Classic indeed
THE 7TH CONTINENT: CLASSIC EDITION
Designer: Ludovic Roudy & Bruno Sautter | Publisher: Serious Poulp
This is the new, smaller and somewhat trimmed version of The7th Continent – designed to sate the desires of those who missed the initial Kickstarters for the game. It’s been shaved back from the huge Kickstarter version to make what is possibly the most compact version of the game Serious Poulp could have made. It would be very ambitious to call it a travel version, but the box is a little bit smaller. If you’re not acquainted with The 7th Continent – check out our Have You Played? on the game on page 14.
So what’s different? There’s less curses for a start – meaning that there’s slightly less ways to die. There’s less characters – including the loss of a couple of literary in-jokes with Victor Frankenstein missing the boat on this one. Oh and the minis, you’ll have to settle for standees. You’re also going to miss out on a couple of trays, a card holder and some player aids. Most importantly there’s less cards – although all the cards are there to make the game work, with 113 cut cards you might think you’re missing out on something…
People who own the Kickstarter version of the game will tell you that whatever has been cut from the game is the best bit. They might be right, but that’s not the point of The 7th Continent. The The 7th Continent is about going on your own journey. You can ignore them until you’ve at least died a couple of times in the jungle. And if you really do feel like you need more ways to die in a far off land, there’s always the (thankfully reasonably priced) expansions coming later this year.
The core loop is the same as the other editions – you’ll explore the world and uncover events, make choices about what you’re going to attempt, and then how many cards you’re going to commit to overcoming whatever the obstacle is. Failure isn’t the end, but much like actually failing to scramble up the side of a hill and falling on your backside, it’s pretty frustrating. Eventually, the risks mount up for your characters, and it becomes very real as the risk of a curse striking you down once the action-andlifeforce deck is flipped, your choices become more important than ever.
The 7th Continent is more or less a solo game, even if you’re playing a team. The deck is shared, discussion is required to progress anywhere with any kind of efficiency. It’s one of those games where having more people around the table doesn’t help you win or make the game easier, but it does help you stop making stupid mistakes. A bit anyway, you’re still going to wish you’d done a lot of things differently – like not dying – before lifting your first curse.
As stripped back versions of games go, this is one of the best we’ve seen. The heart of the game is there in a way that feels untampered with, and without looking you won’t know you’re missing anything. Other than the areas you’ve yet to explore of course.
CHRISTOPHER JOHN EGGETT
WE SAY
The 7th Continent is a classic, and if you missed out on the original, but want a taste of this wide world – then this is probably the best way to do it.
WHATS IN THE BOX
► 3 Curses
► 849 Cards
► 2 Storage trays
► 34 Dividers
► 9 Cardboard figures
► 1 Player aid
TRY THIS IF YOU LIKED GLOOMHAVEN…
Or really, any big game of exploration. The 7th Continent isn’t Gloomhaven in complexity or combat, but when it comes to opening up a wide world, there’s few better ways to do it.