Terra Mystica rules: how to play and how to score

Terra Mystica quick rules

The goal

Each player leads a faction tied to a home terrain. You transform terrain to expand, build and upgrade your structures, and advance in four cults. You start with 20 points; most points after six rounds wins.

A round

First income, based on your structures, your Bonus card and your Favor tiles. Then each player takes one action per turn until everyone has passed. Finally, the Scoring tile rewards players far enough along the cult shown.

Transform and build

You only build on your home terrain. One Spade per step on the transformation cycle, three at most; a Spade first costs three Workers. A Dwelling costs one Worker and two Coins, on a space connected to your structures.

Shipping and Spades

The Shipping track, for one Priest and four Coins, lets you reach across rivers. The Exchange track, for two Workers, five Coins and one Priest, makes Spades cheaper. Both score points.

Upgrading structures

A Dwelling becomes a Trading house, cheaper next to an opponent. A Trading house becomes your Stronghold, which unlocks your faction’s ability, or a Temple; a Temple becomes your Sanctuary. Temple and Sanctuary give a Favor tile.

Power

Your twelve Power tokens move from Bowl I to Bowl III; only Bowl III is spent, then goes back to Bowl I. When an opponent builds next to you, you may gain Power, for one point less than the Power gained.

Cults and Towns

A Priest sent to the Order of a cult moves you up three or two spaces. Four connected structures worth at least seven Power found a Town: points, a reward and a key, needed for space 10 of a cult.

Other actions

Six Power actions on the board, once per round for the whole table; special actions of factions, cards and tiles; passing, swapping your Bonus card. The first player to pass starts the next round.

Beginner pitfalls

Power from neighbors costs points and can be declined. Staying isolated means no cheap Trading houses. And the round’s Scoring tile can be worth a lot.

How to score Terra Mystica

The scoring track

Your points scored during the game, including the 20 starting points: structures rewarded by the Scoring tile, Shipping, Exchange track, Towns, Bonus cards, Favor tiles…

Cults

For each of the four cults, 8 points to the furthest player, 4 to the second, 2 to the third; nobody scores on space 0.

Largest area

Your connected structures, directly or through Shipping: 18 points for the largest, then 12, then 6.

Ties

The points for the places involved are added up and shared among tied players, rounded down.

Resources

Everything is converted into Coins: 1 point per 3 Coins, 1 per 2 for the Alchemists.

Expansions

Fire & Ice adds a Final Scoring tile, and Merchants of the Seas the Trade markers one: 18, 12 and 6 points.

Worked example

Leo ends at 96 on the track. He is first in Fire, 8 points, and second in Water, tied with Emma: 4 + 2 = 6 shared, 3 each. His largest area is the second largest: 12 points. With 11 Coins, he scores 3 points. Total: 96 + 8 + 3 + 12 + 3 = 122.

Common mistakes

• Giving cult points to a player still on space 0.
• Forgetting to share the points of a tie.
• Counting Coins before converting the other resources.
• Forgetting the Final Scoring tile with Fire & Ice.

How to set up Terra Mystica

Setup takes 15 minutes. For a first game, the rulebook offers an introductory game with set factions.