L1 · the whole game
Grow a people across a shared map, and finish with the most victory points
You play one of 14 factions, each native to one of 7 terrain types. You can only live on your home terrain, so you spend the game reshaping neighbouring land into your terrain, building on it, and upgrading those buildings into a stronger economy. Everyone starts with 20 VP. After 6 rounds, the highest score wins.
The 14 factions, paired by home terrainwho you can be
Each terrain has two factions, and only one player can take each terrain: once someone picks the Witches, nobody can pick the Auren. Every faction bends at least one rule, and its stronghold unlocks its strongest ability.
| Terrain | Factions | Flavour in one line |
|---|---|---|
| Plains | Halflings · Cultists | Halflings earn VP from spades and dig cheaply. Cultists climb cults when others take power from them. |
| Swamp | Alchemists · Darklings | Alchemists trade VP and coins. Darklings dig with priests instead of workers. |
| Lakes | Mermaids · Swarmlings | Mermaids are strong on rivers. Swarmlings earn extra workers from towns. |
| Forest | Witches · Auren | Witches drop free forest dwellings. Auren are cult specialists. |
| Mountains | Dwarves · Engineers | Dwarves tunnel instead of ship. Engineers build bridges cheaply. |
| Wasteland | Giants · Chaos Magicians | Giants always need exactly 2 spades. Chaos Magicians can take double turns. |
| Desert | Fakirs · Nomads | Fakirs fly carpets over land. Nomads start with 3 dwellings and summon sandstorms. |
Good first factions
Witches and Halflings are the usual beginner picks: clear goals, forgiving economies, and abilities that reward normal building. Save Darklings, Alchemists and Chaos Magicians for later games.
How the game endsthe finish line
The game always lasts exactly 6 rounds. There is no race to a trigger. After round 6 you add end-game bonuses (largest connected network and cult majorities) and convert leftover resources to coins, then to points. L8 has the details.
Before you play · the table and its pieces
What every name in the rules looks like on the table
The rules name a lot of pieces. Most are physical: a dwelling is a small wooden house, a bonus card is a scroll-shaped card. A few are only ideas the rules count with: a spade is one step of digging that you pay for with workers, and there is no spade piece. Throughout this guide, dotted-underlined words open a small picture of that piece.
Before you play · choosing a people
Fourteen factions, two for each terrain
Every faction plays the same game with a few rules bent. They differ in four ways: home terrain (the only land they can build on), starting resources, an ability that is always on, and a stronghold ability that switches on once they build their stronghold. Terrains next to yours on the wheel cost just 1 spade to convert, so your home terrain also decides where you expand cheaply.
L2 · one round
Every round: collect income, take turns until everyone passes, then clean up
The three phases repeat six times. Income is automatic and cleanup is bookkeeping, so almost all decisions happen in the action phase, where players take one action at a time around the table until all have passed. Step through a sample round below.
Before round 1: setupsnake draft
Setup has its own step-by-step diagram, with pictures of the round-scoring tiles and bonus cards and what they do.
Phase I · Incomewhat you collect
Your faction board holds your unbuilt buildings. Each one sits on top of an income symbol. When you build it, the symbol is uncovered and pays you every round from then on. Add income from your bonus card and favor tiles.
- Dwellings uncover workers.
- Trading houses uncover coins and power.
- Temples and the sanctuary uncover priests.
- The stronghold uncovers faction-specific income, often power.
The sandbox in L4 tracks this live: build and upgrade on the map and watch your income per round change.
Phase II · Actionsthe real game
Starting with the start player, each player takes exactly one action, then play moves clockwise. It keeps circling until everyone has passed. Some players take many more actions than others in the same round.
The current round-scoring tile pays VP as you act. For example, “2 VP per dwelling” means every dwelling built this round is worth 2 extra VP.
Passing and turn order
When you pass, return your bonus card and take one of the remaining ones for next round. The first player to pass becomes start player next round. Passing early gets you first pick of bonus cards and first move, but ends your round.
Free actions you can take any time on your turn
Conversions do not use up your action: 5 power → 1 priest 3 power → 1 worker 1 power → 1 coin 1 priest → 1 worker 1 worker → 1 coin. Burning power (L6) is also free.
Phase III · Cult bonus and cleanupend of round
In rounds 1 to 5, the round-scoring tile also shows a cult reward, such as “1 priest for every 4 steps on Water”. Everyone checks their cult position and collects. Then put one coin on each bonus card nobody took, so unpopular cards get more tempting. Round 6 skips the cult reward.
L3 · one turn
On your turn, pick one of eight actions
Two actions grow your presence on the map, two improve your abilities, three draw on shared boards or special abilities, and one ends your round. Terraform and build is the one you will take most, so it gets its own level next. The same 8 actions are listed on your player aid card; a labelled copy is below the cards.
1 · Terraform and build
Change one reachable hex, then optionally put a dwelling on it.
2 · Upgrade shipping
Reach one hex further across rivers. Scores VP on each step.
3 · Cheaper spades
Lower spade cost from 3 workers to 2, then 1. Scores 6 VP each time.
4 · Upgrade a building
Swap a building on the map for the next one up the tree.
5 · Priest to a cult
Send a priest to the cult board to move 3, 2 or 1 steps.
6 · Power action
Spend power on one of six shared actions printed on the game board. An action token marks it used for the round.
7 · Special action
Use a special action from your stronghold, bonus card or a favor tile, and cover it with an action token.
8 · Pass
Swap your bonus card and sit out the rest of the round.
L4 · the core action
Terraform and build: turn a neighbouring hex into your terrain, then settle it
The seven terrains sit on a transformation wheel. Changing a hex costs one spade per step around the wheel, the short way round, so never more than 3 spades. Each spade costs workers at your exchange rate (3, 2 or 1). If the hex becomes your home terrain, you may immediately build a dwelling on it for 1 worker and 2 coins, all as one action.
The action, step by stepexact sequence
- Pick a hex you can reach. It must be empty and adjacent to one of your buildings, directly or across a river within your shipping range.
- Count the spades. Find the hex’s terrain and yours on the wheel. The number of steps along the shorter side is the number of spades.
- Pay for the spades with workers at your exchange rate, or use spades you already gained from a power action or bonus.
- Flip the hex by laying a terrain tile of the new colour on it.
- Optionally build a dwelling on it for 1 worker and 2 coins, if it is now your home terrain.
- Neighbours may gain power. Anyone with a building directly next to your new dwelling may take power (see L6).
- Score the round tile if it rewards spades or dwellings this round.
Building without digging
If a reachable empty hex is already your home terrain, skip the spades and just pay for the dwelling. That is still the same action.
Digging without building
You may transform a hex and not build, or transform it only part of the way toward your terrain. That uses your whole action. Players do this to block an opponent from a hex they wanted, or to prepare a hex for later. A transformed hex without a building belongs to nobody, and anyone whose home terrain it now is may build there.
Which hexes can you reach?adjacency, rivers, bridges
Direct adjacency: the hex shares an edge with one of your buildings. A bridge across a river also counts as a shared edge.
Indirect adjacency: the hex is across a river, and the number of river hexes between your building and it is no more than your shipping level. Shipping starts at 0 for most factions (Mermaids start at 1) and rises with action 2. Your level is shown by a marker on the shipping track of your faction board. Drag the shipping slider in the sandbox to watch your reach grow.
Bridges come from a power action (3 power) or faction abilities. Place one across a river between two land hexes, at least one of them with your building on it. After that, the two hexes count as directly adjacent.
Why direct vs indirect matters
Both let you build. Only direct adjacency counts when forming a town, taking power from neighbours, and getting the cheaper trading house. Indirect adjacency does count toward your largest connected network at game end.
Faction exceptions
Dwarves tunnel through one hex instead of shipping; Fakirs fly carpets over land. Both pay extra for it and do not improve shipping in the normal way.
Other ways to get spadescheaper digging
- Power actions: 1 spade for 4 power, or 2 spades for 6 power. You use them immediately and can buy extra spades with workers to finish a transformation.
- Bonus card: one bonus card offers a free spade special action once per round.
- Cult rewards: some round tiles pay spades in phase III for cult position. You use those spades immediately.
- Faction abilities: Halflings get 3 spades once when building their stronghold; Giants always pay exactly 2 spades whatever the terrain; Darklings pay priests instead of workers.
Worked exampleWitches, round 1
You are the Witches (forest). Next to your dwelling is a swamp hex. On the wheel, swamp → lakes → forest is 2 steps, so it needs 2 spades.
At the starting rate of 3 workers per spade, that is 6 workers, plus 1 worker and 2 coins for the dwelling: 7 workers, 2 coins. That is most of a starting supply. Cheaper lines are the 2-spade power action for 6 power, or a hex just 1 step away (lakes or mountains).
In the sandbox, the swamp hex right of your lower dwelling is exactly this case.
Common beginner mistakessave yourself a turn
- Paying for 3-spade transformations early. At 9+ workers, they cost almost a whole round’s income.
- Forgetting the wheel wraps: desert is 1 step from plains.
- Building far from opponents. Neighbours give you cheap trading houses and free power.
- Ignoring the round tile. Digging in a spade-scoring round and building in a dwelling-scoring round are free points.
L5 · growing the engine
Upgrade dwellings into stronger buildings
Dwellings claim land; upgrades create income and abilities. A dwelling becomes a trading house, which becomes either your stronghold or a temple, and a temple can become the sanctuary. Each building has a power value that matters for towns and for neighbours. Tap a building to inspect it.
Stronghold or temple first?the key early decision
For most factions the stronghold is the single most important building, because it switches on the faction’s special ability. Many players build it in round 1 or 2. A temple first makes sense when a specific favor tile fits your plan, or when priests are what you are short of.
Favor tiles in brief
Each temple and the sanctuary give you one favor tile, and you can never take the same one twice. Every favor tile moves you up a cult track, and most add something permanent: extra income, a special action, or VP whenever you do a certain thing.
Why upgrading a dwelling costs you a workerthe board trade-off
When a dwelling becomes a trading house, the dwelling goes back onto your player board and covers a worker symbol again. You trade 1 worker of income for coins and power. You can see this in the sandbox income readout.
L6 · the second currency
Power flows through three bowls, and you can only spend what reaches bowl III
Your power tokens sit in three bowls on your faction board. When you gain power, move tokens from bowl I to II. Only when bowl I is empty do further gains move tokens from II to III. When you spend power, tokens go from III back to I. Power pays for the six shared power actions and for conversions.
The six power actionsfirst come, first served
| Cost | You get |
|---|---|
| 3 power | Build a bridge |
| 3 power | 1 priest |
| 4 power | 2 workers |
| 4 power | 7 coins |
| 4 power | 1 spade (then build, as in L4) |
| 6 power | 2 spades (then build, as in L4) |
Each can be taken by only one player per round, so the good ones go early.
Burning poweremergency cash
As a free action, remove one token from bowl II from the game to move another token from II to III. You get spendable power now, but you own fewer tokens for the rest of the game. Burn sparingly and mostly late.
Taking power from neighboursleeching
When an opponent builds or upgrades directly next to your buildings, you may gain power equal to the total power value of your buildings next to it. It costs VP: one less than the power you take. Gaining 1 power is free.
You cannot take more power than your bowls can move; any excess is lost and you do not pay for it. Early in the game, taking power is almost always worth the VP.
L7 · the side boards
Climb the four cult tracks and link your buildings into towns
The cult board has four tracks, Fire, Water, Earth and Air, each from 0 to 10. Climbing pays power at milestones, earns round rewards in phase III, and scores 8 / 4 / 2 VP per track at the end. Founding a town earns a town tile: VP, a one-off reward, and the key you need to reach space 10.
How to climbpriests and more
Action 5 sends a priest to a cult. You only ever have 7 priests. Each track has one space worth 3 steps and three worth 2 steps. A priest placed there stays for the rest of the game. You can instead return the priest to the supply and advance 1 step. Either way it costs you the priest.
You also climb from favor tiles, some town tiles, some faction abilities, and (for Cultists) from opponents taking your power.
Founding a town7 power in a cluster
A town forms when you have a group of directly adjacent buildings (bridges count) with a combined power value of 7 or more and at least 4 buildings. With a sanctuary in the group, 3 buildings are enough.
Take a town tile immediately. Each one gives VP and a one-time reward, plus a key. Buildings in a town cannot count toward another town.
An easy town shape
Stronghold (3) + trading house (2) + dwelling (1) + dwelling (1) = 7 power across 4 buildings. That is a natural group to aim for in rounds 2 to 4.
L8 · keeping score
Points come from the round tiles, your actions, and three end-game bonuses
During play you score from round tiles, favor tiles, bonus cards when passing, towns, and track upgrades. At the end, the largest connected network pays 18 / 12 / 6 VP, each cult track pays 8 / 4 / 2 VP, and leftovers convert at 3 coins per VP.
End-game scoring in detailafter round 6
| Category | 1st | 2nd | 3rd |
|---|---|---|---|
| Largest connected network | 18 | 12 | 6 |
| Each cult track (×4) | 8 | 4 | 2 |
- Your network counts buildings linked directly or within shipping range. The sandbox shows yours live.
- Tied players add up the points for the places they occupy and share them equally, rounding down. The cult board above applies this.
- You need at least 1 step on a cult track to score it.
- Convert power, priests and workers to coins, then score 1 VP per 3 coins.
L9 · putting it together
A plan for your first few games
Read all six round tiles before the game starts; they tell you which rounds reward digging, building or upgrading. Then follow a simple arc.
Rounds 1–2 · build the engine
- Place starting dwellings near other players.
- Get a trading house next to an opponent for 3 coins.
- Aim for your stronghold early.
Rounds 3–4 · expand and link
- Add dwellings on 1-step terrain.
- Grab a temple for a favor tile.
- Shape one cluster into a town.
Rounds 5–6 · cash in
- Take the actions the round tiles reward.
- Join clusters into one large network.
- Spend priests on cult majorities you can still win.
The arc follows from how income works. You collect it at the start of each round, so a trading house built in round 1 pays out five times, and one built in round 5 pays out once. Early income beats early points, so a low score after the first two rounds is nothing to worry about. Nothing built in round 6 ever pays income, so in the last round build only for points that score straight away: the round tile, a town, your network. Leftovers are worth little at the end, because they all convert to coins and it takes 3 coins to make 1 VP.
Game by gameone new skill each time
Game 1: learn the flow. Play the Witches or Halflings and follow the arc. Three habits matter most: build your stronghold by round 2, take power whenever a neighbour offers it, and keep your buildings in one connected group. Don’t chase the score yet. Learn how workers, coins, priests and power trade against each other.
Game 2: play to the round tiles. Before round 1, note which rounds score spades, dwellings, trading houses, strongholds or towns, and save up so you can do a lot of that action in its round. When you pass, choose your bonus card with next round’s tile in mind. Try another beginner-friendly faction: the Giants, Nomads or Auren.
Game 3 and on: play the table. Factions are chosen after the round tiles and bonus cards are face up, so let those guide your pick, along with the terrains already taken. Try a Medium-rated faction such as the Mermaids or Dwarves, contest the cult tracks, and watch which hexes and power actions your opponents need next.
Do contested things firstordering a round
Right after income, count what you can afford this round and decide the order. Some things can be taken from you: each power action goes to the first player who uses it, the 3- and 2-step priest spaces on the cult board fill up, and a neighbour can dig or build on the hex you were eyeing. Your own upgrades, shipping and cheaper spades can’t be taken. Do the contested things early in the round and leave the safe ones for later.
When to passthe bonus card race
When you pass, you take one of the bonus cards on display, and anyone who passes after you chooses from what you left. If the card you want for next round is there now (a free spade, extra shipping, or one with coins piled on it), passing a turn early to take it can be worth more than one last small action. Passing first also makes you start player next round, with first claim on the power actions.
Where the end-game points arenetwork and cults
The network bonus is the biggest single prize: 18 VP for the largest connected group. A cluster cut off from the rest adds nothing to it, so as you expand, grow toward your other buildings rather than away from them. Your network counts buildings within shipping range, so one late shipping upgrade or a bridge can join two groups.
Each cult track pays 8 / 4 / 2 VP. Push the tracks your faction starts on and the ones the round tiles reward: they pay you during the game as well as at the end.
Based on the base-game rules of Terra Mystica (Feuerland Spiele, 2012). Faction costs and incomes vary; your player board is the final authority. The sandbox uses typical costs and a simplified income board.