It’s a Wonderful World

2019

It's a Wonderful World is a thrilling cards drafting and engine building game where players expand their empire, develop resources, and strive for victory points.

45
minutes

1 - 5
player(s)

14+

Medium

About the game

‘It’s a Wonderful World’ is a captivating board game that transports players into a futuristic world, where they take on the roles of leaders of various powerful factions. The game is set in a universe marred by the scars of past conflicts but ripe with the potential for a prosperous future. As a leader, your task is to grow your empire and lead your faction to dominance in this new world order.

The core mechanics of ‘It’s a Wonderful World’ revolve around card drafting and engine building. Each player gets a set of cards, which represent various resources such as materials, science, exploration, or finance. Players must strategically draft these cards to grow their empires, harnessing the unique abilities of each card to gain an advantage over their opponents.

Game components Unboxing the fun!

‘It’s a Wonderful World’ is a card drafting and engine building game where players take on the role of leaders of different nations vying for supremacy. The game has a number of components, each with a unique function and interaction with the gameplay. Here is a description of each:

1. Cards:

Development Cards (148): These cards represent the different projects that players can undertake. Each card has a cost (in resources) and a benefit (typically in additional resources per round). They are the primary means of scoring points.
Empire Cards (8): These cards represent the different factions or nations that players can lead. Each card has a unique ability that can influence a player’s strategy.

2. Tokens:

Resource Tokens (180): These tokens represent the five different resources in the game: materials, energy, science, gold, and exploration. They are used to pay for the cost of Development Cards.
Score Tokens (20): These tokens are used to keep track of the players’ scores throughout the game.

3. Cubes:

Generation Cubes (60): These cubes are used to track the generation of resources by the players’ empires. They help players plan their resource usage and strategy.

4. Other Components:

First Player Token: This token is used to indicate who is the first player in the current round.
Rulebook: The rulebook provides the complete set of instructions, rules, and guidelines for the game.

Each of these components interact in the game in various ways. The Development Cards and Empire Cards are drawn and drafted by the players. The Resource Tokens and Generation Cubes are used to manage and plan the players’ resources. The Score Tokens are used to keep track of each player’s score. The First Player Token changes hands each round and the Rulebook is used to settle any disputes or clarify any rules.

Game setup Lay it out, line it up, let’s go

It’s a Wonderful World is a fascinating card drafting and engine building game for 1-5 players. The game is set in the near future, where players represent the most powerful nations in the world and compete to develop their nations and outperform their opponents. Here is a step-by-step guide on how to set up the game.

Step 1: Assign Player Roles

Each player chooses a color and takes a matching Empire card. This card represents their nation in the game and determines their initial resources and production. The Empire card is placed in front of each player and the remaining Empire cards are returned to the box.

Step 2: Prepare the Card Draw Piles

Shuffle the Development cards and divide them into five equal piles. Then flip the top card of each pile face-up. These are the cards that will be available for drafting during the first round.

Step 3: Set Up the Board

The board is not used in It’s a Wonderful World. Instead, the game is played entirely with cards and tokens on the players’ individual play areas.

Step 4: Distribute Initial Resources

Each player looks at their Empire card and collects the corresponding resource tokens (Materials, Energy, Science, Gold, and Exploration). The tokens are placed on the designated spaces on the Empire card.

Step 5: Deal Initial Hand of Cards

Deal seven Development cards to each player. These cards represent potential advancements for their nations and can be used to build buildings, improve technologies, or increase production. Each player should keep their hand of cards secret from their opponents.

Step 6: Prepare the Rest of the Game Elements

Separate the rest of the resource tokens into distinct piles and place them within easy reach of all players. Then, place the round marker on the first space of the round track. The game is now ready to begin.

Step 7: Random Elements

The random elements in It’s a Wonderful World come from the drawing and drafting of cards. The cards that are available in each round may not always be the ones you need, so you’ll need to adapt your strategy based on what cards you have and what cards you think your opponents might be going after. Additionally, the order in which players build their developments can affect the outcome of the game.

Game flow Round and round we go

‘It’s a Wonderful World’ is a card drafting and engine building board game that spans over 4 rounds. Each round is divided into 3 distinct phases: the Drafting Phase, the Planning Phase, and the Production Phase. Let’s explore each of these phases in detail.

The Drafting Phase:

At the beginning of this phase, each player is dealt 7 cards from the draw pile.
Each player looks at their cards and chooses one to keep. This selected card represents a development that they can build later in the game to earn resources and points.
After selecting a card, players pass the rest of their cards to the player on their left. This process is repeated until all cards have been chosen.

The Planning Phase:

During this phase, players decide what they want to do with the cards they’ve selected during the Drafting Phase.
Each card can either be used to start a new development or it can be discarded to gain resources.
If a player decides to start a new development, they place the card in their construction area. If they decide to discard a card, they immediately gain resources shown on the card.
This phase ends when all players have assigned all their cards.

The Production Phase:

In the Production Phase, players collect the resources produced by their empire and complete their developments.
Production occurs in a specific order: Grey (Materials), Black (Energy), Green (Science), Blue (Exploration), and finally Gold (Gold).
Players can use these resources to complete the developments in their construction area. Completed developments become part of the player’s empire and will provide additional production capacity in the next round.
Any unused resources are stored for the next round.
The Production Phase ends when all players have collected their resources and completed their developments.

After the Production Phase, a new round begins with the Drafting Phase. The game ends after the 4th round’s Production Phase. At this point, the player with the most points, represented by their empire’s output and completed developments, is declared the winner.

Players'turn One turn to rule them all

In the board game ‘It’s a Wonderful World’, a player’s turn is divided into four distinct phases: Drafting, Planning, Production, and Recycling. Each phase has specific possible actions and strategic choices that can greatly influence the game’s outcome. The phases are played in order, and all players participate in each phase together.

Drafting Phase:

In the Drafting phase, players begin by drawing seven cards from the deck. Each player then chooses one card from their hand to keep and passes the remaining cards to the player on their left.

Action: Choose a card from your hand.
Strategy: The card you choose can either be a Development card, which helps you build your empire, or a Resource card, which provides resources for your empire. The choice of card depends on your current strategy and the needs of your empire.

Planning Phase:

In the Planning phase, players decide what to do with the cards they have selected during the Drafting phase. They can either build the development shown on the card or recycle the card for resources.

Action: Place the card in your Empire or recycle it for resources.
Strategy: If you place the card in your Empire, you will need to spend resources to build it. If you recycle the card, you will gain resources immediately. The choice depends on whether you need resources now or want to invest in future development.

Production Phase:

In the Production phase, players gather resources and benefits from their Empire. The order of production is crucial and follows this order: Gray, Black, Green, Blue, Red, Yellow, and White.

Action: Collect resources and benefits from your Empire.
Strategy: The more developments you have in your Empire, the more resources and benefits you will receive. However, you need to balance your resources carefully to ensure you can continue to build and grow your Empire.

Recycling Phase:

In the Recycling phase, players can trade unused resources for Credits or keep them for the next round. However, players can only keep a limited number of resources from round to round.

Action: Trade unused resources for Credits or keep them for the next round.
Strategy: While Credits can be useful for purchasing cards or making trades, sometimes it may be more beneficial to keep resources for the next round, especially if you have a big development planned.

These phases repeat until the game ends, which is usually after four rounds. The player with the most prosperous empire, determined by the number of victory points, wins the game.

End of the game All good games must come to an end

It’s a Wonderful World is a card drafting and engine building game where players aim to develop an empire more efficiently than their opponents. The game ends after four rounds of play, with each round consisting of a drafting phase and a production phase. Let’s detail the game end conditions and the steps you need to take for final scoring.

At the end of the fourth round, the game ends and players proceed to the final scoring phase. The player with the highest score, calculated by adding the points from their empire cards and their score tokens, is declared the winner. In the event of a tie, the player with the most leftover resources wins. If there is still a tie, then the player with the most constructed buildings wins.

The steps for final scoring are as follows:

Calculate Empire Card Points: Each player adds up the total number of victory points from their empire cards. This includes both the constructed cards and the cards in their hand. Each card’s points are clearly marked on the card itself.
Add Score Token Points: Players then add any points they have gained from score tokens to their total. Score tokens are acquired throughout the game by achieving certain goals or milestones.
Count Leftover Resources: Each resource a player has unused at the end of the game is worth one point. These points are added to the total.
Determine the Winner: The player with the highest total score is the winner. In the event of a tie, the player with the most remaining resources is the winner. If there is still a tie, the player with the most constructed buildings wins.

Remember, in It’s a Wonderful World, strategy is key. Carefully choosing which cards to build, when to build them, and when to discard them for resources can greatly influence the outcome of the game. Happy gaming!

Scoring Did you outsmart your rivals?

In ‘It’s a Wonderful World’, players accumulate points throughout the game as they build their empires. Here is the full scoring system:

Empire Scoring:

Each player receives points equal to the production value of their empire. The production value is determined by the sum of the resources produced by all built cards in a player’s empire.

Project Scoring:

At the end of the game, players also score points for completed projects. The points awarded depend on the specific card, with some cards offering additional bonuses for certain conditions.

Bonus Scoring:

Some cards offer bonus points for having certain cards or combinations in your empire. These bonuses are added to your total score at the end of the game.

Majority Scoring:

At the end of the game, the player with the most cards in each of the game’s five categories (Finances, Exploration, Science, War, and Construction) receives additional points. These categories are represented by different colors on the cards.

In the event of a tie, the tie-breaking rules are as follows:

The player with the most completed projects wins.
If there is still a tie, the player with the most cards in their empire wins.
If there is still a tie, the player who was the last starting player wins.

It’s important to note that strategy plays a crucial role in scoring. Players must carefully balance their resource production with their project and bonus scoring opportunities to maximize their points.

Particular Cases and Exceptions Wait… is that legal?

It’s a Wonderful World is a card-drafting and engine-building game where players seek to develop their empire and outperform their opponents. While the game’s base rules are straightforward, there are some special rules, exceptions, and clarifications that can be important for gameplay:

1. Card Drafting:

In the game, players can select a card and pass the rest to the next player. However, if at any point during the drafting phase a player has fewer than 2 cards in their hand, they must immediately pass their remaining card to the next player. They cannot keep a single card.

2. Development Cards:

When you choose to build a development card, you place it in your empire under construction. Only those cards that are fully built (i.e., all required resources are collected) by the end of the current round will provide benefits in the next round.
It’s important to note that if a card is not fully built by the end of the game, it will not count for scoring. However, any resources already placed on it will not be lost and can be used for other developments.

3. Recycling Cards:

Instead of building a development card, players can choose to recycle it for immediate resources. However, once a card is recycled, it is removed from the game and can no longer be used for development.

4. Production Phase:

During production, resources are generated in a specific order: Crates first, then Science, Materials, Energy, Exploration, and finally Gold. This order can be crucial when planning your developments.

5. End of the Game:

The game ends after 4 rounds. At the end of the game, players calculate their score based on the number of victory points on their built developments, their rank in each of the 4 categories of the score track, and any bonus points from their empire card. In case of a tie, the player with the most gold wins.

6. Special Rule for 2 Players:

In a 2-player game, each player drafts 9 cards instead of 7 at the start of each round. After drafting, they must discard 2 cards without using them. This rule introduces more variety and unpredictability in a 2-player game.

Tips and tricks Play smarter, not harder!

Playing ‘It’s a Wonderful World’ can be a rewarding experience when you understand the strategies, avoid common mistakes, and optimize your gameplay. Here are some useful tips to help you master the game:

Advanced Strategies:

The recycling feature can be a great way to get rid of cards that aren’t very beneficial to your empire. Be daring and consider recycling high-scorer cards if they don’t align with your strategy.
Keep a close eye on your opponents. If you notice that they are leaning heavily towards a certain resource, consider that in your plans. It may be a good idea to contest that resource or to focus on a less competitive one.
Don’t underestimate the power of the last round. The game has only four rounds, and each one is important. Plan your strategy early to take advantage of the final round.

Beginner Tips:

Always try to diversify your resources. This makes it easier to construct a wide variety of buildings and boosts your overall score.
Try to concentrate on one type of building in the early stages of the game. This will help you to construct a more efficient empire.
Make effective use of your production phase. Remember that the order in which your empire produces resources can significantly impact your gameplay.

Common Mistakes to Avoid:

Avoid hoarding cards. While it may be tempting to hang onto every card you get, this can slow down your development. It’s often better to recycle unneeded cards for resources.
Don’t ignore your opponents. It’s easy to get caught up in your own plans, but remember that your opponents are also trying to build their empires. Keep an eye on what they’re doing and adjust your strategy accordingly.
Avoid focusing solely on short-term goals. While it’s important to gather resources and build up your empire, you should also be thinking about your long-term strategy.

Ways to Optimize Gameplay:

Try to control the pace of the game. If you’re able to dictate the tempo, you can force your opponents to react to your moves, rather than the other way around.
Consider the advantages of each card carefully. Some cards, while seemingly unimpressive, can be crucial in the right circumstances.
Use your resources wisely. Always remember that resources are finite, so make sure to use them in a way that will give you the most benefits.