Terra Mystica - Tips & Strategies

Magic is by far the more important resource on the game. Not only it allows you to make some very powerful special action (7 coins!, 2 workers!, 2 shovels!), but it is a replacement for any other resource (5 magic = 1 priest, 3 magic = 1 worker, 1 magic = 1 coin)

Of course it depends on the race and strategy you are playing, but in general terms:

– Try to move your magic as quick as possible to make if available every turn, or twice a turn, or even more! So be aware of the options that will allow you to make it every begining of a turn, and more important your position on the temples (that temple could be advanced later, but maybe if you advance NOW you are earning that magic point that will allow you to optimize your next action)

– Consider to burn some magic tokens to reduce your initial 12 to less (i have played with only 5 tokens sometimes), you will move your magic quicker but…

– … do not left your magic unused on your ready box. You will lost the chance of gaining some when somebody builds near you, or another effects that will cause you to move it. If you do not know what to make with it, coins are always needed at least.

Although variable turn order was introduced in the expansion, I highly recommend using it in the base game. This means that players act in the next turn based on their passing order, not clockwise from the first person to pass.

It’s not that big of hassle to keep track of and it makes for a better game. If you do get the expansion I recommend using the turn order track right away.

Some races have enough resources to get a stronghold on the first turn. Not all races really benefit from this though. So far, I’ve found that the giants and the witches really pay off if you can do this. Both of them have powers that essentially let you build more dwellings each round for free (or close to free) with the stronghold. Doing it in the first round gives you 6 turns of that, which might be better than aiming for the VP bonus round for a stronghold.

Copies of Terra Mystica are currently in short supply for many. If you can’t wait to give it a try (or have played it and want more!) there are a couple of options for online play.

Play against AI opponents

If you’re looking to try your hand (keyboard) against some AI opponents, venture over to:

http://lodev.org/tmai/

I don’t believe the AI is overly strong, but you can still give the game a try, or work out your strategies against opponents that won’t make fun of you.

Play against others – no AI

If you want to play against other people (e-mail style), take a look at:

http://terra.snellman.net/

There is no AI here, but when you want the personal touch (or what approximates the personal touch online these days), this link is the one for you.

Here is a tip…Its Awesome! Since this game is currently being re-printed (I lucked out and was able to get a copy through amazon this last mini reprint) the site wont let me give an actual review.

I’ve only had one play and I am hooked. I would definitely class this game as a casual to power gamer game. Since everyone I played with, myself included, was new to the game I would recommend having some seasoned gamers playing it. This is mainly because there is a lot going on from the start. The set up is pretty intense, though once you understand what everything is and where it goes things should set up significantly quicker.

One of the draws are the races available. There are 7 race boards with each being two-sided. This means there are 14 playable races, 2 for each color and land type. Each race has different staring abilities and special abilities that occur as the game progresses. Since this was the first time playing we have only really seen four of them in action, but after playing my friends and I looked at the other races and saw some really cool ways that each race can be played.

There is a lot going on as far as game play and actions available to the player and this makes for a really intense and changing game. The whole point of the game is to terraform non-home terrain into home terrain so you can build on it. Changing other lands to your home terrain is a challenge because some change harder than others and there is always the threat that an opponent could get terraform a land you had your sights set on.

In addition to this mechanic there is the magic power mechanic that really stands out for me. You have a three tiered pool of magic. Lets say a level I, II, and III. Form the start of a game your magic is spread out between levels I and II and you can only use magic that is in level III. There are various ways for your magic power to move as the game progresses. The thing about it is that when your magic moves it always moves from the lowest level first. SO if I have a 7 magic in level II and 5 magic in level I, and have an overall magic gain of 4, that means 4 magic move from my level I to my level II. That leaves me with 11 magic in level III and 1 in level I. I still have no magic in my level III, which is the only place I can use it without the risk of loosing some. This mechanic really make the want to build up magic so you can spend a couple turns doing a lot more.

Through my first play I never felt like I was over powered and everything I did in the game had a cost that can be felt with a fair amount of significance. The mechanics of the game really add a sense of urgency and foster a mindset of getting the most out of a turn as possible.

There is actually so much going on in this game I just can’t get into about this game it is that deep in play value and strategy. Once you play it though you will understand what everything means for most casual, avid, and power gamers this game will open up in ways you might not expect.

Overall this game is great. Find it! Play it! There is a reason this game is so hard to find.

In Terra Mystica you must always be looking for the best way to score points. That starts with faction selection. Make sure the faction you select will work well with the bonus tiles and scoring tiles that are out.

Earth 1 is the best favor in the game. Build a temple early and make sure you get this as it will net you more points than just about anything else in the game. This is especially true if you have 2 rounds of dwelling scoring.

Burning power to get your economy going early game is generally a good move. You want to leech as much power as you can from your opponents so that you can take advantage of the relatively cheap power actions.