The Joy of 7 Wonders

I wanted to write about the way 7 Wonders (tabletop - Asmodee, 2010) does such an amazing job of focusing the players' attention, distilling its gameplay down to just a few choices, and wrapping you in a little bubble of concern that doesn't have to encompass the whole table.  However, if I'm going to stay true to my mission of describing the joy of a game, I have to be honest and say that this is a mechanical innovation that makes the game play better.  Obviously, immensely important.  But what does the game build on top of this tightly focused play experience that brings so much delight?

Consider how concentrated the game's theme is.  There's so much stuff in this small game.  The Joy of 7 Wonders is its

Compact Comprehensiveness

We're talking about a civilization game that plays in 30-40 minutes, after all. Compared to the lean 7 Wonders, this genre is full of the gaming equivalent of a bacon buffet:

Civilization (AH): 430 minutes

Through the Ages: 280 minutes

History of the World: 220 minutes

Rise of Empires: 220 minutes

Sid Meier's Civilization (both): 220 minutes

Antike: 144 minutes

Age of Empires III: 144 minutes

(Times extended by about 20% from their publisher-reported times.  It's the responsible thing to do.)

The only real competitor with 7 Wonders is Roll Through the Ages, also a fine small civilization game.  But Roll Through the Ages can't quite match 7 Wonder's feeling of comprehensiveness.

In 7 Wonders, you can (in somewhat simple gameplay terms) corner the market on a good or become a trading hub. You can become learned in many things or specialize your civilization's knowledge. You can escalate a war with your neighbors or capitulate to their empire.  You can festoon your cities with the institutions of culture and government or build one fantastic monument.  You can (and will) do many of these things in a variety of combinations.

Sure, other civilization games are richer, painting a historical narrative of sometimes epic scale.  Also epic is the time between your turns.  You know when it's your turn in 7 Wonders?  RIGHT NOW.  Build a stone quarry or a coliseum or a lighthouse or a marketplace; build a library or the freaking Hanging Gardens of Babylon.  Just play a card, already!