Terra Mystica

Terra Mystica is a strategic board game set in a fantastic world where 14 different peoples coexist in seven types of landscapes. Each group has a deep connection to its home territory and uses this connection to expand its influence over neighboring areas by competing with other players. In this game, luck plays a minimal role; the real challenge lies in careful planning. Players take control of one of 14 groups, seeking to dominate a vast territory and hone the specific skills of their people. In addition, there are four religious cults that can be explored, offering additional paths to gain advantages. Players' actions are carried out in turns, where they spend available resources to build and develop their civilization. Each type of construction offers different options: dwellings increase the workforce, merchant houses generate income and temples enable progress in religious practices and the transformation of the land. The structures that players build can be upgraded throughout the game. For example, dwellings can be upgraded to merchant houses, while temples can be upgraded to become shrines, offering even more potential. Interaction between groups is a crucial aspect of Terra Mystica. Being close to other players can offer significant advantages, but it also intensifies competitiveness and makes expansion more difficult. Each decision must be made wisely, assessing the risks and opportunities that each move offers. **Winner of the Ludopedia Game of the Year Award 2016 Winner of the Ludopedia Game of the Year Audience Choice Award 2016** **Complexity: 3.97 / 5 (BGG 12/04/2023)**

Table of Contents
- How to Play
- Tips for playing
- Game mechanics
- Game components
- Additional Information

Choose a faction and receive the corresponding board showing that faction's special abilities and scoring advantages.

Start the game with a certain number of workers, coins and an amount of power points specific to your faction on the power board.

Your goal is to terraform land to make room for your buildings. Build and upgrade buildings to gain resources and expand your territory.

Use the terraforming conditions next to your board to find out how many workers you need to spend to change a type of terrain.

Build on land adjacent to your own to expand your territory and connect it across rivers using bridges.

Basic buildings are Houses, which provide workers. These can be upgraded to Trade or Temples to earn coins and priests, which open up new possibilities.

Build a Shrine to unleash an immediate new special ability or a Fortress to activate your faction's special power.

Follow the phases of the game: Receiving, Actions, Cults and Final Phase in your round. Plan strategically to maximize your resources.

Attend services to earn rewards religiously and increase your presence on the tracks that award victory points at the end of the game.

Maximize your opportunities through the favors board, taking advantage of the bonuses and special abilities on offer.

Manage your use of power efficiently by moving markers across the basins, taking advantage of the powers available throughout the game to overcome opponents.

At the end of the game, earn additional points for territories mostly connected and position in cults. The player with the most victory points is declared the winner.

Main objective

In the game Terra Mystica, the main objective is to expand your fantasy group's domain through terraforming and construction, maximizing control of territory. Players represent one of 14 unique factions, each with specific skills and characteristics, and compete to transform the terrain in their favor, building and improving constructions such as houses, fortresses and temples, while managing limited resources. The winner is the one who accumulates the most victory points, obtained through effective expansion, infrastructure development and advancement in elemental cults, over six rounds of phase-structured play.

Tips for playing Terra Mystica

Here are some tips for doing better in the game Terra Mystica:

• Prioritize the expansion to adjacent hexes for more effective area control and potential bonuses.
• Coordinate your faction's abilities with the board's terrain and available bonuses to maximize your efficiency.
• Pay attention to the round scoring tiles and align your strategy to capitalize on them.
• Invest in the Cult tracks for additional bonuses and end-game scoring opportunities.
• Build trading posts near opponents' structures to reduce costs and gain more resources.
• Plan for both short-term gains and long-term strategies to optimize your overall game performance.
• Use Terraforming actions wisely to maintain a competitive edge over your opponents for critical hexes.
• Consider neighbor proximity to gain power and leverage it for key actions in the game.
• Upgrade your shipping early if your faction benefits from expanding via waterways.
• Time your town formation to coincide with pivotal rounds to boost your scoring.

Video about the game

Mechanics of Terra Mystica

• Players with Different Skills: Each player chooses a faction with unique abilities, which drastically influences the strategy adopted. The factions have different levels of economy, magic and adaptation to the terrain, directly affecting the way they expand and interact on the board.
• Building Networks and Routes: Territorial expansion is central. Building a network of connected settlements, called cities, provides victory points and additional bonuses. To evolve and connect buildings, players must strategically plan the terrain and the proximity of rivals.
• Trees / Technology Trails: Known as Cult Trails and Excavation and Navigation Levels, they allow for upgrades that offer additional advantages. Advancing on these trails can increase territorial efficiency and the ability to expand over water, as well as offering victory points.
• End of game bonus: At the end of the game, points are distributed based on the most extensive settlement networks and positions on the cult trails. Long-term strategies to dominate these areas are crucial to securing a final victory.
• Hexagonal grid: The board is made up of a set of hexes, each representing different types of terrain. A player's ability to convert, or terraform, these hexes into their native terrain is essential for the expansion of their buildings.
• Income: Resource yield occurs at the start of each round. Players receive resources based on their structures on the board and upgrades on the tracks. Efficient management of resources such as workers, priests, coins and power is crucial for carrying out specific actions.

Game components Terra Mystica

See all the items in the game below Terra Mystica:

• 1 Worship tray
• 1 Starter board with map
• 9 Reward Cards
• 5 "Shares" cards
• 1 End of game marker
• 40 small coins (value 1)
• 25 Medium coins (value 2)
• 20 Large Coins (value 5)
• 28 oval Favor markers
• 7 Faction Cards (each side with a different faction)
• 65 Neutral-colored workers
• 56 Terrain Sheets (double-sided)
• 1 orange starting player marker
• 9 + Bonus tokens
• 8 rectangular score sheets
• 10 City cards
• 17 Action markers
• 5 "100 Victory Points" bookmarks
• 7 Clérigos
• 3 Bridges
• 5 Dwellings, 4 Commercial Houses, 1 Fortress, 3 Temples, 1 Shrine
• 65 purple Power Markers
• 1 Rulebook
• Colors per faction (green, yellow, blue, brown, red, black and grey): 8

Additional Information

• Ludopedia link: https://ludopedia.com.br/jogo/terra-mystica
• Link Tabletopia: https://tabletopia.com/games/terra-mystica
• Amazon Brazil link: Comprar Terra Mystica
• Amazon USA link: Comprar Terra Mystica