Terramara: Guide for Playing with Two Players

Introduction

Welcome to Terramara, a thrilling board game set in a mysterious ancient world! In this game, you will embark on an epic journey back in time to the Bronze Age. As you explore the beautiful landscapes of Northern Italy, you will gather resources, construct buildings, and unlock new technologies. The goal? To establish and develop your own thriving civilization.

Setting Up the Game

Now, let’s dive into the exciting world of Terramara and learn how to set up the game for a two-player adventure.

Components

First, let’s make sure we have everything we need to play:

– Game board

– Two-player boards

– Various tokens and markers

– Resource and development cards

– Starting civilization tiles

– Event cards

– Action markers

Game Board

The game board represents the ancient land of Northern Italy, divided into different territories. Each territory contains various locations where you can carry out different actions. Take a moment to appreciate the beautiful artwork and layout of the board. It truly captures the essence of the Bronze Age!

Player Boards

Each player will have their own player board. This board will hold your civilization tiles, resource cards, and development cards. It’s your personal space to strategize and build your civilization.

Setting Up the Game

To set up the game, follow these simple steps:

1. Place the game board in the center of the play area.

2. Give each player a player board and have them place it in front of them.

3. Randomly distribute two starting civilization tiles to each player. Place these tiles face up on your player board.

4. Shuffle the resource and development cards separately, then place them face down as two draw piles.

5. Place the resource tokens, development markers, and event cards within reach of all players.

6. Each player takes their action marker and places it on the “0” space of their player board.

7. And…we’re ready to begin!

Gameplay

Terramara is played in turns. Each player takes turns performing actions to develop their civilization. The game is divided into rounds, and each round is composed of several phases. Let’s go through them together:

Phase 1: Dawn of a New Round

At the beginning of each round, the players draw event cards. These event cards add new challenges and opportunities to the game. Each player must respond accordingly while striving to achieve their own objectives. Choose your actions wisely, as they will shape your civilization’s destiny!

Phase 2: Players Take Turns

During this phase, each player takes turns performing actions. On your turn, you can choose one of the available actions and move your action marker accordingly. The actions include exploring new territories, gathering resources, constructing buildings, developing technologies, and recruiting new citizens. Each action has its own benefits and consequences, so choose wisely!

Phase 3: Nightfall

Once all players have taken their turns, nightfall approaches, and the day turns to dusk. In this phase, the players prepare for the next round. Resolve any end-of-round effects, adjust the game board, and get ready for the next dawn!

Victory Conditions

Finally, let’s discuss the victory conditions of Terramara. In this game, victory is achieved through various means. You can focus on constructing impressive buildings, developing advanced technologies, or fulfilling specific objective cards. The choice is yours!

Remember, the path to victory is not always straightforward. Be prepared to adapt your strategies and seize new opportunities as they arise. Only the most cunning and resourceful players will emerge as the true masters of Terramara!

Conclusion

Now that you are familiar with the rules for playing Terramara with two players, there’s only one thing left to do: gather a friend, set up the game, and dive into the rich and captivating world of the Bronze Age. May your civilization prosper and shine throughout the ages!

When you’re playing a 2-player game, you need to add 2 neutral players. In a 3-player game, just add 1 neutral player. These neutral players have Military power and their Explorers are in certain action spaces, but they don’t actually play the game with you.

Once you’ve set up the game according to the instructions on pages 2-3, follow these extra steps:

Put a Fire tile on a small action space in each of the 6 rows (next to rounds 1 to 5). To do this, shuffle the 4 Neutral Player cards and reveal them one at a time. Put one Fire tile in each row, on the space that matches the number on the card (from left to right, 1 – 4).

Shuffle the cards again to place the 5th and 6th Fire tiles. Remember, you can’t send your Clan members to action spaces that have Fire tiles.

Let’s talk about how to distribute the neutral player Explorers in the game. I’ll explain everything step by step, so it will be easy to understand.

First, we need to distribute the Explorers among the actual players. Starting with the first player and going in player order, each player will place a neutral Explorer on an unoccupied action space next to the next round. We’ll start with the action spaces next to round 1.

We’ll repeat this process up to round 5, which actually spans two rows of Territory tiles. For a 3-player game, we’ll place a total of 6 Explorers this way. If you’re playing with just 2 players, we’ll do the same thing and place 12 neutral Explorers in total.

Now, it’s important to remember that clan members, including the neutral Explorers, cannot be sent to action spaces covered by Fire tiles. Keep this in mind as you make your moves.

Lastly, we’ll place the neutral player Military tokens on the first space of the Military track. These tokens represent the Military Strength of the neutral players. It’s important to consider their strength when sending your Explorers to action spaces that contain neutral Explorers.

You have to put back any neutral components that are left over in the game box; we won’t need them anymore.

Here are the changes to the game mechanics:

• At the beginning of each round, I shuffle the 4 Neutral Player cards and reveal one card per neutral player. In a 2-player game, I start with the weakest neutral player. I then move the neutral player Military token(s) along the Military track the same number of steps as the value on the revealed card. If you’re new to the game, it’s best to exclude the value-4 card from this process.
• In a 2-player game only: After two Territory tiles are turned over at the end of each round, I place a Restriction tile on the Crossroads action space that was revealed.
• When someone takes the First Player card, they don’t receive the bonus for 4th place. In a 2-player game, they also don’t receive the 3rd-place bonus.
• When it’s your turn to Develop your Skills or Travel the Road, you get to choose which action you want to take. The other option will still be available to the next player who sends a clan member to that action space.
• When I’m winding down a game, I make sure to factor in the positions of any neutral players before awarding victory points for military strength. It’s an essential consideration for determining rankings.