7 Ages Collector’s Edition explained in three pages

© 2025, Australian Design Group

7 Ages has a  unique game system. Just about every game is I go U go using a sequence of play to go through each player’s turn in order.  7 Ages is rotated 90 degrees and is instead an action-based game with a menu of 7 actions to choose from for each empire each turn.

This adds several benefits to the game. You have to choose which of your empires will be playing which action this turn and must decide this for all your empires at the start of each turn, perhaps long before that action will be carried out. Things may well drastically change by then.

Place action markers on your empires

At the start look at your empires and decide which action marker you want to play on each this turn. If you have less than the maximum number of empires you’re allowed in play (each player’s colour has up to 3 empires, but there might be more available if there are some unplayed colours available), you can play an action marker on an empty spot usually to start a new empire (or a destiny to chuck in your cards and get a new hand if you don’t have another empire you can play in this age).

Since you only have 1 marker for each action (plus one wild card) you want to resonate your empires  in action harmony (e.g. empire 1 does a production and empire 2 manoeuvres in one turn and vice versa the next).

The wild card can do any action but at the cost of no free progress at the end of the turn unless you have an administrator.

ACTIONS

At the start of each action, each player who is doing that action this turn, in player order, turns their action marker over and carries out that action for this empire.

1.        Start empire

If  you have less than your maximum, you want to start an empire. If the most advanced empire is in the age on your empire’s card, then you may play the card as an empire now. The Set-up tells you how far behind (or in front of) the most advanced empire you place your progress marker on the progress track. If you have a named leader this age, you get them as a free leader promotion. The money tells you how much you start with to buy initial units and any left-over money is recorded by placing your money marker on the respective box of the glory track.

Finally each empire has special rules that may give you freebies at the start or allow you to buy units cheaper. One of these special rules might give you a free manoeuvre or two which allows you to spread out quickly from the get go.

Of course you might start where someone else is in which case you may have to struggle to even launch, but if you’re lucky they are sick of their current venal overlords and welcome you with open arms (if your special tells you to convert them to you) making your overthrow of their former ramshackle empire even easier (imagine the impact of both those last two specials combined)).    

After establishment, unless barbarian, place your capital in your start area and you’re done.

2.        Production

This is where you count up the income from your areas (see terrain effects chart on the map) and cities, pay one maintenance per unit and then buy new units forts and elite markers and save whatever’s left over (every action is pretty much what it says on the tin).

3.        Trade and progress

Again, intuitive, obvious and easy. Pick another player’s empire within range (changes over time by your age and, if playing option 16, whether you have artefacts  like radio or satellites) choose a card in your hand, they do the same (you pick from the deck if you don’t have any cards) and add a couple of modifiers if they are applicable (or events if played). Reveal the cards.

Whoever is highest wins and they get to progress 1 to 3 spaces depending on another couple of modifiers, you swap cards and the loser gets the value in money of the card they receive. Win! Win! And it’s over in 30 seconds (another win).

4.        Manoeuvre

This is where you can move all your units but usually have to leave one in each area to show who controls it. Every unit has a movement allowance and the cost for each area is on the terrain effects chart on the map.

You usually must stop when you enter another empire’s areas (even ones controlled by you, don’t think your puppets remotely like each other even if you are the one pulling their strings). If you do, at the end of your movement you must resolve all conflicts with other empires.

If its blue on blue you have to give control of your defending empire to another player and hope they will try to resolve the unfortunate conflict between your recalcitrant puppets as peacefully as possible (don’t give them to me).

Each conflict you both pick a card and then decide how many units in this area you want to commit this round. Add up the unit’s values (half the unit’s front values the other half’s support values) add the card and modifiers and whoever is higher wins this round. Their units are committed while the losers are all returned to the unit pool. If it’s a draw both sides lose all their committed units unless they committed a tactician in which case they survive. Tactical leaders also allow you to chuck out the first card you pick and select a second.

When you have committed all your units, they again become uncommitted which means you can commit them again to future rounds but your opponent gets a bonus of their best front and support value each round (per conflict disorder marker) because your chaps are getting tired.

After one side has at least one conflict disorder marker the other side can retreat (if they have an adjacent area to retreat to). Whoever is last one standing controls the area (which could be no one if you both commit everything and draw, a true Pyrrhic victory/defeat).

We have a quick conflict resolution option (option 13) that is only one round and that includes a solitaire option, one round everybody vs everybody, no decisions required (except tactical leaders where for “their side” apply the Black jack  croupier rule, 2 or less twist, 3 or higher stick).

5.        Destiny

Discard any number of cards you like, fill your hand to 6. Nothing to see here, let’s move on.

6.        Civilise

This one does have a bit more meat on the bone. Here you do up to 8 sub things.

(a)     Play event and/or artefact cards and do what it says (or get artefacts for glory)

(b)     Remove 1 leader ~ off you pop, thanks for coming

(c)     Promote 1 leader ~  the King is dead, long live the Queen. Your leader number on your card tells you how many leaders you can have at the same time and if you have a named leader this age you can promote them rather than chancing the unnamed leader lucky dip.

(d)     Adopt a religion or government ~ If someone within range has a government or religion you like, you can add it to your lustrous realm and tell everyone you thought of it first.

(e)     Discard a government or religion ~ hmmm that didn’t work out so well after all (beware of the potential unrest)

(f)       Modernise ~ You may turn over to their better sides all units whose progress level is yours or lower (e.g. if you are at pl 36 or higher you can turn your triremes into cruisers)

(g)     Remove disorder ~ pay off your troublesome subjects; and lastly

(h)     Urbanise ~ Build or improve 2 cities in fertile areas or 1 anywhere else (builders also help).

7.        Discard empire

Discard the empire’s card and place all its units and markers in the various unit pools. If playing option 10: replace your discarded empire’s on map units with neutral Kingdom units.

END of TURN

Free Progress

Every empire gets to advance one space on the Progress Track unless they played a wild card and don’t now have an administrator or are in a dark age without a scientist.

Harvest Glory

Check the glory categories on your empire’s card and compare with all other empires (even your own). If you are top. second or third in different categories you may be eligible for glory depending on the number in your glory icon. There are also categories like oil wheat and elephants where you get a glory for each you control and also extra glory for your homeland.

Add up the total of each empire you control and add it to your total on the Glory Track.

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And that’s it, next turn. The game ends when the first empire passes the 49^th progress level or when you decide to end. Whoever has the most glory wins (if you only have an hour the player with the most glory after an hour wins).

The twists aren’t in the individual actions, they are as simple and streamlined as possible. The aim was absolute consistency simplicity and no exceptions wherever possible. The twists are in the interaction between the empires, the artefacts, the events and the players and every situation can have different outcomes depending on the circumstances.

So, you might be top in glory late in the 7th age but someone else is charging ahead, about to overtake you. If a player with no chance of winning has an empire on the 49^th progress level, you want any empires of yours to trade with them and lose to push them over the edge and you win the game.

But what if someone else trades with them before you and they lose (they can’t be picked twice in a turn)? Or you don’t have a trade card low enough to lose? Oh Nooooo! You have to keep your eye out for such opportunities throughout the game, surfing the wave to glorious victory. Good luck and good gaming. May the best player win (unless that’s not you)!