That said, unlike the first campaign offering from IAWW (War or Peace), I was impressed by how small modular additions to the game mechanics through Leisure and Decadence opened up a ‘thinkier’ version of the game. (I won't go into detail as they are nice surprises) Story It is a game of efficiency and engine building, taking its core from games like 7 Wonders and Sushi Go and dialling up the fun without raising the complexity. Using the usual card drafting mechanic players will draft 7 cards in each of the four rounds. Depending on player count this is done by taking 7 or 10 cards choosing one and passing the rest to the left or right, again depending on the round. The player who produces the most of these cubes this time gets an orange general token. The same process of cube placing continues before the green production phase, then the yellow and finally the blue. Huh? Half asleep, I stumble down my stairs and open my front door. There is a shrink-wrapped game sitting on my porch titled “ It’s a Wonderful World.”

Now, I’m not going to tell you how to play the game, or even the best strategies (as I play a different one every time). But I can categorially confirm that synergies is where the extra special scoring sauce is to be found. And not just synergies between your empire card, the cards you want to build, and the resources on them. That’s It’s a Wonderful World base-game 101. I mean synergies between different types of building for Pairs, as well as negative synergies in Corruption. Losing resources sounds bad. But if you don’t have any of that type to lose in the first place, then you don’t sacrifice anything to get the better production return they offer. And if you can then combine the production boom to target cards that fit a Pair reward and/or Master Projects then whooey! Your game just levelled up! That is essentially how to play. To win you need the most points. Some buildings will grant you a set value of points. Others will give you some multiple of points for each of a particular building type in your empire. It’s pretty straight forward. produce cubes of a color - each player produces cubes of current color according to what is shown in the bottom bar of cards in Empire tableau. You want to be careful and aware of what you are passing to your neighbour since It’s a Wonderful World is a drafting and engine building game. The last thing you want is to feed an opponent’s thriving Empire. Make Way in the World – Planning Phase Once you have your cards it is time to decide how you would like to play them. In It’s a Wonderful World, you have two options. Firstly, each card has a recycling value which will allow you to discard the card and then take one of the five basic resource types. Your other option is to try and build the card. Each card requires a bunch of resources to build. But once built will give you some kind of benefit each turn and maybe a little bonus when you first complete it too.I’d love to say that the theming of the cards comes through in how your society progresses. In reality, it all kind of fades into different coloured cards that produce different coloured cubes. I’ve never once found myself thinking, “I need to find a card that produces science so I can build my cloning vats”. I’m a lot more likely to be thinking, “I need greens so I can build my card that makes blues!” Theme isn’t everything, but at least the art is lovely.

If you have the brain capacity, you can try and hate the draft, I am only able to focus purely on my own game. You will be trying to draft cards that you can build with the resources you are able to produce or drafting cards to get you instant recycle bonuses to help you build cards faster. Each hand of cards you receive poses its own unique puzzle, sometimes you will want all the cards and occasionally it will be the worst of a bad bunch situation. Second Phase All players simultaneously draft a single card from their hand and then reveal them. Remaining cards are passed and drafting repeats until all are taken. At first blush, It’s a Wonderful World doesn’t seem like it offers anything new or exciting: it’s a pretty standard drafting game with some engine building. However, the timing of every move you make in the game, especially during the step-by-step Production phase, is what makes this game stand out. Drafting a full set of 7 cards before taking any action also makes It’s a Wonderful World an incredibly thinky experience. Sitting around the gaming table, you’ll hear players mumbling to themselves as they plan out how to best use their drafted cards in the Planning phase, deciding which to put under construction and which to recycle for resources. Planning Phase – Players will decide which of the 7 cards they drafted will be moved to their Construction Area or will be recycled for its Recycling Bonus

The Construction Cost for this card is now met so the card is moved to their Constructed Cards Area and they gain the Construction Bonus. Super Production (3) – these are how they sound; they give loads of resources once built but their cost is equally fierce!