Terracotta Army Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Game Components
• Game Setup
• Key Concepts
  • Victory Points
  • Workers — Craftsmen and Artisans
  • Wet and Dry Clay
  • Warriors and Specialists
  • Warrior Groups
  • Weapon Tokens
  • Domination and Presence
  • Inspectors
• Playing the Game
  • Round Structure
  • Action Phase
    • 1. Rotate a Ring (Optional)
    • 2. Place a Worker (Mandatory)
    • 3. Perform Actions (Optional)
  • Ring Actions
  • Placing Statues
    • Warrior Statues
    • Specialist Statues
• Master Abilities
• Scoring Phase
  • Scoring Inspectors
  • Scoring Musicians
  • Scoring Tiles
• Cleanup Phase
• End Game Scoring
• Specialist Reference

Game Components

• 1 Game board
• 2 Action Rings (1 Middle Action Ring, 1 Inner Action Ring)
• 1 Plastic pin
• 1 Warrior Organizer
• 2 Inspector pawns
• 1 Round marker
• Tokens: 5 Priority tokens, 4 "+100 VP / +200 VP" tokens, 12 Scoring tiles
• Resources: 90 double-sided Clay tokens, 90 Coins
• Warrior miniatures: 11 Officers, 11 Crossbowmen, 11 Guards, 11 Soldiers
• Specialist miniatures: 4 Musicians, 4 Footmen, 4 Kneeling Archers, 4 Horses
• Player components: 16 Weapon tokens (4 in each of 4 types), 24 Master tokens (6 in each of 4 player colors), 4 Scoring markers, 4 Turn Order markers, 20 Craftsmen (5 in each of 4 player colors), 20 Artisans (5 in each of 4 player colors), 60 Warrior bases (15 in each of 4 player colors)

Note: All Resources are considered unlimited. If the supply runs out, use suitable replacements.

Before your first game, assemble the Action Rings using the included plastic pin, so that the Middle Action Ring rests directly on the board, and the Inner Action Ring rests on top of it.

Game Setup

1. Place the game board in the middle of the table.
2. Place the Clay tokens and Coins to the side of the board, forming a common supply.
3. Place 1 Dry Clay on each of the four Warehouses on the board.
4. Place the Action Rings within the Action Wheel, set to random starting positions. When placing the Action Rings, make sure to line up their Action spaces with those of the Outer Ring printed on the game board. Action spaces must always remain lined up throughout the game. The rings may be rotated during the game, but they must always remain lined up as shown, forming a segment.
5. Draw 5 Scoring tiles at random, and place 1 face up on each space of the Round track, making sure that the small triangle is in the bottom left corner. Return all unused Scoring tiles to the game box.
6. Place the Round marker on the first space of the Round track.
7. Place an Inspector pawn on the starting position of each of the two Inspector tracks next to the Mausoleum (one on the horizontal Inspector track, and one on the vertical Inspector track).
8. Place the Warrior Organizer to the side of the game board, next to the Mausoleum. Make sure that each column contains Warrior miniatures of a single type only, as indicated by the illustration at the side of the Warrior Organizer.
9. Place all 16 Specialist miniatures on their designated spaces on the Main board, below the Mausoleum. Each of the 4 types of Specialist miniatures are placed in their own column, as guided by the shapes of their bases and as indicated by the illustrations at the bottom of this area.
10. Arrange the Priority tokens in numerical order with the lowest value on top, and place the stack on the space above the Turn Order track.

• Use only the "1" token in games with 2 players.
• Use only the "1" and "2" tokens in games with 3 players.
• Use all three tokens in games with 4 players.

11. Give each player 3 Coins and 4 Weapon tokens (turned to show their inactive side).
12. Each player should select their preferred player color and take the following components of that color: 6 Master tokens, 15 Warrior bases, 5/4/3 Craftsmen (for 2/3/4-player games), 5/4/3 Artisans (for 2/3/4-player games), 1 Scoring marker, and 1 Turn Order marker. Return all unused player components to the game box.
13. Place all Artisans belonging to each player into the common supply next to the game board.
14. Place all Scoring markers on the "0" space of the Scoring track.
15. Using a method of your choosing, randomly determine the starting player and place their Turn Order marker on the topmost position of the Turn Order track. Place the remaining Turn Order markers on the Turn Order track in clockwise player order.
16. The player second in Turn Order receives 1 Wet Clay. If there is a third player, give them 2 Wet Clay and 1 Coin. If there is a fourth player, give them 3 Wet Clay and 2 Coins. Any Clay you receive at the start of the game should be placed with the Wet side up.

You are now ready to play the game!

Key Concepts

A number of key concepts apply when performing certain actions. These concepts (and their associated rules) are explained below.

Victory Points

Whenever you receive Victory Points, mark them on the Scoring track that runs around the game board by advancing your Scoring marker. If you exceed 100 Victory Points, take a "+100 VP" token. If you exceed 200 Victory Points, flip that token to the "+200 VP" side. Victory Points are abbreviated as VP within these rules.

Workers — Craftsmen and Artisans

Your pool of Craftsmen and Artisans are, collectively, your Workers. At the beginning of the game, you have a number of Craftsmen at your disposal. As the game progresses, you may convert some of your Craftsmen to Artisans. Whenever the rules make reference to Workers, they refer to Craftsmen and Artisans alike. Whenever the rules explicitly name Craftsmen or Artisans, only that specific type of Worker is being discussed.

Wet and Dry Clay

Clay (represented as Clay tokens) is the primary resource necessary for making Warrior Statues. As in real life, only Wet clay is workable. In Terracotta Army, clay is represented as double-sided Clay tokens. Only a Clay token with its Wet side visible can be used to pay any costs associated with the making of a Warrior Statue.

Warriors and Specialists

There are two types of Statues represented as miniatures in the game: Warriors and Specialists. Generally speaking, Warriors are made using Wet Clay tokens, and Specialists are purchased with Coins (and using a specific Weapon). Newly made Warriors are marked with player bases — to denote their owner when placed within the Mausoleum — while Specialists are not. In fact, the Specialists' bases differ in shapes to remind you of this, as well as of their special abilities. All Warriors have square bases that can easily be marked with player bases. All Specialists have differently shaped bases.

Warrior Groups

During the game, you will be placing Warrior miniatures within the Mausoleum, forming groups. In game terminology, a group consists of 2 or more miniatures of the exact same type that are orthogonally adjacent to each other. A group's miniatures may belong to multiple players (as denoted by the player bases on those miniatures). Multiple separate groups consisting of the same type of miniature may exist within the Mausoleum.

Example: A single group of 4 Officers may consist of 2 belonging to Yellow, 1 to Blue, and 1 to Green. An Officer that is not orthogonally adjacent to any other Officer in the group does not belong to the group. A Soldier is also not part of a group of Officers, as it is a different type of Warrior.

Weapon Tokens

Every player has 4 Weapon tokens, exactly 1 of each of the 4 types (a sword, a halberd, a crossbow, and a spear). Every Weapon in your possession is either active or inactive. Whenever you use an active Weapon, flip the token to its inactive side. Whenever an action allows you to ready a Weapon, you may flip a Weapon token to its active side (this has no effect on a Weapon that is already active).

Domination and Presence

In Terracotta Army, you will have many opportunities to score points based on Domination and Presence. To achieve Domination, you must be the only player with the most of the specific Resource or type of Statue currently being scored. (If you are the only player, you have Domination). For Presence, you must have at least 1 of the specific Resource or type of Statue currently being scored.

• If you score points for Domination, you DO NOT also score points for Presence.
• If there is an unbreakable tie for Domination between two or more players, nobody achieves Domination. However, all tied players are considered to have Presence.
• Note: During the End Game Scoring, Domination and Presence are scored differently!

Inspectors

There are two Inspector pawns, each with its associated track. Moving an Inspector "forward" means moving the pawn in the direction of the arrows. If the Inspector pawn is already on the final space of the Inspector track, it is moved to the starting space of the track (as indicated by the long arrow).

Playing the Game

A game of Terracotta Army is played over five rounds. Each round, players take turns placing workers to perform actions. After each player performs an action, play passes to the next player in the current Turn Order. Once all players have used all of their Workers, the round ends, Victory Points are scored, and the next round is prepared. At the end of the fifth round, End Game Scoring takes place. The winner of the game will be the player with the most Victory Points.

Round Structure

Each round is played in the following steps:

1. Action Phase
2. Scoring Phase
3. Cleanup Phase

Action Phase

During this phase, in the current Turn Order, players take turns placing one of their Workers around the Action Wheel on the game board. When it is your turn to place a Worker, perform the following steps, in order:

1. Rotate a Ring (Optional)

You may select either the Inner Ring or the Middle Ring and pay 2 Coins to rotate it one step in the direction indicated by its arrows. The Inner Ring may only be rotated clockwise. The Middle Ring may only be rotated counterclockwise.

• If you choose to rotate a ring, remember that you may only perform it ONCE.
• You are not allowed to rotate the ring more than one step or rotate more than one of the rings.
• You are also NOT ALLOWED to repeat this step by paying the cost multiple times.
• After performing the rotation, the Action spaces must be properly aligned.

2. Place a Worker (Mandatory)

Place one of your Workers onto an empty space around the Action Wheel. Every segment of the Action Wheel has two worker spaces.

• You may place any Worker onto any space within any segment as long as both spaces within that segment are empty.
• If one of the spaces within a given segment is already occupied by a Craftsman (whether yours or one belonging to another player) and the other space is empty, only an Artisan may be placed on the other space.
• No Worker may be placed within a segment occupied by an Artisan.

3. Perform Actions (Optional)

Within the segment where you placed your Worker, starting from the Inner Ring and moving towards the Outer Ring, perform the actions one at a time, resolving each one fully before proceeding with the next one. You MUST perform the actions in the order from innermost to outermost ring.

When performing an action from the Inner Ring or Middle Ring, you must:

• perform the depicted action,
• take 1 Wet Clay or 1 Coin, or
• do nothing.

When performing an action from the Outer Ring (printed on the game board), you must either:

• perform the depicted action, or
• do nothing.

Although you MAY choose to skip the action on the Outer Ring, you CANNOT take Clay or Coin instead.

Ring Actions

The Inner Ring and Middle Ring may contain the following actions:

• Receive Coins: Receive the depicted number of Coins (2/3/4).
• Receive Wet Clay: Receive the depicted number of Wet Clay (2/4).
• Make a Warrior: Spend the indicated number of Wet Clay to make a Warrior Statue, placing it within the Mausoleum.
• Soak the Clay: Flip all of your Dry Clay to their Wet side.
• Upgrade Assistant: Convert your Craftsman you used for this action into an Artisan. Remove the Craftsman used to perform this action from the game, and place one of your Artisans from the common supply in its place. This action has no effect if the Worker was already an Artisan, though you may choose to take 1 Wet Clay or 1 Coin instead.
• Master: If you have a Master token of your color in this Master's area on the game board, use the ability associated with the depicted Master. If you DO NOT already have a Master token of your color in this Master's area, first select one of your Master tokens, pay the number of Coins printed on the token, and place it in the corresponding Master's area. Then, use the ability associated with the depicted Master. If you decide to buy a Master and do not use their ability, it still counts as performing the Master's action, thus you cannot take a Clay or a Coin instead. Each player can only have a single Master token in each Master's area on the game board.
• Take the Priority Token: Take the topmost Priority token from the Priority token stack, if any remain, placing it in front of you. If any Wet Clay is printed on the token, take the indicated number of Wet Clay now. Each player may only have a single Priority token in front of them.
• Ready a Weapon: Ready the depicted Weapon by flipping the token to its active side. If your Weapon is already active, this action has no effect. Since this action is printed on the Outer Ring, you cannot choose to take 1 Wet Clay or 1 Coin instead of performing the action.
• Build a Specialist: Spend Coins and use a Weapon to purchase a Specialist miniature, placing it within the Mausoleum. Since this action is printed on the Outer Ring, you cannot choose to take 1 Wet Clay or 1 Coin instead of performing the action.

Placing Statues

Some of the actions allow you to place a Warrior or Specialist Statue within the Mausoleum. Regardless of type, all Statues you place allow you to use their abilities.

Warrior Statues

When making a Warrior Statue, you must pay its cost in Wet Clay. The cost is determined by the Action space you activated. This means that you will pay 2, 3, or 4 Wet Clay when making a Warrior Statue.

When paying the (Wet) Clay, add 1 of the paid Clay tokens, Dry side up, to the Warehouse located in the same quarter of the Action Wheel as the segment where you placed your Worker. Return the remaining Clay to the common supply.

After paying the Clay, take a Warrior Statue of any type from the Warrior Organizer, attach it to a base in your player color, and place it onto any empty space within the Mausoleum. Also score the number of Victory Points indicated on the Warrior Organizer. When making a Statue, you always take the bottommost figure of the chosen type. After placing the Warrior within the Mausoleum, score the number of Victory Points printed next to the row the Warrior was taken from.

With the exception of the Kneeling Archer, it does not matter which way your Warrior faces.

After scoring the Victory Points, you may use the Weapon associated with this Warrior type to activate its special ability. This is not mandatory. If this Weapon is inactive or you do not want to use it (because doing so flips the Weapon to its inactive side), that is acceptable; you then ignore this special ability and continue resolving your next actions. You are allowed to make a Warrior Statue without activating its ability.

The Officer: Immediately after making an Officer, you may use a Sword Weapon to activate the following effects: Score 1 Victory Point; and you may move 1 Inspector 1 step forward or backward on its Inspector track.

The Guard: Immediately after making a Guard, you may use a Halberd Weapon to activate the following effects: Score 3 Victory Points; and of your other Statues, you may move 1 Warrior within the Mausoleum any number of spaces in a straight line. All the spaces that your Warrior moves through (and stops on) must be empty. Your Warrior may not move through another Statue.

The Crossbowman: Immediately after making a Crossbowman, you may use a Crossbow Weapon to activate the following effect: Score 1 Victory Point for each empty space between this Warrior and any other Statue in the same row or column. If multiple options exist, choose one. If either no options exist or all options are directly adjacent to the Crossbowman, score no Victory Points.

The Soldier: Immediately after making a Soldier, you may use a Spear Weapon to activate the following effects: Score 1 Victory Point; and Take 2 Coins.

Specialist Statues

When purchasing a Specialist Statue, you must pay its cost in Coin and flip the associated Weapon token to its inactive side. The Coin cost is always at least 1 Coin; the cost increases as more Specialists of that type are purchased. The cost is equal to the number of Coins visible in the column. Unlike Warriors, Specialists are not marked with a player base when built.

When you purchase a Specialist, you MUST be able to flip the associated Weapon to its inactive side. If you are unable or unwilling to do this, you cannot purchase that type of Specialist.

The Horse: This Statue takes up three adjacent spaces in one row or column within the Mausoleum. The first space must be occupied by one of your existing Warrior Statues. Remove the Warrior temporarily, placing the Horse so that its empty slot is exactly on the space where your Warrior was standing. Place your Warrior on the base of the Horse Statue. This Warrior is considered to be occupying all three spaces occupied by the Horse, expanding the reach of the connected Warrior when forming groups or determining adjacency. Your Warrior only counts as a single Warrior for purposes of scoring (and achieving Domination). The Warrior retains its type for all purposes (including forming or combining groups).

The Footman: At the end of the game, this Statue awards Victory Points to players based on: which player has the majority of Warriors (regardless of type) occupying the 8 spaces surrounding the Footman (diagonally and orthogonally), and which player(s) have Presence in that surrounding area. For Domination, receive 8 Victory Points. For Presence, receive 2 Victory Points. Only the actual number of Warriors is counted. A Horse still counts as only 1 Warrior. Specialists do not count towards Domination or Presence.

The Kneeling Archer: When placing the Kneeling Archer, rotate the Statue so that it faces a Warrior of your choice. (Note: This is the only Statue that uses facing as part of its effects.) Although the Kneeling Archer does not belong to any player, the Kneeling Archer counts as a Warrior of the same type as the Warrior they are facing, creating or becoming part of its group for scoring purposes. The player whose Warrior the Kneeling Archer is facing receives two benefits:

• During scoring, if this Warrior is involved in a tie for Domination, the Kneeling Archer breaks the tie in favor of that player. (If there are multiple Kneeling Archers involved, the player benefitting from the most Kneeling Archers within this group breaks the tie.)
• At the end of the game, the Kneeling Archer awards 2 VP to that player.

The Musician: During every Scoring Phase, each player scores 1 Victory Point for each of their Warriors in the same row or column as the Musician. Each Musician is scored separately, so a single Warrior that shares a row or column with more than 1 Musician may score multiple points.

Master Abilities

Each player can only have a single Master token in each Master's area on the game board. Master tokens are bought by paying the Coins printed on the token. The Cleanup Phase bonuses are cumulative. However, the bonus which protects 1 Wet Clay from flipping to its Dry side has no effect on Clay that is already Dry; it only lets you keep some of your Wet Clay Wet.

• Master Builder: Pay a number of Coins equal to the current round (1 Coin in round 1, 2 Coins in round 2, etc.) to make a Warrior, and place it within the Mausoleum. There is no Clay cost associated with making this Warrior, only the aforementioned Coin cost. Restrictions: The Warrior must be of whichever type has the most Statues remaining in the Warrior Organizer. (If there is a tie, choose one of the tied types.) You do not score any Victory Points when placing this Warrior. You cannot use a Weapon to activate its special ability. Cleanup Phase bonus: Receive 1 Coin.
• Master Administrator: Perform the action from the Inner Ring again (including paying any applicable costs). Cleanup Phase bonus: Receive 1 Coin.
• Master Inspector: You may move one of the Inspectors 1 or 2 spaces forward on its track. Cleanup Phase bonus: Receive 1 Coin.
• Master Clay Maker: Receive 3 Wet Clay. Cleanup Phase bonus: Protect 1 of your Wet Clay from flipping to its Dry side.
• Master Supervisor: Receive all Dry Clay from any 2 Warehouses on the game board. Cleanup Phase bonus: Protect 1 of your Wet Clay from flipping to its Dry side.
• Master Blacksmith: Ready all of your Weapons. Cleanup Phase bonus: Protect 1 of your Wet Clay from flipping to its Dry side.

Scoring Phase

Victory Points will be scored from Inspectors, Musicians, and Scoring tile.

Scoring Inspectors

First, score the Inspector track to the left of the Mausoleum. Award Victory Points based on the number of Warriors (regardless of type) located within the same row as the Inspector.

• For Domination, receive 7 Victory Points.
• For Presence, receive 3 Victory Points.

Remember: Kneeling Archers may break ties if the Warrior they are facing is involved in a tie for Domination. After the inspection is finished, move the Inspector 1 step forward on its track.

Next, score the Inspector track located below the Mausoleum. Evaluate this track in the same way, except this time considering Warriors in the same column as the Inspector.

Scoring Musicians

Each player scores 1 Victory Point for each of their Warriors in the same row or column as a Musician. Each Musician is scored separately, so a single Warrior that shares a row or column with more than 1 Musician may score multiple points.

Scoring Tiles

Consult the Scoring tile for the current round. Depending on the game round, Domination and Presence score different amounts of Victory Points. Each Scoring tile has its own requirements for achieving Domination and Presence, as detailed below.

• Middle column/row tile: Evaluate Domination and Presence based on the number of Warriors along the middle column (or row) within the Mausoleum, much like when scoring the Inspectors.
• Warrior type tile: Domination and Presence is achieved based on the total number of Warriors of the indicated type within the Mausoleum. (Kneeling Archers ARE NOT counted as Warriors belonging to any player, but they MAY break ties.)
• Quarter tile: Domination and Presence is achieved based on the total number of Warriors, of any type, within the indicated quarter of the Mausoleum. The middle column and middle row (shaded more lightly) are NOT considered to be part of any quarter. (Kneeling Archers ARE NOT counted as Warriors belonging to any player, but they MAY break ties.)
• Coin tile: Domination and Presence is achieved based on the total number of Coins each player has. Kneeling Archers do not break ties here.
• Clay tile: Domination and Presence is achieved based on the total number of Clay each player has (regardless of whether the Clay is Wet or Dry). Kneeling Archers do not break ties here.

Cleanup Phase

1. If no player has a Priority token, skip this step. Otherwise, any player has a Priority token, update the Turn Order track as follows: a. The player with the number "1" token becomes first in Turn Order. b. The player with the number "2" token, if any, becomes second in Turn Order. c. The player with the number "3" token, if any, becomes third in Turn Order. d. All players without a Priority token will occupy the last spaces in Turn Order, without changing their respective order. e. Return the Priority tokens to their space above the Turn Order track, leaving the higher numbered tokens at the bottom of the stack.
2. Every player should flip all their Wet Clay tokens to their Dry side. (Certain Masters allow you to protect some of your Clay from being flipped.)
3. Receive 1 Coin for each applicable Master.
4. If this is the 5th (and therefore final) round of play: Proceed to End Game Scoring.
5. Otherwise: a. Retrieve all Workers from the Action Wheel. b. Rotate the Inner Action Ring one step clockwise. c. Rotate the Middle Action Ring one step counterclockwise. d. Advance the Round marker to the next space of the Round track. e. Begin a new round, following the current Turn Order.

End Game Scoring

At the conclusion of the final round of the game, it is time for final scoring.

1. Score each Footman based on the number of Warriors (regardless of type) occupying the 8 spaces surrounding the Footman (diagonally and orthogonally).
   • For Domination, receive 8 Victory Points (Kneeling Archers may break ties here).
   • For Presence, receive 2 Victory Points.
   • Only the actual number of Warriors is counted. A Horse (with its Warrior) still counts as only 1 Warrior.
2. Remove every Warrior that is not a part of a group. A group consists of 2 or more miniatures of the exact same type that are orthogonally adjacent to each other, regardless of player ownership. (Recall that a group must contain at least 2 Warriors or at least 1 Warrior and 1 Kneeling Archer facing that Warrior.)
3. Score each group separately as follows:
   • Each Warrior is worth a number of Victory Points equal to the number of different players having at least 1 Warrior within that group. (Simply count the number of different color bases present within the group.)
   • If at least 2 players have at least 1 Warrior within the group, evaluate Domination and Presence.
     • For Domination, receive 5 Victory Points (Kneeling Archers may break ties).
     • For Presence, receive 2 Victory Points.
4. Score each Kneeling Archer. The player whose Warrior the Kneeling Archer is facing receives 2 Victory Points.
5. Finally, each player counts their total number of leftover Clay (whether Wet or Dry) and Coin. For every 2 of these (of the total sum), the player receives 1 Victory Point.

The player with the most points wins the game. In case of a tie, the tied player who is first in Turn Order breaks the tie.

Specialist Reference

• The Officer: Use a Sword to score 1 Victory Point, and you may move 1 Inspector up to 1 step forward or backward on its Inspector track.
• The Guard: Use a Halberd to score 3 Victory Points, and you may move 1 of your Warriors within the Mausoleum any number of spaces in a straight line (through empty spaces only).
• The Crossbowman: Use a Crossbow to score 1 Victory Point for each empty space between this Warrior and any other Statue in the same row or column. If multiple options of scoring exist, you may select any one (and only one) of them.
• The Soldier: Use a Spear to score 1 Victory Point and take 2 Coins.
• The Horse: This Statue takes up three adjacent spaces in one row or column. The first space must be occupied by one of your existing Warriors. The Warrior is considered to be occupying all three spaces occupied by the horse, but it still only counts as one Warrior of its original type.
• The Footman: At the end of the game: Count all Warriors in the 8 spaces surrounding the Footman. The player who has Domination among these Warriors receives 8 Victory Points. All players with Presence score 2 Victory Points each.
• The Kneeling Archer: When placing, rotate so that the Kneeling Archer faces a Warrior. Counts as a Warrior of the same type as the one it is facing. Breaks ties for the player whose Warrior it faces. Worth 2 Victory Points to the player whose Warrior it is facing at the end of the game.
• The Musician: Each Scoring Phase: Each player scores 1 Victory Point for each of their Warriors sharing a row or column with the Musician. A single Warrior may score for multiple Musicians.