Teotihuacan: City of Gods FAQ
230 questions players ask · Updated Nov 6, 2026 · Full rulebook
Turns, movement and unlocking
- Must I move a worker 1 to 3 spaces on a normal turn, or can I act where I already stand?
- Does the start player change during the game?
- How do I unlock locked workers, and does it use up my turn?
- Can I pay 3 cocoa to unlock in the middle of my turn, for example after moving or after paying an action cost?
- If I take the free unlock as my whole turn, can I still use Discovery tiles I hold?
- Can I bump my own locked worker out of a Worship space?
- Can a worker stay on a Worship space and worship again next turn?
- Do locked workers on a Worship space count for cocoa costs, action rows or the Decorations discount?
- What is the order of steps in a turn?
- Can a Discovery tile that moves workers give me a second action in the same turn?
- Does the unlimited-distance Discovery tile collect Technology 01 cocoa for passing the Palace?
- When does the Palace cocoa Technology (01) trigger?
- Can a worker that just ascended onto the Palace act on the Palace on my next turn?
- Can a movement effect move another player's worker, or a dummy's?
Cocoa and Main actions
- How much cocoa do I pay to take a Main action?
- How much cocoa does Collect Cocoa give?
- Do I need the cocoa or resources in hand before taking a Main action, or can the action's own gains pay for it?
- Can I take a Main action I cannot fully carry out just to power up a worker?
- What if I have four workers on one Action Board; which ones count for the Main action?
- Can I take a weaker row or column than my workers allow on a resource board?
- Can a resource gained earlier in an action pay for a later part of it, such as a second Pyramid tile or a Discovery tile?
- If I gain a virtual or extra worker in the middle of an action, can I use it in that same action?
- What power does the extra virtual worker from "as if you had another worker" effects have?
- Is a discount from extra workers or Technologies the same as getting resources back?
- Do Technology bonuses trigger once per turn or once per tile, power-up or Pyramid tile?
- When do Technology 03's 3 VP score?
- Which effect wins when effects from different sources, such as base rules, Technologies, Priests and Discovery tiles, conflict over a cost?
Power-ups and Ascension
- Are power-ups mandatory?
- Can I power up only once when I have three workers on a Forest, Quarry, Gold, Nobles or Construction board?
- On Construction, how many power-ups do I get if I build only one tile with three workers?
- Do I power up if I took Collect Cocoa or Worship instead of the Main action?
- Which workers can I power up?
- If my first power-up makes a worker ascend, can the second power-up go to the new worker or the same worker?
- Can the two power-ups of the "power up twice" Discovery tile go to different workers on different boards?
- In what order do I resolve an Ascension?
- Does the Ascension reward give 5 or 6 cocoa?
- Can two of my workers ascend in the same turn?
- Can the cocoa-replacing Discovery tile pay the 3 cocoa for the Ascension wheel's double temple advance?
- How do I get a fourth worker?
- Does a worker ascending after an Eclipse or at game end still earn a reward?
- If my moved worker ascends, do the other workers on that board still take part in the Main action?
- Can a power-up from a Discovery tile ascend a just-moved worker before I take the main action?
- Can I play a Discovery tile in the middle of a Main action?
Worship and Discovery tiles
- How does the Worship action work?
- Do I pay the cocoa for unlocking or for taking both Worship options before resolving anything, and can Worship rewards pay for it?
- Can I pay 1 cocoa to bump a worker off a Worship space when I cannot use its ability?
- Do I pay 1 cocoa to use a Worship space that has no locked worker on it?
- Can I take the Discovery tile at the Palace (1) without activating a Royal tile?
- Can I use the Palace Royal tile twice in one turn by paying more cocoa?
- With the Royal tile that advances temples, can one worker advance on several tracks?
- Do an Action Board's main-action restrictions apply to Royal tile abilities on the Palace?
- How does the Royal tile that scores 2 VP per Technology work?
- Can I look at the face-up Discovery tiles on the board, and can I choose which one to take?
- Do I pay a Discovery tile's cost when I claim it or when I use it?
- When can I use a Discovery tile, and can I hold it for later?
- Which Discovery tiles are replaced when claimed?
- Can I hold more than one Discovery tile of the same type, and can a 3-resource tile give mixed resources?
- What does the Discovery tile that ignores a cocoa payment cover?
- Can the unlimited-move Discovery tile and the double-move tile be combined?
- Can a Discovery tile that powers up two workers target a locked worker?
Temples and the Avenue of the Dead
- When I reach an Avenue of the Dead step with Discovery tiles, must I claim one?
- How many steps does the Avenue of the Dead have, and does it reset?
- On a temple major step, can I take the printed reward instead of the Discovery tile?
- If I advance several steps, do I get every step's reward?
- What happens at the top of a temple, and does the penultimate step qualify me for the Temple Bonus?
- What does the "any resource" star icon on temples mean?
Alchemy and Technologies
- Does acquiring a Technology also advance a temple?
- With one worker on Alchemy at power 4 or 5, can I take from the bottom row and still power up?
- When I take a Technology, who scores points?
- Does a Technology work on the turn I acquire it?
- Do Technology bonuses apply when I Worship or Collect Cocoa instead of taking the Main action?
- If a Main action gives two power-ups, can Technology 13 pay for an extra one twice?
- How does Technology 15's extra worker on Construction work?
- When do Technologies 11 and 17 resolve if I build several Pyramid tiles?
- Do I get Technology 5's extra resource when the Forest gives a small reward?
- Which Technology does the 4th player start with in a first game?
Construction, Decorations and the Pyramid
- How many Pyramid tiles can I build on Construction, and must I build one per worker?
- Do I pay for all Pyramid tiles up front, or does each tile resolve before the next?
- Must a Pyramid tile or Decoration match the icons below it?
- Does the fourth, uncoloured symbol count as an icon when placing tiles?
- Which icons count when I place a tile, those on the tile I place or the ones under it?
- Can I build on an upper level before the level below is complete, and can gaps block higher levels?
- What happens when I reach the end of the Pyramid track?
- How does a Decoration score, and do I advance if nothing matches?
- What are the Decoration placement rules (arrow direction, stacking, no legal spot)?
- Why are there 15 Decoration tiles for 16 spaces?
- How does the Decorations (7) discount work?
- Can I take the Nobles action with one worker when the top row is full?
Eclipse and end of game
- When does the light disc on the Calendar move?
- After an Eclipse is triggered, does everyone get another turn, including the last player?
- If an Ascension triggers an Eclipse, how do later ascensions that turn work?
- What is the order of Eclipse scoring?
- How many VP does the Pyramid leader get at each Eclipse, and what if players are tied?
- What happens when the top Pyramid tile is placed?
- What if the Pyramid is completed after an Eclipse was already triggered?
- Can the Pyramid be completed before the second Eclipse?
- How does paying salary at an Eclipse work, and can I choose not to pay?
- Does the free-cocoa Discovery tile cover the entire Eclipse salary?
- How do masks score, and do duplicates matter?
- How does the Avenue of the Dead score at an Eclipse?
- How are ties broken at the end of the game?
- When are Temple Bonus tiles scored?
- Why keep used Discovery tiles face down?
- When do neutral workers move?
- If an Ascension triggers an Eclipse on my turn in a solo game, who plays next?
Setup and variants
- How much starting cocoa does each player get?
- What power do workers start at in a normal (non-first) game?
- If both of my Starting tiles give a Technology, do I get both?
- Do I have to claim the Discovery tile on a Starting tile, and how do I pay for it?
- Are Starting tiles dealt face down or face up, and can I see which tiles others keep?
- Must my starting workers go on different numbered Action Boards?
- In what order do players choose Starting tiles, place starting workers or pick Priests?
- Is the first-game setup supposed to differ from the normal setup?
- Can I use the pre-printed board layout together with random Starting tiles?
- Must the Action Boards be placed randomly over the printed board?
- How are Technology tiles arranged on the Alchemy board and are costs fixed by row?
- Do Pyramid tiles need a particular orientation or symbols at setup?
- How are neutral workers placed in 2- and 3-player games?
- What if the two drawn Starting tiles show fewer than three different Action Boards for a neutral colour?
- Where do the Calendar discs start, and why is the dark disc further out with fewer players?
- What do the numbers on the temple major steps mean?
- How many Discovery tiles go on each Avenue of the Dead space?
- Do the Temple Bonus tiles replace the bonuses printed on the board?
- Is cocoa a resource, and is the cocoa supply limited?
- What are the Player Order tokens for?
- Can I ascend a worker during setup using Starting tiles?
- Are the Teotihuacan expansions standalone or do they depend on each other?
- Did the 2019 reprint change any rules?
- Is there a Technology tile number 19?
- How does the Starting tile draft variant work?
- With the draft variant, can I draft a Starting tile whose Discovery tile I cannot afford?
- How does the Dark Eclipse Sudden Death variant work?
Teotibot solo rules
- How do I set up a solo game against Teotibot?
- Where does Teotibot's Decorations worker start?
- What happens on Teotibot's turn?
- How do the Direction tiles decide which action tiles shift up?
- Does Teotibot pay or collect cocoa?
- How much does Teotibot collect and spend, and how does it choose a resource from the blue temple?
- How does Teotibot advance a worker, and does it count the Palace?
- Where does Teotibot's worker go when it ascends, and is it powered up again?
- What does Teotibot do when its Alchemy action fails?
- Does Teotibot benefit from Technologies, and do I score 3 VP when I take one it holds?
- Does Teotibot's locked Worship worker count in its "lowest" or "highest" worker checks?
- What does Teotibot do with its Worship die, and what if I unlock it?
- What if Teotibot is already at the top of a temple or reaches a major step?
- How does Teotibot collect masks?
- Where does Teotibot place Pyramid tiles?
- Where does Teotibot place Decorations?
- Where does Teotibot place Buildings when its row is full?
- How does the Mastery tile work?
- If Mastery triggers Alchemy on a power-5 worker, does it get both power-ups?
- Teotibot always ends up skipping the same board after ascending. Is there an official fix?
- Can I play solo against two Teotibots?
- How does Teotibot score at an Eclipse and at game end?
- When does the light disc move in a solo game?
- How are the Pyramid and Decoration offers refilled in solo play?
- Does Teotibot always pay 1 gold for Alchemy?
Teotihuacan: Late Preclassic PeriodExpansion
- How does the Priest Xipe Totec change unlocking and Worship costs?
- Ehecatl: how can I unlock my workers, and can a cocoa-ignoring tile help?
- How does Tlaloc's borrowed worker work, and can it be a neutral worker?
- Does Chalchiuhtlicue's cocoa cost apply to materials, and what if the board is empty?
- How does Oxomoco's virtual worker work?
- How much cocoa does Xolotl's Ascension double reward cost?
- How does the God of War (Huitzilopochtli) priest's bonus VP work?
- What are the limits of the Tonacacihuatl priestess?
- What can Xochipilli do with Discovery tiles, Technologies and the Palace?
- What does a Decoration cost on the Architecture (7) board?
- Must I add a Decoration to take the Architecture (7) action, and how does it score?
- Which Pyramid levels can I build on with the Development (8) board?
- What value does the extra die from the Development board's pyramid Technology have?
- Can a worker unlocked by an action's reward be powered up by that same action?
- How do the orange temple special abilities work?
- How can I advance on the orange temple?
- How does the orange temple power that scores the Avenue of the Dead two levels higher work?
- Can the orange temple's free double Worship be used at the Palace or on the Worship that earns it?
- What does the orange temple step that moves a worker back 1 or 2 spaces do?
- What does the orange temple major step offer, and does the third-step power trigger once?
- Does the orange temple's +1 mask ability apply at the final Eclipse?
- How do Season tiles change Eclipse salary and Pyramid scoring?
- How does Season tile #5's extra temple advance chain?
- With Season tile 3, where does the fourth worker from Ascension go?
- Does the Season tile that stops counting your own-colour workers hurt me?
- Can I use the Expert Pyramid variant's setup without its scoring change?
- Does Technology 09 still trigger on the new Architecture (7) board?
- How do the Late Preclassic priests work for Teotibot?
- When two effects change the same cost, which applies first?
- What does the arrow-key symbol on the Construction (8) or Architecture board mean?
- What value should neutral dice have for Tlaloc?
Teotihuacan: Expansion PeriodExpansion
- Is the first Season tile revealed before players choose Starting tiles?
- Must I accept a power-up triggered by another player's royal tile?
- How does a claimed Mansion Royal tile work for the owner and for other players?
- Which workers add +1 on the Mansion (1) board, and is the power capped?
- How do Major Discovery tiles differ from regular Discovery tiles?
- How does the Quetzalcoatl priest interact with Major Discovery and mask tiles?
- Does Xipe Totec make taking a Mansion Major Discovery tile free?
- How do Shamans and Altar tiles work?
- Does a standing Shaman count as an extra worker, and can it be powered up?
- Must I take an Altar benefit or can I decline it if I cannot or will not pay?
- Does a Shaman pay salary at an Eclipse?
- How do I set up the Altars and Shamans?
- How do Warriors move and displace each other on the Empire board?
- On the Conquest board, must I do every reward in a cell, and what if I cannot add a Warrior or Building?
- What happens when a Building is built in a Module 9 region?
- How does Warrior scoring work at Eclipse?
- What happens if I place my Shaman on the same Altar space as Teotibot's Shaman?
- What can obsidian pay for?
- How does Coatlicue's setup Technology work?
- Can a worker that just ascended be powered up again the same turn?
- Do Mansion Ownership tiles count as Discovery tiles?
- Is Expansion Period compatible with the other expansions, and does it add tiles?
- How many VP does Royal tile 10 score?
- How much do sets of 8 to 11 masks score?
- Do masks on Major Discovery tiles count for Technology 08?
- In the Palace module, can I claim the top Discovery tile without worshipping?
- When does Teotibot take its extra Shaman action with the Centeotl priest?
- When do I choose starting dice locations when playing with several modules?
Teotihuacan: Shadow of XitleExpansion
- When does Shadow of Xitle Technology 14 trigger?
- Does Technology 10 apply if I pay salary for only one worker?
- Does Technology 06's 4 VP apply when another player unlocks my worker?
- Does Technology 02's extra cocoa apply to every cocoa gain?
- How does the Technology backward worker move work?
- Does the "any temple" icon on Starting and Technology tiles include the orange temple?
- Do I pay the cost of the Discovery tile a Shadow of Xitle Starting tile lets me claim?
- What do the 2x6 and 2x7 Starting tiles do?
Teotihuacan: City of Gods – 5th Player ExpansionExpansion
- Are neutral workers placed in games with fewer than five players when the 5th Player module is used?
- Can I play five players just by adding a fifth colour?
- How do common workers count and what can they do?
- How do I set up the common workers in the 5th player expansion?
- Can I use the get-an-additional-worker option twice after losing workers?
- Can my Shaman be blocked when moving to the next Altar in the 5-player game?