Tabletop games
7 Wonders Duel
Repos ProductionAntoine Bauza, Bruno Cathala2015
- players
- 2
- minutes
- 30
- years
- 10+
In the box
1 board · 66 Age cards · 12 Wonder cards · 10 Progress tokens · 1 Conflict pawn and 4 Military tokens · Coins
Official rules (PDF, publisher's site)
Box details
- Designers
- Antoine Bauza, Bruno Cathala
- Artwork
- Miguel Coimbra
- Publisher
- Repos Production
- Mechanics
- IncomeMeldingModular BoardMulti-Use CardsOnce-Per-Game Abilities
- Expansions
- 7 Wonders Duel: Pantheon · 2016
- 7 Wonders Duel: Agora · 2020
- 7 Wonders Duel: Solo · 2020
Where to buy it
Near you and online
In a shop
Within 50 km.
Online
Affiliate link: Marquoir may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.
The basics
Two players build their civilisation over three ages. On your turn, take an accessible card from the structure, then construct it by paying its cost, discard it for coins or slip it under a wonder to build that wonder. You win at once if the conflict pawn reaches the opponent's capital or if you gather six different scientific symbols; otherwise, after the third age, the most points wins.
Checked against the official rules · September 2026
The rules, step by step
Setup
2 players, 7 coins each, 4 wonders each
- Two players. Each receives 7 coins.
- The conflict pawn starts on the neutral space, in the middle of the track; the four military tokens are placed face up on their spaces.
- Five of the ten Progress tokens are drawn at random and placed face up on the board.
- Choosing the wonders: four are revealed. The first player, chosen at random, takes one, the other takes two, and the first player keeps the last one. Repeat with four new wonders, but this time the second player chooses first. Each player thus has four; only seven will be built in total.
- Three cards from each age are removed without being looked at, and three guilds drawn at random are shuffled into the age III cards.
- The twenty cards of the current age are laid out following that age's layout, some of them face down.
How to play
1 accessible card, Construct or discard, Or build a wonder
- On your turn, take an accessible card from the structure, that is, one not covered by any other. Cards uncovered in this way are turned face up.
- Construct it by paying its cost, discard it for coins, or slip it under a wonder to build that wonder.
- Discarding earns two coins, plus one per yellow building you have already built.
- A resource you do not produce can be bought from the bank: 2 coins, plus 1 for each unit of that resource produced by your opponent's brown and grey buildings.
- Some age II and III cards are built for free if you already own the building whose chaining symbol they show.
- Shields move the conflict pawn towards the opponent's capital. The first time it enters a zone marked with a military token, the opponent loses the coins shown and the token is removed.
- Two identical scientific symbols let you immediately choose a Progress token.
- At the end of an age, the player who is weaker militarily chooses who starts the next age; if the pawn is in the middle, the player who played the last card decides.
Scoring
3 coins = 1 point, Military 0 to 10, Buildings and wonders
- Blue, green and yellow buildings and guilds: their points, printed or according to their text. Wonders: their printed points.
- Coins: 1 point per full set of three coins.
- Military: 0 to 10 points depending on the pawn's position at the end of the game.
- Progress tokens: as their text says.
End of the game
Military victory, Scientific victory, Else after age III
- Immediate military victory: the pawn reaches the opponent's capital.
- Immediate scientific victory: six different scientific symbols gathered.
- Otherwise, the game ends at the end of the third age and points are counted. In case of a tie, the player with the most blue building points wins; if it is still tied, the game is a draw.
House rules and pitfalls
Only seven of the eight wonders chosen get built: the last one started by the opponent will never be finished.
- Only seven of the eight wonders chosen get built: the last one started by the opponent will never be finished.
- The two immediate victories change everything: ignoring an opponent who is collecting scientific symbols is the fastest way to lose.
Going further
Frequently asked questions · Rules on video · In the same family · Play with the game assistant
Frequently asked questions
How do you win before the end of the three ages?
Two immediate victories. Military supremacy: push the conflict pawn into the opponent's capital. Scientific supremacy: gather six of the seven different scientific symbols. Either one ends the game on the spot.
How are cards chosen, with two players?
Cards are laid out in a structure, some face down. You can only take a card that is fully free, no longer covered by any other. Taking a card can reveal new ones for your opponent.
What are Progress tokens for?
Gathering two identical scientific symbols lets you immediately take a Progress token: permanent bonuses (coins, playing again, points…). Only one of them, Law, itself carries a scientific symbol that counts towards scientific victory; the others do not contribute to it.
How does military conflict work?
Military cards push a single pawn towards the opponent's capital. On the way, it crosses spaces that make the opponent lose coins. Reaching the capital wins immediately.
What happens if nobody has won before the end?
Victory points are counted at the end of age III. The military pawn scores points depending on its position, and the highest total wins; in case of a tie, it goes to the player with the most blue building points, and if it is still tied, the game is a draw.
Rules on video
Videos in French, hosted on YouTube.