- Publisher : Pixie Games
- Designer(s) : Przemysław Fornal, Adam Kwapiński
- Artist(s) : Zuzanna Kołakowska, Jan Lipiński, Aleksander Zawada
- Players : 1–4
- Playing time : 90–120 Min
- Weight BGG : 3.39
What's this?
Terracotta Army is a board game where you play as craftsmen and artists tasked with building Emperor Qin Shi Huang’s terracotta army.
How do you play?
🔄 Turn Flow
The game is played over 5 rounds. Each player has 5 actions (5 workers). On your turn, you:
Place a Worker (Required): Place one of your workers (Apprentice or Artisan) on an empty space around the Action Wheel. Artisans can be placed in segments with Apprentices, but Apprentices cannot be placed in segments with Artisans.
Perform Actions (Optional): Perform actions on the Central, Middle, and Outer Discs of the segment where you placed your worker. Actions can include gaining resources, crafting warriors, transforming apprentices, activating masters, or using specialists.
🎬 Main Actions:
Gather Clay: Essential for creating statues. Obtain money: Required to activate certain actions or hire specialists.
Craft a statue: Choose from the 5 types (soldiers, officers, guards, musicians, acrobats) and pay the cost.
Place a statue in the mausoleum: On the central board, follow the placement constraints and try to optimize your position.
Hire a specialist: Unlock powerful and unique effects to help you.
Activate the artist: Upgrade certain statues to gain bonuses.
Spin a wheel: Modify the available action combinations.
🧮 End of round and scoring
At the end of each round, a score is taken:
Row, column, or quadrant highlighted this round.
Majority by statue type.
Effects of specialists or artists.
After the fifth round, a final score is taken, notably based on the statues still present and the end-of-game bonuses.
Is it good?
Terracotta Army stands out for its solid strategic approach. The interlocking wheel mechanic offers real tactical depth, forcing players to plan, adapt, and constantly monitor their opponents’ opportunities.
Interaction is constant, especially around the mausoleum, where every location counts and majorities are fought over with increasing tension as the rounds progress.
The game is more cerebral than it appears, with a very clever action system based on this famous wheel that can be manipulated to chain together effective combos. Beware, however, of analysis paralysis, which can set in during the most tense rounds. Another drawback: the intermediate scorers and final scoring can seem a bit tedious, and the theme, while beautifully illustrated, tends to fade behind the mechanics.
The game’s content is very well-crafted, with small statues proudly lined up in the mausoleum, reinforcing the game’s immersive and visual appeal.
While the first few games require a learning curve to fully grasp all the intricacies, Terracotta Army amply rewards this investment with its definite strategic depth. A game designed for fans of reflection, optimization, and territorial control.
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Review Terracotta Army
Positives
- Action wheel mechanics
- Solid strategic proposition
- Interaction via majorities in the mausoleum
- Interesting combos
- Quality material
Negatives
- Analysis paralysis
- Can seem cold and mechanical
- The final scoring is a bit tedious
Breakdown
- Components and illustrations 8.0
- Thematic 7.0
- Replayability 7.5
- Handling 8.0
- Interaction 8.0
- Originality 8.0
