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| Players | 2 to 5 |
|---|---|
| Age range | 12 years and up |
| Playing time | 30 mins per player |
| Random chance | Very Low |
| Skill(s) required | Resource management, Economic Planning |
Terra Mystica is a German-style board game for two to five players designed by Helge Ostertag and Jens Drögemüller. The game was first published by Feuerland Spiele in Germany in 2012, and was later published in English and French by Zman Games and Filosofia Édition in 2013. Feuerland Spiele released a second German edition of the game in 2013.
The game starts with each player picking one of fourteen different fantasy races. Each of the different races have unique special abilities and different costs associated with actions. Each race is also limited to building on only one of seven different terrain types found on the game board, and one of the key aspects of the game is terraforming spaces so they can be built upon.
The game is split into six rounds during which players take any number of actions to improve their society. Improving a society may involve settling new spaces, improving existing buildings, improving infrastructure like shipping, or moving up a cult track to show devotion to different religions.
One unique aspect of the game is its power point mechanic. Power points are used to cast spells, and may also be converted for resources. Power points are split among three bowls. When points are gained, they first move from bowl one to bowl two. When bowl one is empty, they can move from bowl two to bowl three. Power points can only be used when they are in bowl three, at which point they return to bowl one.
Victory points are accrued throughout the game for a variety of actions. After six rounds additional victory points are given for end game goals, and then the player with the largest number of victory points wins.
Four additional town tiles were handed out as a free promotional expansion at Spiel 2013.
An additional bonus tile was included in the June 2013 edition of Spielbox.
A full expansion to the game, Terra Mystica: Fire & Ice, was released in November 2014. It introduces six new races, two new terrain types and new rules variants.
The fan-made expansion Artifacts was made in 2015. It introduces bonus cards in the final round. It is free to print and play in BGG.
As of November 2014, the game is ranked second on BoardGameGeek.
Shut Up & Sit Down gave the game an overwhelmingly positive review.
Ryan Meltzer of the Dice Tower gave the game a generally positive review, and Tom Vasel, also of the Dice Tower, gave the game a mixed review, saying that he could not be sure how well balanced it was without first playing the game many more times.