Yes, I’ve already sung the praises of this amazing game right here, but I wanted to do a full Tzol’kin play-through, mainly to lock the rules into my brain and give me the ability to table it whenever I want to.
I’ll start off by showing (and explaining) the random Monuments (along the top row) and Buildings (on the bottom row) that I drew for this match, pictured down below from left to right:
Monuments
- Score VP’s based on the total number of Monuments built by all players. In a 4-player game, that’s 4 points per Monument.
- Score VP’s equal to the total number of Workers you have in play.
- Score 3 VP’s for every step you’ve taken beyond the starting space on one Temple of your choice.
- Score 4 VP’s for every gray-bordered Monument and Building you’ve built.
- Score points based on when you built it in: first quarter of the game – 40 points, second quarter – 31 points, third quarter – 22 points, fourth quarter – 13 points. (special promo tile)
- Score points based on how many Technologies you managed to get to Level Three.
- All of your Workers require one less Corn to feed.
- One of your Workers needs no Corn.
- Advance one Theology (Blue) Tech Space and go up one step on the Green (Kukulcan) Temple.
- Go up one step on both the Brown (Chaac) and Yellow (Quetzalcoatl) Temple.
- See #1.
- Gain one level in the Red / Yellow Architecture Technology.
And here are the starting Resources for all four players:
RED gets 3 Corn, 1 Wood and 1 extra starting Worker. To counter-balance this, he also takes an improvement that covers the Corn requirements for 1 Worker.
YELLOW starts with 9 Corn, 2 Stone, 1 Gold and 1 advancement on the Green (Agriculture) Technology Track.
GREEN begins the game with 8 Corn, 4 Wood, a 1-step drop on the Brown (Chaac) Temple space... mitigated by a 1-step advancement on the same track! He also gets 1 advancement on the Red / Yellow Architecture Technology Track.
BLUE kicks things off with 9 Corn, 4 Wood and 1 advancement on the Green (Kukulcan) Temple.
ROUND 1
Red pays a single Corn to place a Worker on the “0” space of the Green (Palenque) and Red (Tikal) Gears.
Yellow places a Worker on the “0” space of the Yellow (Uxmal) Gear and on the 1-Corn Red Gear for a total of 2 Corn.
Green drops 1 Worker on the “0” space of the Brown (Yaxchilan) Gear as well as the 2-Corn Red Gear for a total of 3 Corn spent.
Blue plays one Worker on the 3-Corn Red Gear and 1 Worker on the 1-Corn Yellow Gear for a total of 5 Corn!
Rotation 1
A Corn is added to the Gear tooth since the First Player token wasn’t taken.
ROUND 2
Red hops a Worker off the Red Gear, pays a Wood cube and advances his Green Agriculture Technology by one.
Yellow takes his Worker off the Red Gear and builds a Building for 1 Stone and 1 Gold, advancing both his Blue Theology Tech and the Green Yaxchilan Temple by one step each.
Green adds his last Worker to the Yellow Gear for free.
Blue takes his Worker off the fourth Red Gear space, letting him build two Buildings. Unfortunately, he can only afford one, paying four lumber for a structure that will reduce his Worker’s Corn requirements by half!
Rotation 2
A Corn is added to the Gear tooth since the First Player token wasn’t taken.
ROUND 3
Red places two Workers for 1 Corn, 1 each on the “0”
space of the Brown and Red Gears.
Yellow spends a Corn to place Workers on the “0”
space of the Green and Yellow Gears.
Green hops a Worker off the Red Gear and buys two
Buildings, one of which covers the Corn requirements for one Worker and the other
advances his Green Agriculture Tech and gives him a Stone. Since he also has
the first Red / Yellow Architecture Tech advancement unlocked, this also earns
him a Corn.
Blue hops off the Yellow Gear, scoring a new Worker!
Rotation 3
A Corn is added to the Gear since the First Player token wasn’t taken.
ROUND 4
Red places his last Worker on the “0” space of
the Brown track.
Yellow leaps off the Yellow Gear for a new Worker!
Green pulls a Worker off the Brown Gear for 1
Gold and 2 Corn. After removing a Worker from the trading space of the Yellow Uxmal
Gear to get a Wood, he then hops off the Red Track, spending a Wood to go up on
the Brown and Green Temple spaces!
Blue places Workers on the “0” spaces of the Red,
Yellow and Blue (Chichen Itza) tracks, spending 3 Corn!
Rotation 4
A Corn is added to the central Gear since the First Player token wasn’t taken.
ROUND 5
Red removes two Workers from the Brown Gear,
getting a Corn, a Wood and a Stone.
Yellow pays a single Corn to place Workers on the
“0” spot of the Brown Gear as well as the First Player space, letting him collect the 4 accumulated Corn.
Green retrieves his Worker from the Yellow Gear
and nets a new Worker.
Blue spends 1 Corn to place a single Worker on
the second Brown Gear space.
Rotation 5
Yellow takes the First Player token. They’d like to rotate the central Gear twice, but since this would bump a Green
Worker off, it’s only advanced a single
space. No Corn is added to the Gear since the First Player token was
taken.
ROUND 6
Yellow places a Worker on the “0” space of the
Red Gear for free.
Green hops his Worker off the last action space
of the Red dial, paying 1 Stone to advance on the Brown and Green Temple spaces.
Blue removes a Worker from the Brown Gear for 1
Corn and 1 Stone and then pulls one from the Yellow Gear to trade 4 Corn for 2
Wood. Next up, they hop a Worker off the Red Gear to buy a Building for 2 Wood
and 1 Stone, which advances him on both the Brown and Yellow Temple tracks.
Red collects a Worker from the Red Gear,
allowing for 2 Technology improvements. Sadly, he can only afford one, spending a Wood and Stone to go up one on the Green
Agriculture Track. He then removes his Worker from the Palenque Corn Gear and,
thanks to his new Technology, he collects 9 Corn, even though it’s still covered by Wood.
He also gets a bonus Corn from the previous improvement, for a total of
10.
Rotation 6
Since the First Player token wasn’t taken, a Corn is added to the Gear.
ROUND 7
Yellow removes from the Brown Gear for 1 Stone
and 1 Corn. He then hops off the Red Gear, spending 2 Stone to advance on the
Green Agriculture Tech track, making the Wood-covered Corn accessible. He then removes a Worker from the Green Gear,
getting 8 Corn (7+1 for the Tech improvement). Next up, he hops off the Yellow
Gear, letting him buy a Building for 2 Corn per regular resource. He returns 6
Corn to the bank, buying a Building that gives him a boost on the Green and
Brown Temple track.
Green pays 1 Corn to place a Worker on both the “0”
Green and Brown Gear spaces.
Blue spends a single Corn to place on the 1-Corn
Green Gear.
Red spends 4 Corn to place on the “0” and “1”
Yellow Gear spaces and on the “0” Red Gear spot.
Rotation 7
Corn is added to the Gear Tooth since the First Player token wasn’t
taken.
ROUND 8
This next round will conclude the first quarter of the game! As such, this is a Feeding
Round, with Bonus Resources coming from Temples.
Yellow pays 3 for placing Workers on the “0” spaces
of the Brown, Red and Yellow Gears.
Green spends 2 Corn to place a Worker on the
2-Corn Brown Gear.
Blue removes a Worker from the Agriculture wheel,
takes a Corn tile and gets 4 Corn.
Red plays their last Worker on the First Player
space, taking the two Corn on the Gears!
Middle of Age I - Food Day
Red has 4 Workers, but only pays 6 since one doesn’t
eat Corn.
Yellow also has 4 Workers, but no efficiencies,
so he pays 8 Corn.
Green has 4 Workers, but pays 6 since one doesn’t
eat Corn.
Blue has 4 Workers and a Building that reduces
food costs by -1 per Worker, so he pays 4 Corn.
Temple Resource Rewards
Green, Blue and Yellow both get 1 Stone a piece.
Yellow, Green and Blue get 1 Wood each.
Rotation 8-9
Red opts to advance the Gears by two spaces,
flipping their player card to signify this!
ROUND 9
Red takes a Worker off the Yellow Gear to get a
new Worker!
Yellow removes from the Red Gear and buys a
Building that advances his Brown Resource Extraction Tech and also gets him a
free Corn.
Green places a Worker for free on the “0” space
of the Red Gear.
Blue plays 2 Corn to play on the Brown Gear’s “0”
space and the 1-Corn Red Gear.
Rotation 10
Corn is added to the Gear tooth since the First Player token wasn’t
taken.
ROUND 10
Red removes from the Fifth Yellow Gear space, letting
him choose any other non-Chichen Itza space. He opts for the fifth Brown Gear
spot, which earns him 1 Gold, 1 Stone and 2 Corn.
Yellow fills up the first 2 slots of the Green
Gear, paying 2 Corn to do so.
Green removes from the Red Gear and pays 1 Wood
and 1 Stone to take the Green Agriculture Tech advancement, making the Wood-buried
Corn accessible. He then gets 8 Corn for hopping off the Green dial, adding +1
for the prior advancement. Finally, he retrieves both Workers from the Brown
Gear, getting a Crystal Skull, a Gold, a Stone and 2 Corn.
Blue places their last Worker on the “0” Brown
Gear slot.
Rotation 11
Since the First Player token wasn’t taken, a Corn is added to the central Gear tooth.
ROUND 11
Red hops off the Red Gear, paying 1 Stone to take
two different Temple steps, namely Brown and Green.
Yellow removes both Workers from the Green wheel,
getting 4 Corn for Fishing and then another 5 from the Corn field next door. After
recovering a Crystal Skull from the Brown Gear, they finish up by removing a Worker
from Yellow and paying 4 Corn to buy a Building that advances any Temple Track.
He chooses the Brown Temple. This same tile gives the option to buy another
Building at regular cost, but he’s out of Resources.
Green pays 3 Corn to drop Workers on the "0" spot of the Red,
Yellow and Blue Gears.
Blue removes a Worker from the double Tech
Improvement space of the Red Gear, paying two resources (Stone and Wood) to
advance on the Brown Resource Extraction Tech and Blue Theology Tech tracks.
Rotation 12
A Corn is added to the Gear tooth since the First Player token
wasn’t taken.
ROUND 12
Red pays 2 Corn to place Workers on the first 2
Green Gear spaces.
Yellow spends 1 Corn to play on the Brown and
Blue Gear’s “0” spaces.
Green pulls off the Yellow Gear, paying 3 Corn to
advance on the Brown Temple Track. He also
hops off the Red Gear and pays 1 Stone to advance on the Blue Theology Tech
track.
Blue places their last Worker on the First Player
spot, helping themselves to 3 Corn!
Rotation 13
No Corn is added to the Gear Tooth since the First Player token was taken by Blue. They can’t move the Gears twice, since it would launch their own Worker off the Chichen Itza Gear!
ROUND 13
The completion of this round represents the end
of Age I and the mid-way point of the game. Not only is this a Feeding Round,
players will also score Victory Points from Temples!
Using good timing, Blue removes from the Brown Gear
to get a Crystal Skull and then removes a Worker from the very last Blue Gear
space, choosing the play on the previous slot for 13 VP’s, a Gold and a step up
on the Gold Temple!
Red pulls off two Green Gear spaces, collecting a
grand total of 9 Corn, 4 from the Fishing space and 5 from the Corn fields.
Yellow hops off the Blue gear, placing a Crystal
Skull 1 spot higher...thanks to his Tech improvement. This nets him 5 VP’s and
a bump up on the Brown Temple space!
Green does the exact same thing, placing a
Crystal Skull one slot higher thanks to his Tech improvement. This nets him 6
VP’s and a bump up on the Brown Temple space!
End of Age
I - Food Day
Red has 5 Workers, but pays 8 since one doesn’t
need to be fed.
Yellow also has 4 Workers, but no efficiencies,
so he pays 8 Corn. Unfortunately, he only has 6 so he takes a -3 VP hit!
Green has 4 Workers, but pays 6 since one doesn’t
eat anything. Unfortunately, he only has 4, so he also takes a -3 VP hit!
Blue’s Building reduces food costs by -1 per Worker
so, with 4 Workers, he pays a measly 4 Corn.
Temple Victory Point Rewards
Green gets 7 points from the Brown Temple, Yellow gets 6 while Red and Blue each get 2
apiece. Bonus points: Green gets 6 more points!
Only Blue gets points from the Yellow Temple: 2
for the space and another 2 for the bonus for a total of 4!
Green Temple: Green and Yellow get 3 points
apiece. The same players get half the bonus: 2 points apiece! Finally Red and
Blue get 1 point apiece.
Rotation 14
Corn is added to the central Gear since the First Player token wasn’t taken.
ROUND 14
Age II begins and new Building Tiles replace the ones from Age I
Blue takes a Crystal Skull from the Brown Gear!
Red places on three “0” spaces: Brown, Red and
Blue, which costs a total of 3 Corn.
Yellow places on the “0” Green Gear.
Green places on the “0” Yellow Gear.
Rotation 15
Since the First Player token wasn’t taken, another Corn is added to the main Gear.
ROUND 15
Also devoid of Corn, Blue places on the “0” space
of the Green wheel.
Red pulls off two Workers from the Green Gear,
getting a whopping 6 Corn from one space and 8 from the other!
Yellow hops off the Green Gear to Fish, taking 3
+ 1 for his Tech Improvement for a total of 4 Corn.
Green adds a Worker to the “0” space of the Brown
Gear for free.
Rotation 16
One Corn is added to the Gear tooth since the First Player token wasn’t taken.
ROUND 16
Blue adds a single Worker to the “0” space of the
Yellow gear.
Red pays a single Corn to place on the 1-Corn
Yellow Gear space.
Yellow removes to get a Crystal Skull.
Green plays on the 0-Corn Green Gear.
Rotation 17
Another Corn is placed on the central Gear since the First Player token wasn’t taken.
ROUND 17
Blue pulls off the Green Gear, getting 4 Corn,
then hops off the Yellow Gear, spending 3 Corn to advance on the Yellow Temple
track!
Red pulls off the Yellow dial, trading 12 Corn
for 3 Gold.
Yellow places Workers on the “0”-level Green,
Brown and Blue Gears, costing them 3 Corn.
Green places a Worker on the First Player space
and gains all of the Corn that’s been piling up there!
That Worker immediately comes back and Green gains the First Player Token. Green then decides to move the Gears twice, flipping their player card over to signify this!
Rotation 18-19
Of course, no Corn is added to the Gears.
ROUND 18
Green leaps off the Yellow Track, paying 1 Corn
to do any action on any Gear, save Blue. He decides to do the fifth action on
the Red track, spending a Gold to go up on both the Brown and Green Temple
spaces! Since he just reached the top level of the Brown Temple, he flips his
Player Board back over to the lighter side, re-setting his ability to move the
gears twice!
Blue spends 1 Corn, placing Workers on the “0”
space of the Green and Blue Gears.
Red spends 2 Corn to place on the 1-Corn Green
Gear and the “0” Brown Gear.
Yellow places on the “0” Yellow Gear for free.
Rotation 20
No-one took the First Player token, so 1 Corn is placed on the Gear.
ROUND 19
Green pulls off the Green Gear, getting 8 Corn
and then removes from the Brown Gear for 2 Corn, 1 Stone and 1 Gold. After
leaping off the second-to-last Yellow Gear, he pays 1 Corn to tap into the 5’th
Red Gear space. This lets him return 1 Stone to progress on both the Yellow and
Green Temple spaces!
Blue pulls off the Green dial to Fish for 3 food...I.E.
Corn.
For 2 Corn, Red removes from the Brown Gear, fetching
1 Stone and a Gold. He also takes a Worker back from the Red dial, letting him
choose any space of any Gear. He decides to advance his Green Agriculture Tech
to the top tier and move the Blue Theology Tech up once, for a total of 4 Resources. Then Red removes from the Green dial, getting 8 Corn.
Yellow jumps off the Green dial, getting 8 Corn. He
then uses his Blue Theology Tech to remove from the Blue Gear, letting him place
a Crystal Skull a level higher than normal, netting him 7 VP’s and also helping
him advance on the Green Temple space. He then hops off the Yellow dial to
advance on the Green Temple space again!
Mid-way through Age II - Food Day
Red has 5 Workers, but pays 8 since one has a
Corn allergy.
Yellow has no farming efficiencies, so he pays 8
Corn for his 4 Workers.
Green has 4 Workers, but pays only 6 since one is
on a Corn-free diet.
Blue has a Building that reduces food costs by -1
per Worker, so he pays 4 Corn for his 4 Workers. Unfortunately, he only has 3,
so he loses 3 VP’s! Whoopsie!
Temple Resource Rewards
Green and Yellow both get 2 Stone while Red and
Blue get 1 Stone apiece!
Blue is the only one to get a Gold from the
Yellow Temple.
Yellow and Green both get a Crystal Skull and 2
Wood while Red and Blue each get 1 Wood.
Rotation 21
A Corn is placed on the big ol’ Gear since the First Player token wasn’t taken.
ROUND 20
Green spends 3 Corn to place Workers on the “0”
spaces of the Brown, Red and Blue gears.
Blue is woefully Corn-poor, so he places a Worker
on the “0” space of the Green Gear.
Red pays to place on the 1-Corn space of the Brown
wheel.
Yellow pays 2 Corn to play 2 Workers, one on the “0”
space of the Yellow wheel and one on the 1-Corn
Blue Gear.
Rotation 22
No one went to the First Player space, so Corn is added to the Gear.
ROUND 21
Green places a Worker on the 0-Corn space Brown
Gear.
Blue drops another single Worker on the “0” space
of the Green dial.
Red places a single Worker on the 0-Corn Red Gear
for free.
Yellow pulls off the Brown Gear for 2 Corn, 1
Gold and 1 Stone.
Rotation 23
Corn is dropped on the central Gear Tooth since the First Player
token wasn’t selected.
ROUND 22
Green pulls off the Red Gear to buy a Building
which will completely feed 3 more Workers! Since he also has the Level 1 Red / Yellow
Architect improvement, he also gets a free Corn.
Blue places on the lowest rung of the Brown Gear
for free.
Red pulls off the Brown Gear, gaining a Crystal
Skull. Thanks to his Blue Tech, Red can also remove one level higher from the
Blue Gear, opting for the 11 VP level, which also gains him a bump on the
Yellow Temple track and a free Wood. He then removes his last Worker from the
Brown Gear for 1 Gold and 2 Corn.
Yellow removes from the Trading space of the Yellow Gear, trading 1 Stone for 3 Corn and then 2 Corn for a lumber.
Rotation 24
The First Player space was left alone, so one Corn is added to the
Gear tooth.
ROUND 23
Green places on the “0” space of the Red Gear for
free.
Blue hops off the Green dial, cutting down the
forest for 2 lumber!
Red pays 1 Corn, placing 2 Workers on the “0”
space of both the Green and Brown Gears.
Yellow pulls off the Blue dial, using their Tech
to place one level higher...specifically on the 8 VP space, which also earns
him a climb up on the Green Temple space.
Rotation 25
A Corn is placed on the Mega-Gear since the First Player space wasn’t
selected.
ROUND 24
Green pulls off the Brown wheel for 1 Gold and 2
Corn.
Blue removes from the Green wheel, picking up the
now-revealed Corn tile for 5 Corn.
Red removes from the Brown Gear for 1 lumber.
Yellow spends 3 Corn to place on the “0” Space of the Green and Yellow Gear, as well as the First Player space! He promptly collects the 6 Corn that’s been piling up on the wheel.
Rotation 27
No Corn is added to the Gear Tooth since the First Player token was taken. Yellow gets the first player token and no additional Gear move is performed.
ROUND 25
Yellow removes from the Green dial and catches 4 elusive Corn Fish. He pulls back from the Blue dial, getting 4 VP’s and a step up on the Brown Temple space.
Green retrieves from the Red dial, letting him construct a Building which gives him a step up on the Blue Tech track and a 1-tier improvement on both the Brown (capped out) and Green Temple tracks, the latter of which locks in the top spot for him! Green then removes from the Blue dial, using his Theology Tech to place a Crystal Skull on the 8 VP space, gaining him 1 Gold and letting him move up on the Green temple track. Since he just unlocked the second tier Blue Tech track, he pays 1 Stone to go up 1 space on the Yellow Temple. Finally, Green spends 1 Corn to take a step backwards to do the Crystal Skull action on the Brown gear!
Since he doesn’t have a Crystal Skull, Blue’s Worker on the Blue Gear is stranded. So, he just pulls off the Brown Gear for 2 Corn and 1 Gold.
Red removes from the Red Gear and pays 3 Wood and 3 Gold for the Monument which gives VP’s for Workers. He then removes from the Green dial for 7 Corn.
End of Age II - Food Day
Red has 5 Workers, but pays 8 since one doesn’t
need any Corn.
Yellow also has 4 Workers with zero efficiencies,
so he pays 8 Corn.
Green has 4 Workers, but pays “0” because his
Buildings cover the food costs for all of them.
Blue has a Building that reduces food costs by -1
per Worker, so he pays 4 Corn for his 4 Workers.
Temple Victory Point Rewards
Brown Temple
Green - 8 points
Yellow - 7 points
Red and Blue - 2 points
Bonus: Green - 2 points
Yellow Temple
Blue - 4 points
Green - 2 points
Red - 1 points
Bonus: Blue - 6 points
Green
Temple
Green - 10 points
Yellow - 9 points
Red and Blue - 1 point
Bonus: Green - 4 points
Goods Conversion
Red 4 / 4 = 1 point
Yellow 20 / 4 = 5 points
Green: 10 / 4 = 2 points
Blue 24 / 4 = 6 points
Crystal Skulls
Green - 3 points
Monuments
Red - 13 points
FINAL SCORES
Green 60
Yellow 53
Blue 40
Red 31
***
Key rules to remember:
- The Golden Rule: you can only either place Workers by paying the Corn cost based on the how many you played and their gear position or remove Workers in whatever order makes the most sense to you.
- When you remove a Worker you can take a lower action space by paying 1 Corn per step back.
- During Food Days, you lose -3 VP's per Worker you can't feed.
- If completely out of food you can Beg For Corn. Lose all of your current Corn and take 3 from the bank. Unfortunately, this pisses off the Gods and you have to take a -1 step down on any Temple track. Pro-tip: if you have to Beg for Corn, do it when you have 0 Corn and not 1 or 2.
- If you place a Worker in the First Player position you collect all of the accumulated Corn, get the Worker placed there back at the end of the round and collect the First Player token. If you currently hold the First Player Token, pass it to the player on the left. You can move the Gears twice if you want, but only if it won't throw a Worker off the last space of a Gear.
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