7 Grand Steps

 PC
User Score
6.9

Mixed or average reviews- based on 30 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 12 out of 30
  2. Mixed: 14 out of 30
  3. Negative: 4 out of 30

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  1. superatron
    Jun 25, 2013
    10
    Incredibly fun and addictive. Build a family over several generations with a gameplay that feels like a sophisticated slot machine. Not a game that you play on the subway or while waiting in line for a movie. This is the kind of game that takes commitment. Definitely worth it.
  2. Eskaton
    Jun 8, 2013
    8
    Really original game, worth checking out. Reminds me of a Reiner Knizia game crossed with King of Dragon Pass. If you get those references get this game. If you don't get them, better luck in the next life.
  3. Jounk33
    Aug 21, 2013
    9
    The majority fail to recognize the huge potential of this game. Hopefully the other 6 parts will follow soon. Highly recommend for single players who like unusual games.
  4. Dudumanne
    Jun 9, 2013
    10
    This game is both simple and addictive. It's really fun to improve a family through ages with differents skills and to see the interaction between pawns. Highly recommend for board-game lovers!
  5. triking
    Jul 15, 2013
    9
    Oh boy, if 7 Grand Steps is not your thing, it really isn't your thing. But if any aspect of it tickles you, you will enjoy every moment of it. I was taken in by the simple, almost too simple gameplay, but don't let this game fool you, it's tough to get under your finger. Just as you think you're getting the hang of it, quickly raising families and achieving legends, the game shifts agesOh boy, if 7 Grand Steps is not your thing, it really isn't your thing. But if any aspect of it tickles you, you will enjoy every moment of it. I was taken in by the simple, almost too simple gameplay, but don't let this game fool you, it's tough to get under your finger. Just as you think you're getting the hang of it, quickly raising families and achieving legends, the game shifts ages on you and throws you off. So you shift your strategy to adjust, and once you've got the hang of it again, bam, it introduces a part of the game that's plain absent for the first few hours, at least for me. Good luck taking the appropriate risks at this stage. I ended up backed into a corner, so focused on the new dynamic that emerged, that I didn't realize my resources had slowly been drained away turn by turn. In the next age I discovered just how frustrating it could be to become poor, having little to teach my heirs and often relying solely on the whim of fate. And let me tell you one part of the game that's not forgiving. It's Fate. There is no clever AI here, just simple gameplay that's hard to lose, but hard to win. The constant threat of setbacks just as you're climbing your way out is always present, causing you to think carefully about not only your short term strategy, but longer term how you will bring your family to greatness while surviving the challenges of the ages.

    I'm not finished with the game yet, I'm actually not even sure how much there is in it (which is nice in a way). So far it's been an addicting 6-7 hours and there's still more to discover. I might add to this review once I'm done to see if anything changes or if the developers really are as evil as I think they are.    … Expand
  6. rpgfan2012
    Oct 3, 2013
    5
    How to make it better make multiple saves available, have enemies treated the same way they treat you, always ask player whenever the opportunity arises it's really annoying to see children popping out automatically without any control whatsoever, more caste levels and technologies/inventions.
  7. Jonni_g_n
    Jun 11, 2013
    6
    Quite an original game, I played the demo and have put in about 6 hours upon buying. I feel quite ripped off though. The demo seems to contain most of the mechanics, and doesn't really become more interesting than that. The gamespot review is quite accurate in that it is fun, and engages you, but only for the sake of one more turn, one more turn. You have no connection to the familyQuite an original game, I played the demo and have put in about 6 hours upon buying. I feel quite ripped off though. The demo seems to contain most of the mechanics, and doesn't really become more interesting than that. The gamespot review is quite accurate in that it is fun, and engages you, but only for the sake of one more turn, one more turn. You have no connection to the family you raise. Massively because the writing of the events is completely abysmal. I would suspect the writers aren't first language English users, beacuase when reading even the important choice events, I have to reread and even then they are very basic. Learning to play is a lot of fun, then after 4 hours of playing a glorified boardgame on your own for $15 you don't find it interesting.

    Once you get to the ruler zone, which appears to be the only point in the game, it plays out very similarly, still not a game, you click one box and push a few sliders, that don't appear to have great effect.

    In essence it looks intersting from the demo, but that all it is, an unfinished product which looks great from the outside but has very very little content....Buy king of dragon pass, or Gunpoint instead.    … Expand
  8. theretherehuman
    Jun 15, 2013
    4
    I am surprised I spent as long as I did on this game, around ten hours, considering how boring and uneventful I found it. I spent the money and there were comments saying it was so amazing, so I wanted to give it the benefit of the doubt. Also there is something addictive, without actually being fun or interesting, about the putting the coin in the slot.

    The whole game is essentially    I am surprised I spent as long as I did on this game, around ten hours, considering how boring and uneventful I found it. I spent the money and there were comments saying it was so amazing, so I wanted to give it the benefit of the doubt. Also there is something addictive, without actually being fun or interesting, about the putting the coin in the slot.

    The whole game is essentially repeatedly rolling dice and making making small decisions based on the outcomes. These small decisions add up, and if you choose well, your family's destiny improves as the game progresses. Sadly the amount of time vs the payoff is way out of wack. It takes too long to learn what amounts to general guidelines of how to play, and after you know the guidelines it is just random. And the writing, which is where it needs to stand out if the gameplay is so repetitive, is really boring. It is very family oriented and very dry. If they added more historical detail then this could be a fun educational tool for children.    … Expand
  9. ArjanS87
    Jan 3, 2014
    5
    This kind of game is though to rate, because it fits completely in another box than 'regular' PC games.
    But having that said, this is also its strong point.
    The game plays as a slot machine, with some additional events that require a choice from you. Even though there is quite some planning involved with playing this game, I found it tricky to really get into the mechanics deep    This kind of game is though to rate, because it fits completely in another box than 'regular' PC games.
    But having that said, this is also its strong point.

    The game plays as a slot machine, with some additional events that require a choice from you.
    Even though there is quite some planning involved with playing this game, I found it tricky to really get into the mechanics deep enough. After about a hour I'd say I had a little bit enough of the game, although I probably haven't gone close to the 'fun' parts yet.

    If it would have been set up in a more visually stunning game, away from the slot machines into full on point and click and from the ancient age to the modern age... then I would have probably eaten the whole game up in one go.

    But it might just be me     … Expand
  10. Greywolf2001ca
    Oct 11, 2014
    9
    The only problem with this game is that it's only ONE of the seven steps... Why release incomplete games? Why not release the entire thing first hand? People doing that sucks.
  11. civ5king
    Sep 4, 2014
    6
    This game is surprisingly addictive and fun. The object is to grow threw generations. I game this game a solid 6. Game play can become repetitive at times. Sound is not the best.
  12. carlosgtardon
    Jun 10, 2014
    7
    Extraño juego, pero interesante para investigarlo. Su mecánica y dinámica hace plantearse si llega a ser un videojuego o no pero quieres continuar usándolo.
  13. Neptanto
    Aug 21, 2014
    10
    The game has sophisticated, deeply strategic gameplay which has a distinct "just one more turn" feel to it. What excites me the most, however, is the idea behind the game. Leading your family through the ages, it's like Civilization on a family scale. And to think that this game is only the first "Grand Step" in the planned series of seven games, covering only the Ancient history. TheThe game has sophisticated, deeply strategic gameplay which has a distinct "just one more turn" feel to it. What excites me the most, however, is the idea behind the game. Leading your family through the ages, it's like Civilization on a family scale. And to think that this game is only the first "Grand Step" in the planned series of seven games, covering only the Ancient history. The second game would cover Middle ages, and from what I've heard you would be able to transfer your progress from the first game. 7 Grand Steps - a great concept that i'd very much like to see become a reality.… Expand
  14. Overvulture
    Nov 9, 2015
    6
    I have no idea what this is actually supposed to be. It's sort of a board game, sort of a strategy game, and sort of a roleplaying game and exists as something entirely its own thing.

    Normally I'd call that a plus, but as you might have guessed by the gratuitously pretentious title, it's a game much more full of itself than it is actually well-designed. Playing as a family, you use    I have no idea what this is actually supposed to be. It's sort of a board game, sort of a strategy game, and sort of a roleplaying game and exists as something entirely its own thing.

    Normally I'd call that a plus, but as you might have guessed by the gratuitously pretentious title, it's a game much more full of itself than it is actually well-designed. Playing as a family, you use tokens to move forward on a board that's constantly rotating towards a pit of crocodiles which represent failure to thrive. As you play, you might produce children, and one of those children moves on to be your next player character and start a new generation eventually. Choices you make, like neglecting one of your offspring, might affect you down the line.

    Pretty cool in concept, but everything is just so slow and boring that it lost me. I remained curious and entranced despite the repetition for a while, wanting to know where this was all going, but eventually I realized just how much time I was wasting clicking on tokens again and again. Every actual in-game action is so far removed from the overall story it's trying to tell that it requires you to bring your own personal narrative to things just to make it interesting. Coupled with a really self-satisfied writing style and a way of trying to sound philosophical without saying much, and my goodwill quickly faded away entirely.

    This was a bundle game for me, but I'm still not interested in playing any longer. That it sells for $20 normally is insane. Some people might find something of interest here in the unique concept - I do recommend giving it a try if it makes its way to your library via bundle - but everything it was trying to do just didn't work for me.    … Expand
  15. McJazzhands
    Feb 3, 2020
    3
    The game itself has a really unique presentation in the form of a constantly rotating board game, but that's about where the charm stops, unfortunately. Gameplay and movement is based on a limited number of tokens, but you can generate tokens based on skills and interaction with other characters on the board. Unfortunately, you don't make nearly enough to do much of anything before long,The game itself has a really unique presentation in the form of a constantly rotating board game, but that's about where the charm stops, unfortunately. Gameplay and movement is based on a limited number of tokens, but you can generate tokens based on skills and interaction with other characters on the board. Unfortunately, you don't make nearly enough to do much of anything before long, especially when you end up having children and need to feed them tokens to improve their respective skills.

    Again, the game has a lot of neat ideas, but is let down by the execution and the random events that players don't really have much control over beyond one choice, the outcome of which seems to be based on skills, but isn't clear enough to know for certain. Later phases (I only made it to the second stage) introduce the idea of generating clout, but don't explain it at all.

    I want to like this game, I really do, but I can't.    … Expand

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
69

Mixed or average reviews - based on 4 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2 out of 4
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 4
  3. Negative: 1 out of 4
  1. Destructoid
    Jun 26, 2013
    40
    In retrospect, I like having this unique story to tell. However, I found little joy in actually playing it. Frustration, irritation, and boredom, sure. But little joy. I might have been better off playing the slots in my local, dilapidated amusement arcade. At least then there would have been a chance I could have won a few quid, and with my winnings, I could just have bought a book.
    Read full review
  2. Multiplayer.it
    Jun 20, 2013
    80
    7 Grand Steps is a smart digital board game enriched with strategy elements and some surprises. A strange game, indeed, that brings us trough 7000 years of dynastical challenges.
    Read full review
  3. Hyper Magazine
    Jun 10, 2013
    90
    With surprisingly intricate tactical gameplay hidden behind a charming interface and nonchalant storytelling, 7 Grand Steps is one of gaming's greatest metaphors for life. [July 2013, p.73]
See all critic reviews »