Scythe is a production and𒐪 warfare game set in an alternate 1920s Europe for one to five players. Players can choose one of the five factions: Nordic, Saxony, Polania, Crimea, and Rusviet. One of the most intriguing aspects of Scythe is the mechs, which grant v൲arious abilities as they are deployed.

While the g💜ame has a strong area-control element, wars do not necessarily dominate the gameplay. To win the game, players must place six stars on the game board by completing various objectives and have the most coins at the end of the game. If you’re ready, we have prepared a comprehensive guide on how to set up and play the game.

How To Setup Scythe

Main Component Setup

First, place the game board in the center of the table. You will see that the game board has two sides; you need to use the side with the smaller hexes.

Remember, to play on the side with the larger hexes, you need to purchase 🐻the Extension Board.

Next, create a supply area for the resources in the game, which are wood, oil,♔ food, and metal. Then create a supply area for the resource multiplier tokens. Finally, create a supply area for the coins. The coins come in denominations of one, three, five, ten, and twenty.

Below the eleven hexes on your map, you will see a green compass symbol. You need to place Encounter Tokens on these hexes.

Place the yellow combat cards face-down in the upper right section of the game board. Remember to shuffle ꦅthe cards before placing them. The area just below this section is for discarding combat cards.

On the right side of the game board, you will find a space for the Factory cards. These are the larger purple cards. Shuffle these cards and place a number of face-down Factory cards equal to the number of players plus one in this area on the board🐭. You can return the other cards to the game box as they will not be needed.

In the bottom center of the game board, shuffle the beige envelope-shaped cards and place them face-down. Then, in the lower-left corner of the game board, shuffle the large green Encounter cards and place them face-down.

Right above the area where you placed the Encounter cards, randomly select one of the six structure bonus tiles given to you and place it face-up.

Player Component Setup

After setting up the main components, shuffle the Player Mats and Faction Mats and give one of each to every player. It will be convenient for players to sit near the large round Home Base icons on the game board that correspond to their chosen factions.

Some Player Mat and Faction Mat combinations are officially banned in the new rulebook because they are too overpowered. These banned combinations are Crimea/Patriotic and Rusviet/Industrial. If a player gets one of these combinations, discard the🐓 Player Mat and give them a different one.

Next, take the components in the color of your chosen faction a🎃ccording to your character figure. The components you need are:

Place your character figure on the Home Base on the game board. Based on the number in the small rectangle on the right side of your Faction Mat, place your Power Token on the corresponding number on the track in the lower right corner of the game board.

Also, take the number of combat cards indicated by the combat card icon in the same rectangle and keep them hidden from other players. Place the mech figures in the four large circles on your Faction Mat that correspond to your color. Then, place your star tokens near the symbol in🐓 the upper left corner of your Faction M𒁏at.

On the right side of your Player Mat, in the small rectangle that lists the mat's aspect, there are several things you need to take. Draw the number of objective cards indicated by the number below the pigeon icon and keep them hidden from other players.

The heart icon to the right of this indicates the starting value for your Popularity Token. The Popularity Track is located on the left side of the game board and is numbered from 0 to 18. The icon to the right of this shows how many coins you start with.

Next, place your six technology cubes on the green boxes with black squares in the lower right part of your Player Mat. Place your six workers (meeples) on the rectangular spaces above the Produce section.

Then, place your remaining two workers on the two hexes adjacent to your Home Base. Do not place a worker on a hex adjacent to your Home Bas𝓀e if it is separated൩ by a river.

You will notice that the Player Mat is divided into four sections. In each section, you will see building names: Armory, Monument, Mill, and Mine. Place your structure tokens that match your color in these areas.

Place your cylindrical Recruit tokens in the designated areas in the lower right corner of each of the four rows on your Player Mat. Lastly, place your Action Token next to your Player Mat. With this, the setup is complete.

Key Concepts

Understanding these key concepts in the game is c🎐rucial. Once you grasp these, the other rules will be easier to fol𝔍low:

Game Flow / Action Overview

In Scythe, there are no "rounds." After a player completes their action, the next player's turn begins in a clockwise direction. This flow continues until any player places their sixth star on the game board. On♚ce a player places the sixth star, the game ends, and scoring begins.

On your turn, you will use your Action Token to perform actions. You must place your Action Token on any section of one of the four separate rows on your Player Mat. The most important rule is that you cannot place your Action Token on the same row as your previous turn.

Next, perform the top action of the section where you placed your Action Token. After completing the top action, perform the bottom action of that section. Remember to perform the actions from top to bottom.

You can use the resources gained from the top action to pay for the bottom action. Since you perform actions from top to bottom, if there is a Pay action at the top, you must complete it first beಞfꦚore proceeding with the other actions in order.

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Remember that the actions you perform are optional. For example, you can choose to perform the bottom action without perform🌃ing the top action or vice versa.

You can also complete your objective card at any time during your turn. This does🔯 not count as an action.

The red boxes in the sections indicate what you need to pay, while the green boxes represent the benefits you will receive. When gaining benefits, you can choose to take all or less than what is shown in the green boxes. For🍸 example,🦂 if gaining three coins doesn’t suit your objective, you can choose not to take any at all.

The first player to start the game is determined by the numbers to the right of the aspect name in the rectangula꧃r section on the player mat. The player with the lowest number starts first, and the game progresses clockwise.

Top Row Actions

If actions are separated by a “/” symbol, this means "or," and you must choose one of the two options. Remember that the Top Row action🍬 is optional, meaning you can directly perform the Bottom Row action even if you select this section.

Each Player Mat may have a different arrangement of🤪 Top Row actions, but their functions are general🐲ly similar.

Move Action

This action allows you to move two different units you control from one territory to an adjacent territory. First, complete the movement of the first unit, and then move the second. ꦡYou can also choose not to m💃ove and instead gain coins as an alternative option. Here are some scenarios you might encounter during movement:

Bolster Action

To pღerform this action, first pay one coin. Then choos𒆙e one option:

• Increase your power by two on the Power Track. Power is essential for combat.
• Draw one combat card. If all combat cards are in the discard pile, shuffle them to form a new deck and draw from there.

Trade Action

To perform this action, first pay one coin. ♏Then choose one option:

• Place two resources of your choice on a territory you control that has at least one worker.
• Increase your popularity by one on the Popularity Track. Popularity is useful for encounters and will earn you more coins at the end of the game if it is high.

Produce Action

When you select the Produce action, choose two different territories. Each worker on those territories produces one resource specific to that territory. All produced resources are placed on that territory. If a worker produces another worker, take the leftmost worker from your mat and pla♍ce it on the resp🔴ective territory.

As yo🌳u produce more workers, the cost of performing the Produce action increases due to the symbols that appear from left to 💛right in the pay section. Here are the terrain types and what they produce:

Bottom Row Actions

Bottom Row actions function similarly to Top Row actions. Remember to perform them in order: first, the Top Row action, and then the Bottom Row action in that section. Both actions are optional. Even if you perform the Top Row action,▨ you do not have to perform the Bottom Roꦚw action.

You are not required to take the coiꦉn rewards from the Bottom Row action.

Additionally, if you have removed the cylinder from the bottom right of that section, a green circular area will be revealed. If you perform the Bottom Row action in that section, don't forget to take the bonus shown in that green area. In a multiplayer game, if your opponent performs the Bottom Row action in the section where you have removed the cylinder, you will receive the bonus indicated.

Upgrade Action

When you perform this action, take one of the technology cubes from the green areas in the Top Row of your Player Mat and place it in one of the red areas with bracketed borders in the Bottom Row. This makes your Top Row action more efficient while reducing the cost of your Bottom Row actionꦗ.

Deploy Action

When you perform this action, take one of the mechs from your Faction Mat and place it on a territory you control that has at least one worker. The area on ﷽your Faction Mat where you removed the mech will now prꦍovide you with a permanent bonus. Remember, you cannot deploy mechs to a lake.

Build Action

When you perform this action, take one of the four buildings from your Player Mat and place it on a territory you control that has at least one worker. Here are the features of the buildings:

Buildings provide end-game scoring based on their placement. Additionally, if there is no enemy unit in the territory where your structure is located, you are considered to control that territory. Only one structure can exist in each territory, regardless of which player owns it.

Even if your opponents control the territory where your structure is, they cannot use its effects. You benefit from your structures' effects even if you do not control the territory, except for the Mill. You can build a structure on the territory with the Factory but not on territories with a Home Base or Lake.

Enlist Action

The Enlist action allows you to remove one of the cylinder-shaped tokens from any Bottom Row action on your Player Mat. Place the removed token on one of the small circular spaces in the bottom left corner of your Faction Mat. You immediately📖 gain th𓆏e one-time bonus indicated in the space you covered.

Additionally, you will now see the symbol in the green circle that was revealed when you removed the cylinder. From now on, whenever you or the players to your left or right perform꧋ the associated Bottom Row action, you ga﷽in the bonus shown in the green circle.

The active player gains the benefit first, followed by the player to their left, and then the player to their right. If any of these players place their sixth star, the game immediately ends. In a two-player game, if your opponent has removed the cylinder from the relevant space and you perform the associated Bottom Row action, your opponent gains the benefit only once.

Faction Differences

Each faction has unique abilities that set them apart from others. You can find these abilities in the top right corner of your Faction Mat.

Additionally, with each Mech you deploy using the Deployꦡ action, you gain permanent abilities unique to your faction. Here are those permanent abilities:

How Combat Works

After a player's Move action, Combat can occur before the Bottom Row action takes place. Combat happens when one player's Mech or character is in the same territory as another player's Mech or character. Comba🔴t can occur in multiple territories, and the active player chooses the order in whꦡich combats resolve. The victor of the combat earns a star.

Before combat, a player can bribe the opponent to prevent them from attacking. 🎀The only thing that can be used for bribery is coins; other items cannot be used for bribery. Bribery cannot occur during ♔combat, and if players share the same territory, combat must occur.

There is no requirement to have a specific amount of popularity or power to enter combat. The attacker in combat uses their mech abilities first, followed by the defending player. Additionally, if combat results in a tie, the attacker wins the combat.

During combat, both sides take the Power Dial and secretly choose a number, up to their maximum power indicated on the Power Track. Then, both sides can tuck power cards behind the dial equal to the total number of mechs and characters involved in the combat꧑.

Tucking cards is optional; you can cജhoose to tuck zero cards even if you select a number. Remember to keep the number of chosen or tucked cards hidden🅷 during combat.

Revealing Dials

After preparing their dials and power cards, both sides simultaneously reveal their dials. The total power shown on the Power Dial and the tucked power cards is considered. The side with the highest power wins the combat.

However, if powers are tied, the attacker wins the combat. Then, both sides reduce their power on the Power Track by the amount shown on their dials and discard the used cards openly onto the ♈game board's discard section.

The winning side places a star on the Triumph Track. Note that through combat, you can place a total of two stars. The winning attacker loses one popularity for each worker retreated by theꦦ losing defender. Then, if there is an Encounter Token present, the winning side discards it and draws an Encounter card.

The losing side retreats all their units to their Home Base. All resources carried by those units remain in the territory where the combat occurred. If the losing side used at least one power card during combat, they gain one power card after retreating.

If placing a sixth star immediately ends the game after combat, any units in other 💧territories with ongoing combats are retreated to their respective territories. Combat can occur on a lake if both players can move to the lake.

What Are Encounters?

When your character moves to a territory with an encounter token, your character cannot move for the remainder of the turn. The encounter token is discarded, and you draw an encounter card. Before resolving the encounter, remember to complete any ongoing combats you have. Similarly,ও encounters must be resolved before performing B✨ottom Row actions.

After choosing an option from the encounter card, place it face down under the Encounter Deck. If you cannot pay the required coins or popularity for an option on the encounter ca🌄rd, you cannot choose that option. Additionally, you are not obligated to claim all benefits offered by the chosen option. For exa♒mple, if you are supposed to gain three wood, you can choose to take only one.

Any rewards gained from the encounter card are added to the territory where your character is located. There is no additional cost for actions t⭕aken from the enc🎐ounter card, and they do not trigger anything on the Player Mat. If an encounter token is in a combat area, it triggers the winner's encounter after combat concludes.

The Factory

Unlike other territories, the Factory does not produce any resources. Controlling the Factory at the end of the game is equivalent to controlling three territories. When your character first moves to the Factory territory during their turn, look at all the Factory cards on the board. Choose one card, keep it, and return the others to the board.

The Factory card you acquire functions similarly to the sections on your Player Mat. When you ta🍸ke a Factory card, you can place it to the right or left of your Player Mat. This c💝ard provides you with a fifth option on your Player Mat.

The 'move' action on the Factory card differs from the move action on your Player Mat. With the move action on this card, you can move one of your units twice. Note that you c𝕴annot acquire multiple Factory cards, and once acquired, you cannot change the card.

Objectives

At the beginning of the game, you can complete one of the two objective cards you received at any time during your turn, either before or after top or🌳 bottom row actions.

When you complete an objective, remember to place a star on the corresponding space on the Triumph Track on the game board. On𒁏ce you complete an objective, place both objectives face down under the Objective deck.

If you are꧙ playing as the Saxony faction, you do not need to dis🌄card the second objective card after completing the first one.

You may choose to reveal and complete an objective card at any time, but you must fulfill its condition upon reve💜aling it.

Placing Stars

When any player places their sixth star on the Triumph Track, the game immediately ends. The more 🅠stars you place, the more advantageous it is because they provide extra points at the end of the game.

Once you place a star on the Triumph Track, you do not lose it. For example, if you have placed a star with 16 power aꦉnd later your power decreases, you do not need to remove that star from the Triumph Track.

Placing a star in a space on the Triumph Track does n🗹oജt prevent other players from placing stars there. Here are the conditions for placing stars on the Triumph Track from left to right:

• Complete all six upgrades
• Deploy all four mechs
• Build all four structures
• Enlist all four recruits
• Have all eight workers on the board
• Reveal one completed objective card
• Win a combat (up to two times)
• Have 18 popularity
• Have 16 power

Scoring and Tie Breakers

Once a player places their sixth star, the game immediately ends, and the scoring phase begins. D♛uring the scoring phase, the fo⭕llowing are calculated:

💯After calculating your coins, the player with the most coins wins the g𒈔ame. In case of a tie, tie-breakers are prioritized from highest to lowest as follows:

1. Number of workers, mechs, and structures
2. Power
3. Popularity
4. Number of resource tokens controlled
5. Number of territories controlled
6. Number of star tokens placed on board

Addition💜ally, the winning player has the right to write ꧂their name in two different areas on the Achievement Sheet.