfectly valid strategy, but don’t force it if you’d get some benefit by constructing cards in Age 1 instead. The reality is that the 7th card at the end of Ages 1 and 2 usually isn’t all that great, and you don’t get to choose what it is. Sometimes you might not even have the resources to play it, so all you can do is sell it for Gold.

Both sides of Babylon offer a Science bonus which can be great, but it’s also a huge red flag to your opponents that you’re likely to go heavy on Science. That shouldn’t stop you from doing so, but don’t force it. I usually like to aim for two complete sets of Science symbols, including the bonus (so 5 Science cards plus the Wonder bonus). This scores a decent amount of points but still allows me to score points in other areas. Of course, if your opponents show no interest in preventing you from acquiring more Science then by all means, go for it.

Overall, I find that both sides of Babylon are relatively easy to play but tend to shoehorn you into at least a partial Science build. I prefer the Day side because I find that the VPs usually offer more value than the 7th card at the end of an Age.

Ephesos

Ephesos is one of the easiest Wonders to understand, with both sides offering straightforward and flexible play. Both the Day and Night sides provide a combination of VPs and Gold, with no additional mechanics to worry about.

Unless you have a dire need for Gold, there is no reason to rush the construction of any of the Wonder phases. In general, I aim to complete one phase of Ephesos in every Age so that I can score points by constructing cards in Age 3.

Because of the influx of Gold your Wonder provides, you can usually go lighter on the number of resources you construct in your city. You can just choose to buy the resources instead, so claiming both Trading Posts and chaining them into Forum is usually a really powerful option. That doesn’t mean you can completely neglect your own resources, but I find that I can usually get away with 2 or 3 fewer resources cards than normal.

If given the choice, there is no doubt that you should choose the Night side of Ephesos over Day. Both sides are powerful, but Night is unquestionable better because of the fungibility of Gold. Gold is also worth points, so the Night side is worth the same amount of total VPs but also additional Gold compared to the Day side.

Gizah

The Pyramids of Gizah are the quintessential Wonder, offering nothing but a solid amount VPs in every phase. The biggest challenge with Gizah is acquiring access to all of the resources you’ll need to complete every phase.

Because each Wonder phase (on both sides) only provide VPs, there is no need to be in a rush completing them. In general, I aim to have the first 2 phases of the Day side and the first 3 phases of the Night side completed by the end of Age 2. This leaves just one phase to complete in Age 3, which is usually handy near the end of the Age when most of the useful cards have been claimed.

The obstacle that’s the most difficult to clear with Gizah is all of the resources you’ll need – particularly the four stone for the last phase. Luckily, you start with one stone from your Wonder. If your opponents are smart they will avoid constructing stone of their own which makes it hard for you to complete the last phase – you’ll have to spend a couple of turns gathering it yourself. Caravansery is a a great option to help alleviate your resource concerns.

Because of all the resources you’ll need, Gizah tends to synergize well with Civilian and Military structures. You’ll already have most of the resources you need to construct these buildings, and you have no real incentive to go heavy on Science, anyway. The Night side also paris extremely well with Arena and Builder’s Guild, which score VPs/Gold based on the number of completed Wonder phases.

I prefer the Night side of Gizah simply because it provides more VPs than Day. I find that the opportunity cost of constructing an additional Wonder phase in Age 2 (for 5 VPs) is usually well worth it, and scores better than another card would.

Halikarnassos

Halikarnassos is one of the most difficult Wonders to master because it features an interesting mechanic that lets you play a card from the discard pile. The Night side in particular is probably the most difficult Wonder board in the game because you can use this ability three times.

The Day side of Halikarnassos is much more straightforward than the Night because two of the three phases simply provide VPs. The trick with the Night side (and the second phase of the Day side) is mastering the use of the ‘play from the discard pile’ mechanic.

In general, I find that it’s best to use the ‘play from discard’ mechanic late in Age 2, when there tends to be a decent amount of cards in the discard pile to choose from but you aren’t using a turn in Age 3 that could be scoring more points.

The key with Halikarnassos is to sell or discard cards that you think will be beneficial to you in the future, then getting them back using the mechanic. This is particularly powerful when you use it for cards you couldn’t otherwise afford because of resource restrictions. You can sell the card for 3 Gold, then in a subsequent turn you get to play it back for free using your Wonder mechanic.

I find that the third phase of the Night side is rarely worth completing, unless I know for certain that there is a card in there that will win me the game. The third phase doesn’t provide any VPs, and it’s rare that retrieving a card from the discard pile will be more beneficial than simply constructing a card from you hand.

Going heavy on Science with Halikarnassos is often a good option because starting with Loom gives you a chance to get an early jump. You can also retrieve more Science cards from the discard pile, especially if other players are discarding them to prevent someone from going on a tear with Science.

I prefer the Day side of Halikarnassos because it’s simpler to play, and I find that the VPs in the third Wonder stage are almost always more valuable than anything you can pull out of the discard pile.

Olympia

Olympia is a unique Wonder because the sides play very differently from one another. Each side features abilities not found anywhere else in the game – even on the other side of the Wonder board.

The first and second phases of the Day side are simple enough, but the second phase allows you to construct the first card of each color free of chard. Crucially, this doesn’t mean the first card of each color after you activate the ability – it means the first card of each color, period. If you’ve already constructed a blue Civilian structure, for example, you can’t activate the Wonder ability and then play a second Civilian structure for free.

I have found that the best time to construct the second phase of the Day side Wonder is at the end of Age 2 or near the beginning of Age 3, when cards are more valuable, expensive, and (crucially) available. It does you no good to be able to construct a free Guild card if all of the valuable Guild cards have already been played.

I sometimes avoid playing any Civilian structures in Ages 1 and 2 for the express purpose of being able to construct an Age 3 Civilian structure like Palace for free. Instead, I will focus on resources, Commercial, and Military structures. Then, at the beginning of Age 3 I can play expensive Civilian and Guild structures for free.

The Night side of Olympia plays completely differently. The first stage of the Wonder allows you to play the first card of an Age for free, while the second state allows you to play the last card of an Age for free. You should always try to construct the first stage of Night Olympia in the first Age so that you get the benefit of that ability in Ages 2 and 3. I don’t usually like to rush the second phase, preferring instead to construct it late in round 2 so that I can also use it in Ages 2 and 3.

When playing the Night side, always keep a keen eye on the hand that you’ll end up with last. That’s the hand you’ll get to play a card from for free, so you want to try to leave cards in there that you otherwise couldn’t afford.

I prefer the Day side of Olympia, but not by much. Which one is ‘better’ really comes down to your personal play style, but I prefer the mechanics of the Day side.

Rhodos

Rhodos is the only Wonder with Military bonuses, so naturally, you should expect to score very well in the Military category compared to your opponents. Beyond the Military bonuses there isn’t anything complicated about playing Rhodos.

Rhodos is strongest in 3 and 4-player games where you are in direct Military conflict with all or most of your opponents. For more explanation on this, I would again suggest that you read my other 7 Wonders articles (linked at the beginning of this article), especially the post on intermediate scoring strategies.

The most important part of playing either side of Rhodos is to secure access to 4 coal resources, be it through constructing them in your own city or being able to purchase them from your neighbors. You start the game with one coal, so adding just one or two more is almost always sufficient.

I typically aim to complete the first two phases of Rhose (Day and Night) by the end of Age 2. With the Night side, I almost always complete the first phase in Age 1 and the second phase in Age 2. This gives you be best chance of outscoring your opponents in Military shields and securing those points.

It’s important to note that the shields you get from your Wonder are NOT a replacement for normal Military construction. They are a bonus, and should be treated as such. They’re there to give you the edge to outscore your opponents in each round. If you rely on them to be your only source of shields then you’ll probably end up simply tying or even losing in each Military conflict.

Winning with the day side of Rhodos almost always requires that you complete all 3 phases. Military scoring has a hard cap, and you’re going to need those 7 points to be in contention at the end of the game.

I prefer the Night side of Rhodos because there are only 2 Wonder phases to complete and I find that the structure of the bonuses is a lot more flexible than the day side.