Z-Man Games ZM7240 Terra Mystica Board Game
Change the World
Enter a magical world where the inhabitants have the power to transform the terrain in which they live. In Terra Mystica, players strive to develop one of fourteen factions more successfully than their opponents. Each faction is bound to a specific type of terrain, and there’s not enough room for everyone. You must compete to claim valuable territory while altering the environment to meet your faction’s needs. Expand your influence and build structures that provide valuable resources like workers, priests, money, and power. Adapt to the evolving challenges and claim your territory!
Product Information
- 2 to 5 Players
- 60 to 150 Minutes play time
- Ages 14 and Up
A World of Possibilities
With fourteen artfully-designed factions and different bonus cards in play each game, Terra Mystica presents unique challenges and many paths to victory. Build more basic Dwellings to have many workers on hand, or upgrade your Dwellings into other structures that provide their own unique benefits. Build temples to gain more influence in the cults of fire, water, earth, and air. Or ensure that you have a constant flow of money by building trading houses. Whatever strategy you choose, make use of the resources at your disposal to perform the actions that will forge a path for your faction.
A Colourful Cast
Aside from being bound to a single type of terrain, the denizens of the world of Terra Mystica have unique traits. Some are in tune with the magic of the world, while others are skilled at engineering and transforming the world around them. Take into account your faction’s special abilities when plotting your strategy. You might play as the Witches and gain victory points when founding Towns. Or you might be the imposing Giants and terraform the landscape with ease. Each faction adds their own flavour to the game, providing unique challenges—and opportunities—to the players bold enough to lead them.
Tame the Wild
No matter what faction you control, you must carve out a place for them in the world. Use your workers and spend accumulated power to open space for expansion and transform the environment. As you spread across the board, unite your scattered settlements into a massive colony by building bridges and replacing unforgiving terrain with a more hospitable environment. The faction covering the largest area scores bonus points at the end of the game. Fight for space and develop the most advanced faction to win the game!
| Dimensions: | 22.35 x 9.14 x 31.5 cm; 2.49 Kilograms |
| Model: | ZM7240 |
| Pack Quantity: | 1 |
| Batteries Required: | No |
| Batteries Included: | No |
| Age: | 36 months – 111 years |
| Assembly: | No |
| Quantity: | 1 |
New factions are interesting and unique, but feel like the original factions are still enough. Anyways the updated board itself is a great improvement to help balance out those factions that were considered overpowered (still strong but not as strong)
New factions are interesting and unique, but feel like the original factions are still enough. Anyways the updated board itself is a great improvement to help balance out those factions that were considered overpowered (still strong but not as strong)
Classic board game that lives up to its status
An excellent game with plenty to think about and get engrossed in. Quality components. Competitive play but a bit indirect. Plenty of replayability which is expanded even more by the games expansions. Not a light game so if you’re trying to get board game shy people to play this might not be a good first port of call.
Simply amazing
Brilliant game! So many things going on and very little luck involved which is great. Each faction has it’s own pro’s and con’s and we’re still learning the best way to play with them all. Brilliant game. Took us a while to learn it and get our head around the rules, but we found a decent you tube video too to help. Works well as a 2 player, just much less of the screwing each other over tactics. Its epic as a 5 player.
This is a very nice add-on to the already amazing Terra Mystica. After playing the game many times, it's very nice to have a different board and 6 new factions to play with. The new factions require very different strategies which require you to think in a different way. Very much fun!
This is a very nice add-on to the already amazing Terra Mystica. After playing the game many times, it’s very nice to have a different board and 6 new factions to play with. The new factions require very different strategies which require you to think in a different way. Very much fun!
Very cool new races, scoring. Powerful, but balanced with turn/race bidding.
Very cool new races, scoring. Powerful, but balanced with turn/race bidding.
Arrived without delay, undamaged, and complete. Truly one of the best 3+ player games available. Certainly it can be played with 2 but the mechanics/dynamics really require at a minimum 3 players
Arrived without delay, undamaged, and complete. Truly one of the best 3+ player games available. Certainly it can be played with 2 but the mechanics/dynamics really require at a minimum 3 players
This game is like the grown up version of settlers of Catan.
We really enjoyed playing it, but its not for the faint of heart! It took us 4 hours to play our fist game as there are so many game elements to get your head around. If you’re into complex board games with lots of different strategies and game elements to keep track of, this game is for you.
Assolutamente sì
Se SAPETE che Terra Mystica vi piace, prendetelo. Senza pensarci due volte. Altrimenti prima provate il gioco base, se decidete che vi piace, prendete anche l’espansione che aggiunge davvero tanto.
Maravilloso juego de recursos.
Creo yo que este es un juego que no puede faltar en tu coleccin si te gustan los juegos de mesa modernos.
El juego es sencillo e intuitivo, sin embargo es bastante profunto y tiene a todos pensando intensamente en cada partida.
I may be bias because I love the first one, but this builds upon the first game and changes the whole game around. It requires you to think in a new way when you use these boards and these make it so that players can have more aggressive or passive strategies. Really makes you rethink how you play the game.
I may be bias because I love the first one, but this builds upon the first game and changes the whole game around. It requires you to think in a new way when you use these boards and these make it so that players can have more aggressive or passive strategies. Really makes you rethink how you play the game.
Superb game!!
Absolutely love this game!! It has so much depth for strategy and replayability. Each game is different thanks to the random set up, different player factions and the choosing of start positions. I cannot recommend it enough if you like strategy board games.
It takes a resonable amount of time to get the hang of the rules so expect the first play through to take a while. Once done it will all start making sense!
The game plays best wth four people. I have played it two player and it works ok but the end scoring needs some tweaks to make it more fun. Check out boardgamegeek for some options for the two player setup.
This game is great ! After opening it we played for 2 days straight and to me this game shines on almost all levels.
One issue is that the races are slightly unbalanced. Some races are much better to play with when you are with 5 people and some races shine when you play with less.
if the expansions were available i wouldn’t have thought twice about buying them.
PS: When the game arrived i had pieces missing from the box but amazon send replacement the day after.
Terra Mystica is the best board game of all time, in my opinion. I play a LOT of board games, review them, go to conventions, etc. I confidently state that Terra Mystica is the best because of the high skill ceiling, the skill curve, the incredible variety of scenarios, and the fact that the designers have set up 20 factions that are all unique, asymmetrical, and each play differently than one another. I have played over 180 games of TM and no two of them have had the same scenario because each time you randomize the bonus tiles, round scoring tiles, the end scoring tiles, and ideally the factions to auction off..
a great addition!
This game provides two new base game boards, new factions, and some additional scoring options.
It’s a great addition to the base game that allows for more variety.
I loved this game as it is similar in many ways to ‘pure gaming games’ with no luck involved (rolling dice etc for results).
So if you love terraforming style games and are looking for a pure celebral but fun experience then this is the game for you.
A must buy for those who already own Terra Mystica!! Adds a new playing (double sided) board and factions. This is a great Euro-weenie game for the who family to enjoy. I'm more of a "war gamer" by heart, but this game is truly a good strategic level euro game where everyone is in it to the end. No player elimination like most games like Monopoly, Risk, etc. The rules seem to be complex but really if you dedicate some time to learn, you and your family will be rewarded with a great gaming experience. Highly recommend this and the base game Terra Mystica. If your new to board games, head over to Boardgamegeek.com where you will find thousands of gamers that will be eager to assist you in your new hobby.
A must buy for those who already own Terra Mystica!! Adds a new playing (double sided) board and factions. This is a great Euro-weenie game for the who family to enjoy. I’m more of a “war gamer” by heart, but this game is truly a good strategic level euro game where everyone is in it to the end. No player elimination like most games like Monopoly, Risk, etc. The rules seem to be complex but really if you dedicate some time to learn, you and your family will be rewarded with a great gaming experience. Highly recommend this and the base game Terra Mystica. If your new to board games, head over to Boardgamegeek.com where you will find thousands of gamers that will be eager to assist you in your new hobby.
This expansion is great, it offers a new 2 sided board that’s carefully reworked to be as fair and balanced as possible; one side of the new board is for the standard races only and the other side is balanced to playing with 1 or more of the 6 new races. The expansion is honestly great, if a bit expensive. But if price isn’t an issue and you love this game I really recommend picking it up.
The new board is good, it doesn’t massively favor Black and Brown races (hobbit, swamplings, etc) in the large western landmass like the old board did, it’s also much better for the Fakirs too. The new races are very fun and not overpowered by any means, they do however get some very unique new rules and abilities that change the rules and bent the meta for sure. The new races also have new Fire and Ice landmasses that cannot be changed once placed and don’t alter the normal terra-forming schemes too much.
There are also two new races (Shapeshifters & Riverwalkers) that are a bit stronger that the other races and really change the game up a lot. It’s a good addition and they are fun to play, though I have seen a lot of people take them out of more standard games. Over all, great expansion, a nice new double sided board and some fun new races, a bit expensive but to me it was worth it.
Great expansion to a great board game
Not much to say, if you love Terra Mystica, the expansion gives you more ways to play and that can’t ever be a bad thing. The pieces are made of good quality material and with a bit of care, should last many play sessions.
It was a gift for a friend, but I have played it once and enjoy that addition it added to the game.
It was a gift for a friend, but I have played it once and enjoy that addition it added to the game.
I love this game so much, the expansion classes are awesome and the new board is great.
I love this game so much, the expansion classes are awesome and the new board is great.
Highly recommended for the skilled gamer in your life. a little bit more on the complicated side.
Highly recommended for the skilled gamer in your life. a little bit more on the complicated side.
Great expansion adds a lot of replay ability especially with 2-3 players as many of the races from the base game only excel in a clustered 4-5 player board
Great expansion adds a lot of replay ability especially with 2-3 players as many of the races from the base game only excel in a clustered 4-5 player board
Great game, costs a lot but the pieces are all high quality and the game itself is a lot of fun! Delivery was longer than expected (8 days despite saying that it was available for prime!) However the game is so good it would be unfair to give 4 stars simply because i had to wait a week to get my hands on it!
Since the base Terra Mystica game is so good, I had to get this. I was not disappointed. This expansion definitely gives you a lot for the money, here are some specifics:
6 new characters/factions to add to the already ample selection from the base game
A new – two sided game board that offers more options for which world you want to use.
Wooden pieces for two new factions (orange and white).
New rule additions like the first player to pass in a given round can go first in the following round (and includes a handy little bracket and tokens to keep track).
Overall, the new characters and all of the extras made it well worth purchasing, especially if you already like the original base game.
Intriguing strategy game
A complex game which will get much use once the rules have been deciphered – part of the rulebook was misprinted in French. We are awaiting a resolution from Z-Man Games
Very happy with this purchase. Following the manufacturers suggestions we have not used the Riverwalker/Shapeshifter board. Outside of that we’ve really enjoyed the expansion. The end game goals options has been a wonderful addition as is the new board. The new board slightly nerfs some of the easier races to play from the original game. The four additional races are fun, challenging, and very different from the original races. I also like the board to indicating passing/turn order.
We have yet to do the auction option for races to start the game but it seems like it would make things interesting.
All in all excellent additions to what was already an amazing game.
If you like the original, you will love the expansion. It gets played nearly every day at my house.
If you like the original, you will love the expansion. It gets played nearly every day at my house.
A must have expansio
I found this expansion amazing!
The new factions and final score tiles give more balance and variety to the original game.
The new factions are awesome and there is another final scoring aspect that helps provide variety.
The new factions are awesome and there is another final scoring aspect that helps provide variety.
A great expansion for Terra Mystica. The only problem is that there is now no room in the box to fit all the pieces!
A great expansion for Terra Mystica. The only problem is that there is now no room in the box to fit all the pieces!
Great expansion to an already great game. Adds more replay ability and new strategies.
Great expansion to an already great game. Adds more replay ability and new strategies.
Fantastic expansion. The additional maps add balance and variety, whilst the six new factions change the way you play and interact. The quality of the items match the high quality of the original set.
Fantastic expansion. The additional maps add balance and variety, whilst the six new factions change the way you play and interact. The quality of the items match the high quality of the original set.
There has to be a reason this is in top 3 of best BGG games. And the reason is…
it is simply one of the best games ever. Deep, complex in thinking yet simply in rules. Re-playability is awesome as well. It is must to buy for all board game geeks.
Great game, great expansion.
I love this game, and the expansion fixes some of the issues with the dominant play of the Alchemists/Darklings.
The expansion is just as good, with a few extra rules, extra tiles and tweaks that make the game play a little more fairly and a little more quickly.
This is an excellent game that stands up to many, many repeated plays. You and your fellow players each build out a settlement on a hex grid, generating resources and getting points based on the buildings you choose to build. It's a bit tricky to get the hang of at first, but well worth it.
This is an excellent game that stands up to many, many repeated plays. You and your fellow players each build out a settlement on a hex grid, generating resources and getting points based on the buildings you choose to build. It’s a bit tricky to get the hang of at first, but well worth it.
So Terra Mystica is a board game that seems to have looked at Settlers of Catan and decided that less luck and more strategy could work in a similar vein and expanded on that general idea and it works beautifully.
In a nutshell, each player plays the role of one of 14 possible races such as Dwarves, Nomads, Mermaids etc split on seven double sided boards. Each board has a colour, each colour represents a terrain type that race can build dwellings upon on the main game board map. If a terrain doesn’t match, using a terrain wheel on each player board as reference you can “transform” (terraform) that terrain to change it to the type you need to build, though others can if you aren’t quick enough, change it back. Each dwelling can be upgraded through set routes to trading posts, sanctuaries and Strongholds giving each player access to extra resources and abilities.
Each building, upgrade and most actions take a mixture of money, workers, priests and power to perform meaning to get the most out of your turn you must plan your resources, decisions and which order very carefully.
The power section of the board is rather unique in it’s mechanics worth mentioning though it’s hard to explain. Each player gets a set amount of power points represented by wooden discs located in one area split up into three sections (1, 2 and 3) all discs need to move from section 1 to 2 before any can move to 3. Once in 3 they can be spent either on powerful one use a turn actions available on the main board (money, more workers, free terraform action etc) or used from your own board for similar powers at a far worse ratio. Once used, the power goes pack to pool 1 and the process starts over. It seems pretty unuseful at first but by the end of a game it becomes really powerful especially if you play into it from the start.
The end of the game is won on points once the final round ends that are scored up in various ways from round specific goals that randomise eash game, race specific abilities, as well as other chits, rules and tracks. Needless to say the game is far more complicated than I have explained and with so many different races, randomised goals and abilities it has a lot of replay value to go with it.
The components are of high quality all in a nice reasonably sized cardboard box. There are solid wooden pieces, some of which are unnecessarily large like the Stronghold (it’s awesome). The boards are all pretty thick, nice and flat and the artwork on them is colourful with excellent iconography making it pretty easy to play once you get over the initial sense of being overwhelmed.
Overall Terra Mystica is a well thought out good looking game with a fair amount of strategic depth and replayability. It offers some unique mechanics yet is surprisingly easy to play after a couple of rounds.
Recommended.
+ Nice strategic options.
+ Power mechanic is original and clever.
+ Decent replay value.
+ Quality components.
Terra Mystica: Fire & Ice is an expansion to the base game Terra Mystica (see my review on the Terra Mystica page). This review is simply a component review given it expands the base game components and is not a game in its own right. This is what I received in my English / French (Z-Man Games / filosophia edition):
– 2 x Rule books (English & French)
– 1 x double-sided game board with a variant on the back (everything works on the original game board too)
– 3 new faction boards (unlike the current photo on Amazon that shows only two) made up of Ice Maidens / Yetis, Dragonlords / Acolytes and Riverwalkers / Shapeshifters. They all come with their own special abilities and add further chaos to any slight advantage you thought you’d gained from learning how the base game factions play.
– 2 x bags of faction playing pieces (white and orange)
– 30 x terrain tiles (ice on one side, volcanoes on the other)
– Factions tokens, one per faction to use on the Variable Turn Order board – an option for the game. In the base game, the first player to pass starts the next round. Here, the turn order is based on the sequence of passing: first to pass plays first in the next round, second to pass plays second, etc.
– 4 x additional final scoring tiles. These score after the final area is scored (per the base game). These are shuffled and one drawn and placed face-up from the start of the gaming offering more victory points.
– 1 x Ice ring and 1 x Shapeshifter ring that are placed on the factions player boards
– 1 x Cloth bag and a roll of plastic storage bags.
I’ve not had a chance to play with the expansion as it’s only just been released. However the purpose of this review is simply to explain the expansion components. If you like the base game, then I’m sure you’ll get this expansion as it extends the replayability beyond anything actually possible for the number of gaming hours I have available!
Terra Mystica is a totally engaging and enjoyable board game. It is a game of territory building set in a fantasy world. The game comes with twelve different factions each of which has its own special ability. Territory is built up on a hex playing board made up of various terrains. Your faction can only grow on a single terrain and so it is essential to terraform first and then build outwards. Once terrain is terraformed to match your faction then it becomes possible to build dwelings – which in future turns may be upgraded to trading houses, temples, sanctuaries or a stronghold (a mighty 1 inch x 1 inch x 1 inch playing piece!). There is a benefit to building close to other player’s settlements to trade with them and gain power as the build next to yours vs. the constraint of losing hexes near your settlement and constraining your territory.
Terra Mystica rewards the investment in time: (i) learning the rules; (ii) playing the starting factions as part of the set-piece introductory game; (iii) enjoying the subtle difference between all the factions and learning their strengths and weaknesses. It is a game that has excellent replayability within its context. Although their is very little inherent luck, the player actions and choice of starting locations on the board lead to very different outcomes. There are a ton of other actions, power actions, cult status (fire, earth, water & air), shipping technology, and variable special actions. The game plays over six rounds and there are victory points awarded. At the end of the game victory points are given for longest connecter areas on the game board and for the cult status achieved on the four cult tracks. In summary, if you like the theme and enjoy low luck strategic games then I definitely recommend playing it as soon as you can! (Note to first time players…. start with a 2 or 3 player game and not the full 5 to get your head around the rules and game play / basic mechanics; this is not to put anyone off – just a realistic expectation! The box says 30 mins per player – this is quite accurate once everyone knows what they’re doing.)
Good game with great replay value, 2 – 3 hours game time and endless ways of play. Great simple playing pieces and easy to follow rulebook. The individual gameboards are graphicly easy to follow. The mechanics are unique and intriguing. I warmly recommend it to whomever are new to the serious side of board gaming, but could also be a gateway game for the intermediate players to gear up.
Other people’s reviews have pretty much summarized everything that I wanted to say about this game. It’s well worthy of all the praises it has gotten. I just wanted to add that the pieces are very well done… They have a nice thickness and feel into them. Anyways, i can recommend this game to almost everyone, don’t be scared of the amount of pieces or the seemingly complex layout. The game feels intuitive and starts to flow easily after couple of rounds. Right now I am just waiting for the upcoming expansion set, which will surely bring even more fun into this game!