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Tzolk'in: The Mayan Calendar box art

Base game

Tzolk'in: The Mayan Calendar

Kritiku rating

Not rated

Published
2012
Reach
Well known
Players
2–4
Play time
90 min
Weight
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Ratings
0

How it plays

Score the most points by developing technologies, constructing buildings and monuments, advancing temples, and offering crystal skulls. Each turn, either pay corn to place workers on rotating gears or remove workers to perform the actions they have reached. After one full gear revolution, final points and end-game bonuses are added, and the highest score wins.

Main mechanics

  • Worker placement
  • Worker placement: You claim limited action spots before anyone else does.
Full publisher description

Tzolkin: The Mayan Calendar presents a new game mechanism: dynamic worker placement. Players representing different Mayan tribes place their workers on giant connected gears, and as the gears rotate they take the workers to different action spots. During a turn, players can either (a) place one or more workers on the lowest visible spot of the gears or (b) pick up one or more workers. When placing workers, they must pay corn, which is used as a currency in the game. When they pick up a worker, they perform certain actions depending on the position of the worker. Actions located later on the gears are more valuable, so it's wise to let the time work for you but players cannot skip their turn; if they have all their workers on the gears, they have to pick some up. The game ends after one full revolution of the central Tzolkin gear. There are many paths to victory. Pleasing the gods by placing crystal skulls in deep caves or building many temples are just two of those many paths...

Criterion breakdown

ComplexityDepthSkillInteractionTable ExpProduction

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