Table #438510042

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Nekonyancer

Let's learn how to play Terra Nova!

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This tutorial exists thanks to: Nekonyancer0

Nekonyancer[img]https://x.boardgamearena.net/data/tutorials/img6785ed4abafce1.78131554.jpg[/img] Up to five (of ten) unique factions are simultaneously trying to prosper on this new, magical world! [green][tip] This tutorial is best viewed on a computer![/green]1maintitlebar_content

NekonyancerThere are *5 rounds* in a game of *Terra Nova.* In each round, players will take turns using coins to expand their civilizations. Eventually, everyone will run out of coins, pass, receive more income, and start the next round. Expanding in certain ways at certain times will grant victory points. [green]After 5 rounds, the player with the most victory points wins![/green]2maintitlebar_content

NekonyancerBefore we actually start the game, we have to go through [blue]three setup steps:[/blue] *1. Choose a faction.* *2. Place houses.* *3. Select a Bonus Card.*3maintitlebar_content

Nekonyancer[blue]*Step 1. Choose a Faction*[/blue]--- There are ten different factions, each with unique abilities. In the real game, factions of the same color are on opposite sides of the same board. Therefore, there can only be one faction of each color in a game.4maintitlebar_content

NekonyancerBGA randomly made us the first player, so we'll select a faction first. *Select the Leprechauns. Then [blue]"Confirm"[/blue] your action.*5maintitlebar_content

Nekonyancer*Great!* Again, since there can only be one faction per color in a game, the other black faction, *Inventors,* was removed from the list. [blue]Now our opponent will choose a faction.[/blue]1faction_image_leprechauns

NekonyancerThey chose the [green]*Fairies,*[/green] which you'll see if you scroll down a little.1maintitlebar_content

Nekonyancer[blue]*Step 2: Place Houses*[/blue]---Next, each player will place two houses on the board, one at a time. These houses can only be placed on tiles that *match* their faction's *color.* [blue]Remember, we're playing as the Leprechauns, so we can only place houses on black tiles.[/blue]2maintitlebar_content

Nekonyancer*Click here to place our first house! Then [blue]"Confirm"[/blue] the action!*3terrain_space_clicker_H6

Nekonyancer*Great!* Now our opponent will place a house...1terrain_space_clicker_H6

NekonyancerEach player has placed a house now. Each player's second house will be placed in *reverse turn order.* [blue]That means our opponent will place first![/blue]1terrain_space_clicker_G6

NekonyancerIt would be best to settle in an area with other black areas nearby. Here's a good spot! *Settle here!*1terrain_space_clicker_B2

Nekonyancer[blue]*Step 3: Select Bonus Cards*[/blue]---Bonus cards give us bonus resources or points. The number of cards in a game is always equal to *3 + the number of players.* Each player will choose one in *reverse turn order,* so our opponent will choose first.1bonus_card_3

NekonyancerThey chose [blue]*this one,*[/blue] so it's off limits to other players for now! Before we choose our own card, I'll explain some of the *iconography.*1bonus_card_5

Nekonyancer*Hands:* Income. We'll get whatever is in the hand during the Income Phase. *Purple circles:* Power. *Yellow circles:* Coins. *Orange hexagons:* activatable actions. One use per round. *Scrolls:* grant Victory Points at the end of a round.2bonus_card_1

NekonyancerSo, [red]*this card*[/red] will grant 2 power during the income phase. At the end of a round, it grants 2 points for each of the player's buildings of the indicated type on the board. [blue]*This one*[/blue] grants 2 coins during the income phase and allows the user to spend an action to use a shovel.3bonus_card_3

NekonyancerIf you read our faction's description, you already know that we gain power each time we use a *shovel,* so [blue]*this tile*[/blue] is perfect for us! *Select it! Then confirm!*4bonus_card_3

NekonyancerOkay, we're ready to start the *first round!* [blue]Each round has 3 phases:[/blue] 1. Income. 2. Actions. 3. End of Round.1maintitlebar_content

Nekonyancer[blue]*Phase 1: Income*[/blue]---Each player receives whatever income is shown on their *faction board* and *bonus card.* [red]Scroll down to your board.[/red]2maintitlebar_content

NekonyancerOur board has a *+2 coins hand* built into it. Remember the two houses we placed during the Setup Round? Each of them had a [green]*+3 coins hand*[/green] underneath it! [red]The more we build, the more income we'll have for the next round![/red]3dwelling_track_space1_92143487

NekonyancerThe number in the top-left corner of our Faction Board shows how many coins we started the game with: *7 coins.* BGA already gave us income for Round 1: *+2, +3,* and *+3* from our board and *+2* from our bonus card. [green]That's a total of 17 coins.[/green]4faction_tooltip1_92143487

NekonyancerIf you take a look at our inventory, you'll see that we indeed have [green]*17 coins!*[/green]5player_board_92143487

Nekonyancer[blue]*Phase 2: Actions*[/blue]--- This is the main part of the game! Each turn, we can perform one of the following actions: • Make habitable and build. • Upgrade a building. • Increase sailing. • Build a bridge. • Use a power action. • Use a special action. • Drop out of the round. It sounds like a lot of options at first, but it's not really that complicated. We'll start with making terrain *habitable.*6maintitlebar_content

NekonyancerThe chart in the bottom-left corner of our Faction Board tells us everything we need to know about habitability. It's composed of five circles, each representing a different kind of terrain. The circle at the top indicates our *home terrain:* swamps. [blue]If we want to expand to other areas, we need to first change them into swamps. [/blue]7faction_tooltip1_92143487

NekonyancerDeserts and Lakes are *adjacent* to Swamps in the chart, so it will only take a *single shovel* to change either of those types into Swamps. Wastelands and Forests are farther and will require *two shovels* each.8faction_tooltip1_92143487

NekonyancerThis information is reflected on the board. Each space has either *1 or 2 shovels* on it, showing how many we need to change it into a swamp.9terrain_space_clicker_H5

NekonyancerFor our first action, let's change and build on [red]*this desert space!*[/red] It will only require 1 shovel. The cost of each shovel in *coins* is shown in the middle of the chart we looked at earlier: *6 coins.* That's kind of expensive. [green]But we don't always have to pay for shovels![/green]10terrain_space_clicker_H5

Nekonyancer[blue]The bonus card we selected for the round has an orange octagon with a shovel on it![/blue] Again, orange octagons indicate actions that we can activate once per round!11bonus_card_3

Nekonyancer[green]Let's use it![/green] *1.* Select our bonus card. *2.* Select the desert space to the left of our first house. Whenever we transform, we have the option to immediately build on it as part of the same action. Building a house costs [green]4 coins.[/green] *3.* Click on *Transform + Build* at the top! *4.* Confirm!12bonus_card_3

Nekonyancer*Excellent!* [red]*This space*[/red] was changed to a swamp, and another of our houses was placed on it. A gray token was placed on the orange octagon we used, showing that it can't be used again.1terrain_space_clicker_H5

NekonyancerOh, I almost forgot! We also triggered our [red]*Faction Ability:*[/red] whenever we use a shovel, we gain 2 power! I'll explain how power works now.2ability_clicker_92143487

NekonyancerEach player has [red]*3 bowls of power*[/red] in the top-right corner of their Faction Board. We started the game with 2 power tokens in Bowl I, 2 in Bowl II, and 4 in Bowl III.3conversions_revert_clicker

NekonyancerWhenever a player gains 1 power, they must move a token from Bowl I to Bowl II. So when we triggered our [red]*Faction Ability*[/red] and gained 2 power, our two tokens in Bowl I moved over.4conversions_clicker

NekonyancerWhen a player gains power and doesn't have any tokens in Bowl I, they instead move tokens from II to III. Tokens in Bowl III can be *converted* directly into coins without using an action.5faction_supply_bowl2_92143487

NekonyancerWe already used an action, but our turn didn't end because BGA has to give us a chance to *convert* power. This is a very inefficient way to use power though. I'll show you more efficient ways soon. *Click on [blue]"Don't use!"[/blue]*6action_skip

Nekonyancer*Good!* Now our opponent will take their turn!1archivecontrol_editmode_centercomment

NekonyancerThey changed terrain and built a new house, just like we did. Whenever a player builds on a space, other players gain *1 power* for each *building* they have adjacent to that space! [tip] "Buildings" include houses, trading posts, and palaces.1terrain_space_clicker_G5

NekonyancerIn this case, they built on [blue]*this space,*[/blue] and we had [red]*1 house*[/red] adjacent to it, so we gained *1 power.* Since we had no tokens in Bowl I, we moved a token from II to III.2terrain_space_clicker_G6

NekonyancerNext turn! Let's learn about *upgrading buildings.* Scroll down to your *Faction Board* again.1maintitlebar_content

Nekonyancer[red]*Houses*[/red] are upgraded into [blue]*Trading Posts. Trading Posts*[/blue] are upgraded into [green]*Palaces.*[/green] Whenever a building is upgraded, it is replaced with the upgraded piece, uncovering a new income space. The old piece then goes back to our board, covering an old income space.2faction_tooltip1_92143487

NekonyancerIt shows on your board that Trading Posts cost *7* or *10 coins.* [green]The discounted price is only for buildings that are adjacent to at least 1 building that belongs to an opponent.[/green]3struct_9

NekonyancerWe have [red]*two houses*[/red] that we can upgrade at the discounted price. If we upgrade the one on the left, our opponent will get *2 power* because they have two houses adjacent to it. The one on the right will only give them 1 *power.* *1.* Select the house on the right. *2.* [blue]*Confirm!*[/blue]4terrain_space_clicker_H6

Nekonyancer*Excellent!* Scroll down to your board again. Our new Trading Post uncovered [blue]*this space,*[/blue] granting 1 power and 2 coins during Income Phases. However, the house it replaced went back onto our board, covering up [red]*this +3 coins income space!*[/red]1terrain_space_clicker_H6

Nekonyancer[red]Next turn![/red] I'll teach you about *Power Actions* now. There are [red]*six Power Action spaces*[/red] along the left edge of the board.1power_action_clicker_3

NekonyancerEach space has an *orange octagon,* indicating that it can only be used once per round. [red]That's once per round, not once per round per player![/red] Our opponent already used [blue]*this one,*[/blue] so it can't be used again until next round!2power_action_clicker_5

NekonyancerRemember, the rate for *converting* power into coins is *1 for 1.* [green]*This action*[/green] gives *7* coins for just *4* power. Much more efficient!3power_action_clicker_4

NekonyancerLet's use it! *1.* Select this space. *2. [blue]Confirm![/blue]*4power_action_clicker_4

Nekonyancer[blue]Our opponent ran out of money, so they passed![/blue] Their turns will be skipped for the remainder of the round. The bonus card they selected earlier has a *scroll* on it. Remember, scrolls trigger whenever a player passes. In this case, they earned 1 point for each house they had on the board, for a total of [green]two points.[/green]1bonus_card_5

NekonyancerWhen a player passes, they must immediately select a new *bonus card.* We're still using [red]*this one,*[/red] so they can't choose it!2bonus_card_3

NekonyancerThey chose [green]*this one.*[/green] BGA put a big 1 on the card to indicate that they were the first player to pass.1bonus_card_2

NekonyancerWe still have a couple things we can do to increase our income before we pass. First of all, we worked our way over to this *black space.* We won't have to change the terrain. We can simply build a house for 4 coins. *Build a house here!*1terrain_space_clicker_H4

Nekonyancer*Next, upgrade it to a Trading Post!*1terrain_space_clicker_H4

NekonyancerOkay, now we're out of money. Let's pass. [blue]*Click here![/blue] Then confirm!*1action_pass

Nekonyancer[blue]Now we have to pick a bonus card for the next round.[/blue] We can't pick the one we just used or the one our opponent just took. [red]*These two*[/red] have 1 extra bonus coin on them because they were not picked last round. Hmm... which one should we pick?1bonus_card_4

NekonyancerBefore we make our choice, we should take a look at the [red]*Round Scoring tiles.*[/red] There's one for each round, indicating a specific action that grants bonus victory points if performed during that round.2scoring_tile_holder_3

NekonyancerFor example, in [blue]*Round 1,*[/blue] we would have gotten bonus points if we advanced on the Sailing track. (More on sailing later.) In [red]*Round 2,*[/red] we'll get bonus points for building *palaces.*3scoring_tile_holder_1

Nekonyancer[red]*This bonus card*[/red] also grants points for palaces. It's perfect! *Take it!*4bonus_card_4

NekonyancerGood choice. Since we were the *second* player to pass this round, BGA put a "2" on our card.1bonus_card_4

NekonyancerEveryone has passed, so the round is over, but we have one last chance to *convert* power into coins before we gain income for next round. If we gain power when all our power tokens are already in Bowl III, it will be wasted. We have [red]*4*[/red] tokens in Bowl I, [blue]*1*[/blue] in Bowl II, and we're going to gain [green]*6*[/green] power in the Income Phase. Are we going to waste any power?1player_board_92143487

Nekonyancer[blue]No, we aren't.[/blue] It will take *4* power to get all our Bowl I tokens to Bowl II, then another *5* power to get all those tokens into Bowl III. Since we're not going to waste any power, let's save it all for efficient power actions next round. *Click on [blue]"Don't use."[/blue]*2action_skip

Nekonyancer*Okay, Round 2 has started!* We were the starting player in the first round, so this time our opponent will start. [green][tip] There's a variant for turn order, but I'll get into that later.[/green]1archivecontrol_editmode_centercomment

NekonyancerFirst, I think we should use some power. Remember, these power spaces are first come, first serve! *Use this space to trade power for coins!*1power_action_clicker_4

NekonyancerNext, let's upgrade a *Trading Post* into a *Palace.* Scroll down to your *Faction Board.*1maintitlebar_content

NekonyancerEach player has two available palaces. Many of them have unique effects. Our [red]*Left palace*[/red] gives us a lot of income. It also gives us 6 power immediately when it is built. The [blue]*Right palace*[/blue] allows us to found towns more easily. We'll learn more about that soon. Each one costs [green]14 coins[/green] to upgrade. Ouch.2stronghold_clicker_92143487

Nekonyancer[red]Let's do it![/red] *1.* Select this Trading Post. *2.* Click on "To Left Palace" to upgrade it. *3.* Confirm!3terrain_space_clicker_H4

Nekonyancer*Excellent!* We scored 5 points for placing a palace because of this round's [red]*scoring tile.*[/red] We'll earn another 4 points when we pass because of our [blue]*bonus card.*[/blue]1scoring_tile_holder_2

NekonyancerNext, I'll explain *towns.* A town is founded whenever a player has 4 adjacent buildings with a total *town value* of at least 7. Scroll down to your *Faction Board* again.1maintitlebar_content

NekonyancerEach building's *town value* is indicated by the number of gray icons next to it. [img]https://x.boardgamearena.net/data/tutorials/img6785ed4ada0228.73831389.jpg[/img] [blue]Houses: 1. Trading Post: 2. Palaces: 3.[/blue]2stronghold_clicker_92143487

NekonyancerWhen a town is founded, the player can select one of these [red]*town tiles*[/red] and place it on one of the buildings in the town. We'll gain whatever bonuses are shown on the tile!3town_tile_4

NekonyancerHmm, our [red]*3 buildings here*[/red] have a total town value of *6.* We need a value of *7,* spread across *4 buildings,* to found a town. [green]We just need to build one more house![/green]4terrain_space_clicker_H5

NekonyancerTo build a house, we'll need a *shovel.* Again, we could pay for a shovel (6 coins), but it's much better to use power. *1.* Select this power action. *2.* Select the indicated space on the board. *3.* Select "Transform + Build." *4.* Confirm!5power_action_clicker_5

NekonyancerNow we can found a town! Select [red]*this tile.*[/red] We have to place it under one of the buildings in our town. It really doesn't matter which one. *Select the Palace. Then confirm!*1town_tile_3

NekonyancerNext, I'll explain *bridges.* Each player can only construct 3 bridges per game. They normally cost *10 coins* (as shown [red]*here*[/red] on your Faction Board), but they only cost *3 power* with this power action! Bridges, obviously, allow you to cross a river.1power_action_clicker_1

Nekonyancer[red]There are two restrictions:[/red] *1.* The bridge must be constructed *perpendicularly* to a river. Broken bridges on the board show where this can be done. *2.* You must have a building adjacent to the bridge being constructed.2maintitlebar_content

Nekonyancer[red]Let's do it![/red] *1.* Select this action. *2.* Select this location. *3.* Confirm!3bridge_clicker_3

NekonyancerExcellent! [red]*These two spaces*[/red] are now considered adjacent because of the bridge. We're on our way to founding a second town!1terrain_space_clicker_B2

NekonyancerThere is an alternative to building bridges - *sailing.* Scroll down to your *Faction Board* again.2maintitlebar_content

NekonyancerEach player has a [red]*Sailing track*[/red] here. As you can see it, costs *8 coins* to move up 1 space on the track. We're currently at *0.*3shipping_track_space1_92143487

NekonyancerIf we move up one space on the sailing track, then any space that is one river space away from any of our buildings will be within *reach,* which means we can build there. In our case, [red]*these spaces*[/red] would be within our reach.4shipping_track_space1_92143487

NekonyancerI know what you're thinking. "This is so much better than bridges! Upgrading sailing is like getting a bridge everywhere on the board at once!" Well, that last part is true, but spaces you reach by sailing are [red]not considered adjacent[/red] and therefore cannot form a *town* together. [blue]And those town tiles are pretty valuable![/blue]5shipping_track_space2_92143487

NekonyancerOkay, that's it! The game will continue as you've seen for five rounds. At the end of the fifth round, each player's extra coins are converted into points. [green]3 coins --> 1 point.[/green] Then, there's an *area scoring bonus.*6area_scoring_tooltip

NekonyancerIf you hover over [red]*this box,*[/red] BGA will tell you most of what you need to know about area scoring. [blue]"Directly or indirectly adjacent"[/blue] is a little vague though. [blue]"Indirectly adjacent"[/blue] refers to sailing. Spaces you can reach through sailing are considered connected for area scoring, even though they couldn't form a town together.7area_scoring_tooltip

Nekonyancer[green]After converting coins into points and granting points for the largest connected area, whoever has the most points is the winner![/green]8area_scoring_tooltip

Nekonyancer[blue]A few last things to mention.[/blue] First of all, you've probably noticed that there's a lot of extra room on this board. If you want a more restrictive, competitive experience with two players, you might consider the *two-player variants,* which add neutral buildings to the map. There are two kinds: *Planner and Lucky Digger.*9archivecontrol_editmode_centercomment

Nekonyancer*Planner variant:* one faction is randomly designated as the [blue]neutral faction.[/blue] Players will take turns placing some neutral houses on eligible spaces at the beginning of the game. At the beginning of Round 3, more houses will be placed on the rest of the eligible spaces (if still empty).10archivecontrol_editmode_centercomment

Nekonyancer*Lucky Digger variant:* At the beginning of each round, one player will randomly draw a house from one of the three unused factions. If there's an eligible place on the board to place it, they must place it. Then the other player will randomly select a house from one of the other two unused factions and place it, if possible.11archivecontrol_editmode_centercomment

Nekonyancer[blue]You can also change how turn order is determined in the lobby options.[/blue] By *default,* turns are taken in *clockwise order.* Each round, the first player token is passed to the next player. If you choose *variable turn order,* then the turn order for each round is determined by the order in which players passed in the previous round.12archivecontrol_editmode_centercomment

Nekonyancer[blue]*Thank you for playing through this tutorial for Terra Nova!*[/blue] If you have any questions or comments about the tutorial, feel free to send *Nekonyancer* a message! A big thank you goes out to *Rincevent123* for bringing this game to BGA! Have fun! :D13archivecontrol_editmode_centercomment

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Terra Nova

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Let's learn how to play Terra Nova!

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Terra Nova

Complete rules:

Game help:

Ranking Current Season Current Season All-time

My achievements

Preferences

Game options

Ambient music for Terra Nova

Help

Contribute

Follow us

Ranking
Current Season

Current Season All-time