BoardGame Verdict
88

It's a Wonderful World is a fast-paced, strategic engine-building game featuring card drafting and tableau building. Players develop their empires by efficiently producing resources and constructing new cards to gain victory points. It supports 1 to 5 players and typically plays in 30-60 minutes.

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88

The Verdict

based on 38 reviews

Positive 0%
Mixed 0%
Satisfying card drafting and engine-building mechanics that offer strategic depth.
Innovative sequential production phase where the order of resource generation matters, leading to interesting chain reactions and decisions.
High replayability due to a large variety of cards and non-fixed game "ages."
Accessible rules that are easy to learn, yet provide significant strategic choices for players.
The "recycling bonus" mechanism adds a clever layer of decision-making to card drafting.
Limited player interaction, often described as feeling like "multiplayer solitaire" outside of hate-drafting.
The two-player experience can be less satisfying, with increased luck of the draw and less balanced resource bonuses.
The game's theme of developing an empire is generally considered generic or weak.
Physical management of numerous resource cubes on cards can sometimes be fiddly.
100
Board Game TipsArticleTop List

“It's a Wonderful World stands out with its efficient engine-building mechanics and strategic depth. The addition of campaign mode in expansions further enriches the gameplay experience, making it appealing for both solo and group play.”

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100
Roll To Review, David NorrisArticle

“It’s a Wonderful World does the fundamentals of drafting and engine-building to perfection. Creating a simple-to-learn, fun-to-play, and brain-scrambling board game.”

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100
One Stop Coop Shop, Unfiltered GamerVideo

The reviewer highly recommends 'It's a Wonderful World,' considering it an excellent tableau management game and placing it among their top three games of all time. They plan to keep it in their collection indefinitely due to its wonderful gameplay and superb execution.

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95
Tantrum House, KatieVideo

It's a Wonderful World is highly regarded for its engaging combination of town building, set collection, card drafting, and tableau building mechanics, making it a notably fun and well-designed game.

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95
BoardGameBollocksVideo

The reviewer highly praises "It's a Wonderful World" as a card drafting and engine-building game, affirming its continued relevance and competitive edge against newer titles in the genre.

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95
3 Minute Board Games, J Carmichael and S RodgersVideo

The reviewer highly praises 'It's a Wonderful World' as a 'gold medal game,' appreciating its ability to pack significant decision-making into a short playtime and its streamlined engine-building mechanics, despite a quirky theme and potential for slow drafting in some groups.

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95
Board Gaming Ramblings, SunnivaVideo

The reviewer highly recommends "It's a Wonderful World," praising its addictive, puzzly, and satisfying card-crunching and engine-building gameplay, noting it is a relaxing experience and a permanent addition to their collection.

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95
Board Game HalvArticleTop List

“Board Game Halv considers 'It's a Wonderful World' a simultaneous action card game that effectively blends card drafting and engine building. Players must strategically choose cards to recycle for immediate resources or keep for construction to produce resources and gain victory points, with construction order being crucial to success.”

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95
Geeks Under Grace, Derek ThompsonArticle

“Geeks Under Grace highly praises the base game "It's a Wonderful World" as a nearly perfect and absolutely stellar game, commending its elegant design, clever system, and unique combination of drafting and engine building that creates satisfying chain-reaction production phases.”

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95
The Opinionated Gamers, TeryArticle

“About halfway through the first game of this I thought “how have I not heard of this game before?”. I am a fan of card drafting and engine building, and this game does both of these very well in a very short amount of time.”

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90
JonGetsGames, JonGetsGamesVideo

The reviewer, JonGetsGames, provides an in-depth tutorial and extended playthrough of 'It's a Wonderful World,' indicating a strong positive reception for the game's mechanics and engaging gameplay.

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90
boardgamecloset, JimmyVideo

The reviewer highly recommends "It's a Wonderful World," particularly for its solo play, praising it as an easy-to-teach, casual, relaxing, and fun card-drafting game that players will enjoy adding to their collection.

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