How did I get so rich!? - 7 Wonders Second Edition Playthrough

[@anonvideo738]

While day side ephesos gives you less money overal, it does not require stone in the first stage (instead it uses clay). Stone is the worst brown resource, since in age 1 there is no military building that requires stone, in age 2 only the walls requires stone (3 of them) and science buildings dont really require stone either. And since ephesos starts with paper they are really good at doing science. So giving up a few coins for not requiring brick can be worth it. In this case though, you start next to gizah so you already have 1 stone. So i would pick night. The double resource would be perfect for you, as it would help with 2 wonder stages (especially the annoying stone one) and gizah requires it for his wonder (and he shouldve taken it). I think the free building symbols are good. Although you dont need a lot of them, for example just getting altar for free pantheon is nice. There are a few nice ones to remember though. Altar into pantheon (expensive 7 point card), all the green one link into the same symbol in the next age (so cog in age 1 makes cog in age 2 free, and the cog in age 2 makes the cog in age 3 free). And school gives you 2 free greens in age 3.Baths->aquaduct is also good since aquaduct is expensive (3 stone). However, getting resources is often better than getting a bunch of symbols. The purple cards in the final age can give a lot of points and you cannot get symbols for those. A building like pantheon is very strong, and someone without altar will still buy it using resources. And then you have no other use for your altar. Military is very strong. For example in the end it did not just give you 5 points against the gizah, but you denied the gizah his 5 points for winning military, and he got a -1 point. So instead of you getting a -1 point and he 5, you got 5 points and he -1. That's a 12 point swing. And with 2 red cards thats 6 points per red card. Same in age 1, getting a military win is 6 points (+2 points instead of -2 points and they get -1 each). So if you buy 2 military thats 3 points per red, just like altar and theater. And like those, it helps you in the next age to win again because you basically start with 1 red preconstructed (you get 2 shields from your age 1 buildings, which is the same as a red in age 2). At 9:45 you build haven, which is 3 points. You could've built your wonder instead (and deny the purple or green card). Especially since olympia on your left did have all the resources to build the purple himself (he had tons of brick and clay). At 11:09 you get a science symbol. But remember you get 4 points from 2 of the same type, and 9 for 3 of the same type. So you get 9-4=5 extra points from building that one. Meanwhile the purple card gives 7 points (although paying 2 would cost you 1 point and give one of your neighbors +1 point for money). I look forward to see more games posted.

[@BeyondtheBoard]

Ah! The observation of clay vs stone is insanely perceptive. Did... did you design this game?? I really prefer to "free build" vs collecting resources, I suppose you're right the purple cards could come into play later and help balance it out but it seems a bit more luck based since each round a few cards are randomly removed plus opponents can grab them. The perspective of denial of points is valid. I think I naturally tend away from denial of other peoples points and self focus a lot in games. Which tends to work out okay because helping yourself elevates you above all others vs denying a single player just hurts one person. Ya... I ignored my wonder and really didn't even notice how much I did that until I started editing this video. I knew even during the game that science symbol victory calculations boggles my mind lol. So ya wrong move there. Thanks for the feedback, I did not except such a detailed & experienced response! You would absolutely crush me in this game...

[@BeyondtheBoard]

I should get you to proof my videos! :D

[@anonvideo738]

@@BeyondtheBoard Sadly no, i didnt design this game. But you start noticing those kinds of things if you play a lot. For example, in 3p you have the clay/ore and wood/stone duals. And you notice that the clay/ore can get you 2 military buildings, while the wood/stone only one. Baths costing a stone for 3p while the others are free (and aqueduct being a jerk to pay for unless you use the free build from baths) is another thing you'll notice. And you notice that 2 reds in age 2 are easy to built, while the last one is often expensive. And then you notice the 3 stone cost. Free build isnt bad, but the things you get are usually weaker (in points) than the equivalent that you cannot get for free. For example gardens is 5 points, senate is 6. pantheon is 7, palace is 8. Purples can easily be worth 6+ points if you are in the right position. You cannot get free builds for your wonder either. And more advanced players can see what you build. So if they start with both palace and pantheon, they build the pantheon, knowing you cannot steal the palace away from them, and then you're stuck building something weaker. Denying points isnt as good as building points yourself (since youre playing against more than 1 person). But with winning military youre getting ahead against at least 2 other players. in a 4p game thats pretty big. And at some point you build your wonder, so you have to bury a card, at that point you might as well look around to see what is the best card to bury. Also, if you never deny someone else, and someone goes science, its game over. No way you can build enough points to win against a full green player (getting 4 of every science token is 76 points). Another good way to deny points is via burying the 2x resource card. Gizah needs a ton of stone and clay. If you can remove one of those from play they cannot finish their wonder.

[@BeyondtheBoard]

@@anonvideo738 Wow, you know a TON about this game! Most of the time my thoughts are more, intuitive & off the cuff. In some videos I do research plays to be a little more thorough. You have this stuff really deeply understood, it's impressive. I also generally just go blue because of the pretty pictures and I've noticed a lot of people avoid it because it's so straight forward, thus it tends to do well.

[@anonvideo738]

@@BeyondtheBoard A lot of people avoid it because pure blue cannot compete with a mixture.

[@BeyondtheBoard]

What do you guys think about the resources production vs free upgrade focus?