Beginner's Guide to Scythe

An introduction to the gameplay of Scythe: factions, combat, economy, scoring, interface...
This guide is an adaptation of the official rules by Jamey Stegmaier: https://stonemaiergames.com/games/scythe
All artwork by Jakub Rozalski: https://www.artstation.com/jakubrozalski

Introduction

The ashes from the first Great War still darken the snow in 1920s Europa. The capitalistic city-state known simply as “The Factory”, which fueled the war with heavily armored mechs, has closed its doors, drawing the attention of several nearby countries.
With characters from five factions converging onto a small but highly desired swath of land, who will gain fame and fortune by establishing their empire as the leader of Eastern Europa?


In Scythe, each player represents a character attempting to make their faction the richest and most powerful in Eastern Europa. Players explore and conquer territory, enlist new recruits, produce resources and workers, build structures, and deploy monstrous mechs.

A game of Scythe typically begins with players building up their infrastructure, exploring the world, then engaging each other in combat. The game ends when a player earns its 6th Star, and the player with the highest score (who may not be the one who earned 6 stars, but often is) wins the game. See the chapter Scoring for more details.

Factions (base game)

Different factions are seeking to gain control of the unclaimed lands surrounding the Factory. Each faction has its own homebase, a unique faction ability and a set of 4 unlockable Mech abilities (Speed and a variant of Riverwalk can be unlocked by every faction of the base game).

Clockwise from the North:

Nordic Kingdom (blue)

Nordic workers are accomplished swimmers who refuse to complain even when wading through the coldest of waters. The Nordic mech is inspired by Viking longships. It has the ability to both walk on land and sail on lakes, and it comes with long-range artillery to damage the opponent before combat even begins.

Home base: North East
Faction ability Swim: your workers (not your character and mechs) may move across rivers onto any type of terrain, except lakes.
Mech abilities:
- Riverwalk: Your character and mechs can move across rivers onto forests and mountains.
- Seaworthy: Your character and mechs can move to and from lakes and retreat onto adjacent lakes (you may still also retreat those units to your home base). This allows for lake hexes to be treated the same as other territories for movement. You cannot drop workers, drop resources, build structures or deploy new mechs on a lake.
- Artillery: Before you engage in combat, you may pay 1 power to force the combating opponent to lose 2 power. This loss of power is reflected on the Power Track. You may do this once per combat, not once per unit.
- Speed: Your character and mechs may move one additional territory when moving. If any of those units move into a territory containing an opponent’s character, mech, or worker, their movement ends and they cannot move again this turn. Moving from one tunnel to another still counts as 1 move, so with this ability you could move an additional territory before or after moving through a tunnel. Your mechs can pick up and drop off resources and workers in the middle of a Move action when they have the Speed ability.

Rusviet Union (red)

While other factions let their infrastructure take a break from turn to turn, the Rusviets push their people hard, day after day, to achieve their ultimate goal. The Rusviet mech, with its war scythes, is a formidable figure on the battlefield. It has access to a secret network leading from villages to the Factory. It also becomes more powerful in combat when accompanied by workers.

Home base: East
Faction ability Relentless: you may perform the same action every turn, as long as you can pay the costs. This ability also applies to a Factory card if you have one.
Mech abilities:
- Riverwalk: Your character and mechs can move across rivers onto farms and villages.
- Township: For the purposes of Move actions for your character and mechs, villages you control and the Factory are considered to be adjacent to each other. For example, if your mech is on a village, it can move from that village to (a) any other village you control or (b) the Factory.
- People's Army: In combat where you have at least 1 worker, you may play one additional combat card. You still require a character or mech to participate in combat. For example, if you have 2 mechs and 3 workers in combat, you may play up to 3 combat cards (1 for each of the mechs and 1 because you have at least 1 worker).
- Speed: Your character and mechs may move one additional territory per movement (see Nordic).

Crimean Khanat (yellow)

The Crimean faction has a longstanding tradition of selling information to the highest bidder. The Crimean mech is pieced together from the scrapyard, as the Crimeans rejected the idea of mech technology until it was too late. It specializes in traveling long distances and can allow a player to scout and steal an opponent’s ammo before combat begins.

Home base: South
Faction ability Coercion: once per turn, you may spend 1 Combat Card as if it were 1 resource of any type (regardless of the number on the Combat Cards).
Mech abilities:
- Riverwalk: Your character and mechs can move across rivers onto farms and tundra.
- Wayfare: Your character and mechs may move from a territory or home base to any inactive faction’s home base or your own regardless of the distance. An “inactive faction” is any faction not currently in the game, including the expansion factions. Normally players may not move into any home base, but this is an exception to that rule. In games including 6 or 7 players, this ability is replaced with: Your character and mechs may move from a territory or home base to any unoccupied farm.
- Scout: Before you engage in combat, steal one of the opponent’s combat cards at random and add it to your hand. You may do this once per combat, not once per unit.
- Speed: Your character and mechs may move one additional territory per movement (see Nordic).

Saxony Empire (black)

Saxony’s methodical approach to conquering the eastern lands surrounding the Factory is all about asserting force and completing specific missions. The Saxon mech is built for tunneling through narrow passages in the mountains of Saxony and beyond. You don’t want to face a Saxon mech in combat in the dark depths of a tunnel.

Home base: South West
Faction ability Dominate: there is no limit to the number of stars you can earn from completing objectives and winning battles.
Mech abilities:
- Riverwalk: Your character and mechs can move across rivers onto forests and mountains.
- Underpass: All mountains you control and all tunnels are considered to be adjacent to each other by your character and mechs. For example, if your mech is on a mountain, it can move from that mountain to (a) any other mountain you control or (b) any tunnel (or your Mine).
- Disarm: Before you engage in combat on a territory with a tunnel or your Mine, the opponent faction loses 2 Power. This is limited to once per combat, not once per unit.
- Speed: Your character and mechs may move one additional territory per movement (see Nordic).

Polandia Republic (white)

Thanks to Anna’s charismatic bear companion, Wojtek, the pair tend to stretch short encounters into longer adventures. The Polanian mech is inspired by the streamlined look of airplanes and submarines. It has the ability to submerge into a lake and–by using the underground river system–surface on any other lake. It’s also people-friendly, as the Polanian player can use the mech to gently push opponent’s workers off of territories without losing popularity.

Home base: West
Faction ability Meander: you may choose up to 2 options from each Encounter, in any order. The benefit from the first selected option may be used to pay the cost for the second selected option. In games including 6 or 7 players, this ability is updated with the additional rule: At end of game, gain $3 for each encounter territory you control.
Mech abilities:
- Riverwalk: Your character and mechs can move across rivers onto villages and mountains.
- Submerge: Your character and mechs may move to and from lakes and move from any lake to another (similar to tunnel movement, but with lakes). You cannot drop workers, drop resources, build structures or deploy mechs on a lake.
- Camaraderie: You do not lose popularity when forcing an opponent’s workers to retreat after winning combat as the aggressor, on your turn.
- Speed: Your character and mechs may move one additional territory per movement (see Nordic).

Factions (Invaders from Afar)

The two factions from the expansion are not recommended for beginners. They share a couple of common points: their homebase isn't protected by a river, they lack access to both Speed and Riverwalk, and they can place special tokens (Flags for Albion, Traps for Togawa) on territories.

Clan Albion (green)

Connor is a highlander, a native of the southern area of the island controlled by Clan Albion. He comes from a long line of military legends, a tradition he perpetuated by entrenching himself far behind enemy lines during the Great War. He owes his life to his faithful companion, a wild boar named Max, who saved him from a pack of dire wolves in the foothills of Saxony. Clan Albion fears that the Factory could fall under permanent control of one of the more powerful factions, which might then encroach on the Albion homeland. With Max by his side, Connor is entrusted with the command of a special taskforce to build a strong line of defense against the other factions and destroy the Factory before it’s too late.

Home base: North West
Faction ability Exalt: After ending your character’s movement (unless they enter combat and/or an encounter, in which case they must wait until all units have moved and the combat/encounter has been resolved on that territory), the Albion player may place a Flag token from their supply on the character’s territory. A territory can only have 1 faction token on it (1 Albion Flag or 1 Togawa Trap). Flag tokens may not be removed or moved once placed. Each Flag counts as an additional territory for end-game scoring to the Albion player if (a) they control the Flag token’s territory with a character, mech, worker, or unoccupied structure AND (b) the Flag token is not on a territory adjacent to the Albion home base.
Mech abilities:
- Burrow: Your character and mechs may cross rivers into, or out of, any adjacent tunnel territory. A territory containing your Mine counts as a tunnel territory, but a territory containing an opponent’s Mine does not.
- Sword: Before you engage in combat as the attacker, the defender loses 2 power. The loss of power is reflected on the Power Track (players cannot have less than 0 power). This happens once per combat, not once per unit.
- Shield: Before you engage in combat as the defender, gain 2 power. The extra power is reflected on the Power Track. This happens once per combat, not once per unit.
- Rally: When taking a Move action, your character and mechs can move to any territory that contains at least one of your workers or a Flag token, regardless of the distance

Togawa Shogunate (purple)

From an early age, Akiko, the niece of the shogun, read stories of warriors and adventurers in faraway lands. She was especially fascinated by the beauty and art of sword fighting. When she turned 16, Akiko begged her uncle to let her train at the most elite samurai war academy, and he agreed. She was a model student, practicing constantly until she excelled at fighting, shooting, strategy, and tactics. Bursting with pride, the shogun gave Akiko a special trained monkey named Jiro. As Akiko was entering her second year of training, her brother, a prominent engineer, went missing during a mission to the mysterious Factory in Eastern Europa. The shogun’s advisors suspected that he had been captured by agents of the Rusviet Union. Trusting in his niece’s skills as a samurai, the shogun has empowered Akiko to lead a large military expedition to subvert the Rusviets, recover the Togawa engineers, and discover the truth of the Factory.

Home base: South East
Faction ability Maifuku: After ending your character’s movement (unless they enter combat and/or an encounter, in which case they must wait until all units have moved and the combat/encounter has been resolved on that territory), the Togawa player may place an armed Trap token of their choice from their supply onto the character’s territory (even if that territory has an opponent’s structure on it). A territory can only have 1 faction token on it (1 Flag or 1 Trap). Trap tokens may not be removed or moved once placed. If an opponent moves a unit onto a territory with an armed Trap token, that unit’s movement ends. Flip over the Trap token to reveal a penalty the opponent must incur if possible (- 2 popularity / - 3 power / - 4 coins / - 2 random combat cards). This happens before anything else, including combat or an encounter. The Trap token remains on the territory, it is now disarmed. An opponent may build a structure on a territory with a Trap. At the end of the game, if the only player tokens on that territory are the structure and the Trap (whether the Trap is armed or disarmed), the player with the structure controls that territory.
Mech abilities:
- Toka: Once per turn when moving, either 1 character or 1 mech may move across a river. A mech can use this ability while transporting workers. The character or mech may not move across multiple rivers when using a Move action on a Factory card.
- Suiton: Your character and mechs can move to and from lakes. If combat occurs on a lake (some other factions have lake-related abilities), you may play 1 additional combat card. You may do this once per combat, not once per unit. If a mech transports workers onto a lake or if a character or mech transports resources onto a lake, you may not leave those workers or resources on the lake after moving off of it, nor may a worker move off of the lake without the assistance of the mech. You cannot build a structure or deploy a mech on a lake, but you may place a trap there.
- Ronin: Before combat where you have exactly 1 unit (0 workers and either 1 character or 1 mech), you may gain 2 power on the Power Track.
- Shinobi: Your character and mechs can move to any territory with a Trap token, regardless of the distance. When using the Shinobi ability, if your character or mech ends their movement on the same space as a disarmed Trap token (i.e., not in the middle of a Factory card’s Move action), you may choose to arm the Trap. If using Shinobi results in combat, you may only arm the Trap if you win the combat.

Units

Units are divided in two categories: workers and military units. Workers are the base of your faction's economy but have a limited mobility and cannot fight. Military units (character and mechs) have more autonomy, can engage in combat and benefit from your faction's unlockable mech abilities.

Every unit can carry resources when moving from a territory to another.

Visual summary of all unit types, taken from the game's tutorial.

Workers

Workers can produce resources and more workers, deploy mechs, and build structures.
You'll earn a Star if you reach the maximum of 8 workers.


Sketch for the original board game. Source: Kickstarter.

Characters

You are represented on the board by your character, who has been sent on a mission to make your faction’s claim to the uncharted lands surrounding the defunct Factory. Each character unit is comprised of a person and their animal companion.
While each of the characters appears to be functionally the same as the others, their unique abilities are manifested in their respective faction ability and mech abilities.

Characters can engage in combat, trigger Encounters, and (once per game) choose a Factory card if they end their movement on the Factory.


Source: Stonemaier Games.

Mechs

Mechs can engage in combat and, when moving, can transport any number of workers (but not your character). Every time you deploy a new mech, you get to choose a new mech ability.
You'll earn a Star if you deploy the maximum of 4 mechs.


Source: Stonemaier Games.

Airships

Flying transport unit specific to the expansion The Wind Gambit.

Combat

Combat in Scythe is a game of power, bluff and attrition.

Power

Power is the commodity you will spend in combat. The main mean to acquire it is the action Bolster.
Reaching the maximum of 16 Power will earn you a Star.

Combat Cards

Each Combat Card is worth between 2 and 5 Power each. Your opponents know how many cards you have, but you're the only one to know the actual Power value of each of your own cards. Use them wisely to bluff your opponents.
Combat Cards are gained through various events and actions. They aren't worth anything at the end of the game (zero impact on scoring), so spend them early and often.

Combat itself

A battle starts when military units of two players find themselves on the same territory at the end of a Move action. Both players secretly choose of much of their Power do they want to spend, from 0 to 7.
They can also secretly choose to spend as many Combat Cards as the number of military units they have engaged in this battle. Each Combat Card has a Power value between 2 and 5.
When both players have chosen what they're spending in this battle, the player who spent the highest total amount of Power wins the battle. If it's a tie, the attacker wins.


The combat screen. The active player is the attacker, on the left, and is about to spend 2 Power and a Combat Card worth 3 Power for a total of 5. If you've been attacked by surprise, use the Zoom and Minimize options in the top right corner to see where is the fight located on the map.

Combat consequences

- All Power and Combat Cards spent are deduced from their spenders.
- The winner's units stay on the territory and its faction earns a Star (in the limit of 2 Stars scored through combat per game, except Saxony). If the winner was the attacker and there were workers of the opposite faction on the disputed territory at the start of the fight, the winner loses 1 Popularity per worker.
- The loser's units, including any workers, retreat to their home base, leaving behind any resources present on the territory, now under control of the winner. If the loser spent at least 1 Power or 1 Combat Card during the battle, he or she earns a free Combat Card.

Strategy tip

Just because an opponent has a lot more power than you doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll win in combat against you. They don’t know how much power you will spend or the amount of Power your Combat Cards will add. The puzzle of combat is outwitting your opponent - especially when they think they’re going to win.

Territories

Home bases

Each faction has its own home base that serves as a starting point and as a place to retreat after losing combat. It is not a normal territory, so by default you cannot move units, build structures, or deploy mechs onto any home base, including your own.

If you play a game without one or several factions (for instance the Clan Albion and Togawa Shogunate which will only be available when the expansion will be implemented), then its home base is still represented but unused.

Crimea can unlock the Mech ability Wayfare to allow its military units to move from any territory or home base to any inactive faction’s home base or your own regardless of the distance. An “inactive faction” is any faction not currently in the game, including the expansion factions. Normally players may not move into any home base, but this is an exception to that rule.

Farms, Forests, Mountains, Tundras, Villages

These are standard territories whose main interest is the opportunity to Produce resources (or Workers) on them. See the chapter Resources above for more details.

Some of these territories may also feature a Tunnel or an Encounter, explained below.

Lakes

A lake is a large body of water comprised of an entire territory hex.


It prevents units from moving in, across or out. However, Nordic and Polandia can unlock Mech abilities (respectively Seaworthy and Submerge) to allow their military units to enter lakes.

A lake can never be used to produce resources or build structures.

Rivers

A river is not a territory, only a narrow body of water on the border between two land territories. It prevents units from moving across, unless an ability authorizes them to do so, such as Riverwalk.
Nordic workers can always ignore rivers thanks to their faction ability Swim.

Factory

The unique territory in the middle of the map.

When a character ends a Move on the Factory territory for the first time, his/her player must choose a Factory card from a random selection. See the chapter Factory Cards below.

Workers can't produce any resource on the Factory territory. However, it's possible to build a Structure on it.

If the Factory is under your control at the end of the game, it counts as 3 territories for scoring purposes.

Tunnels

Some basic territories have an Tunnel symbol on their lower part.

All tunnels and mines are connected to each other by an underground network. For the purposes of the Move action, all territories with the tunnel icon are considered to be adjacent to each other and to your Mine (if built). It's a handy way to travel across the map.

Right: a Tunnel in a Village.

Encounter

Some basic territories have an Encounter symbol on their lower part.

If you move your character into a territory with an Encounter, their movement ends and an Encounter will start.
See the chapter Encounters below for more details.

Right: an Encounter in a Mountain.

Encounters

As your character treks across Europa, he/she will encounter a number of local people and situations.


Some basic territories have an Encounter symbol on their lower part.

If you move your character into a territory with an Encounter, their movement ends. If your character is still in the territory after the resolution of all combats for this turn, a random Encounter card will be revealed to you with 3 choices.


Example of an Encounter card.

Pick one choice (Polania can pick 2 choices thanks to their faction ability Meander). The choice will be resolved immediately and all benefits from your choice, such as new resources, units, buildings etc, will be placed on this Encounter territory.

In most cases Encounters represent profitable opportunities. However you can dismiss the Encounter card if none of the choices suit your plans (for instance they all mess with the conditions of an Objective).

Each Encounter territory holds only a single Encounter card. Once it's been exploited or dismissed by any character, nobody else can benefit from it, and the Encounter symbol will turn gray.

Factory Cards

When a character ends a Move on the Factory territory for the first time, his/her player must choose a Factory card from a random selection of N+1 Factory cards, N being the number of players in this game. This choice is final: leaving and coming back to the Factory will not replace the Factory card selected.

The Factory card is placed on the bottom left corner of the interface, and adds two new actions to the player's hand. The top row action typically offers a very high payout, and the bottom row action is always a fast Move up to 2 territories away for a single unit. It can be combined with the Mech Ability Speed to move up to 3 territories in one action.


A choice of Factory cards. Top row actions from left to right: 1) pay any of your resources to gain 1 Combat Card and 2 Power; 2) pay 2 Coins to build 1 Structure and gain 1 Popularity; 3) pay any 2 different resources to either enlist a Recruit or earn an Upgrade; 4) pay 1 Popularity to either enlist a Recruit or earn an Upgrade; or 5) pay 1 Combat Card to earn an Upgrade and gain 1 Power.

Resources

Where do I find resources?

Each of the 4 resources (Food, Wood, Metal and Oil) is related to one of the most common territories, and shares the same icon:

• Food is produced on Farms.
  
• Wood is produced on Forests.
  
• Metal is produced on Mountains.
  
• Oil is produced on Tundras.

Note: Workers are units rather than resources, but they are "produced" on Villages and share the same icon.

How do I produce resources?

You'll need to have at least one of your Workers placed on at least one of the territories listed just above. Select the Produce action, and then select up to 2 territories where you have Workers. Each selected territory will generate 1 local resource per worker present. See the chapter Top row Actions below for more details.

Where are my resources now?

All new resources are placed on the territory where they were produced, and stay there until they are either spent or carried away. This allows for raiding: if you invade an ennemy territory rich with resources, you'll be able to spend them or take them with you in the following turns. Of course, your opponents might do the same...

What do I do with resources?

• Food allows you to enlist Recruits.
  
• Wood allows you to build Structures.
  
• Metal allows you to deploy Mechs.
  
• Oil allows you to perform Upgrades.

See the chapter Bottom row Actions below for more details.

Top row Actions

These actions are always the same, however they're placed in different spots on the various Player Mats. See the chapter Player Mats below for more details.

Move

Short description: move 2 units to new territories. If they meet enemy units, a combat will happen.
Long description: one after the other, move up to 2 or your units (3 if Move is upgraded) from one territory (or home base) to one adjacent territory.
Your moving units can transport any number of resources to their destination.
Your mechs can transport any number of workers with them.
If one of your military units (character or mech) moves into a territory controlled by a military unit of another faction, its movement ends and you will engage that faction into combat at the end of your moves.
If one of your military units moves into a territory controlled by workers of another faction, these workers will retreat to their home base and you will lose one Popularity point per retreating worker.
Your workers cannot move by themselves into territories controlled by any units of another faction.

Produce

Short description: produce resources from territories with your workers on.
Lond description: pay the cost if any (depending on what is shown on all exposed red rectangles before taking the Produce action), choose up to 2 different territories you control, and all workers on these territories may produce 1 resource on their territories. The type of resource depends on the type of territory (forest -> wood, mine -> metal, etc). See the chapter Resources above for more details.

Produce has an increasing cost depending on the size of your faction's workforce:
- less than 4 workers: Produce is free!
- 4 or 5 workers: Produce will cost 1 Power.
- 6 or 7 workers: Produce will cost 1 Power + 1 Popularity
- 8 workers (the maximum): Produce will cost 1 Power + 1 Popularity + 1 Coin

Trade

Pay 1 Coin to receive any 2 resources (Food, Wood, Metal, Oil) of your choice on a single territory where at least one of your workers is present.
Strategy tip: While producing with workers will provide the bulk of most players’ resources, trading has some benefits over producing that should not be underestimated. For example, trading for a desired resource is sometimes preferable to moving a worker to a territory that provides that resource. The action that you would have spent on movement can now be used for something more productive. Trading also allows players to access resources that aren’t available in their homeland.

Bolster

Pay 1 Coin to increase your Power by 2 (3 if Bolster is upgraded).
Reaching the maximum of 16 Power will earn you a Star. Power is also the commodity you will spend in combat. See the chapter Combat for more details.

Bottom row Actions

The bottom row actions are always placed in the same columns (Upgrade in column 1, and so on). They typically have a heavy cost in Resources, but they bring some substantial advantages to your faction plus Coins as an extra bonus. Their exact costs and Coins rewards depend on your Player Mat. See the chapter Player Mats below from more details.

Upgrade

This action costs Oil and permanently increases the efficiency of two other actions of your choice on your Player Mat: one top row action and one bottom row action. One action from the top row will become more potent (for instance: you'll be able to Move 3 units rather than 2). And one action from the bottom row will become cheaper (for instance: deploying a Mech will cost you 1 less Metal). These upgraded actions do not need to be in the same column.

Performing 6 times the Upgrade action (unlocking all 12 Upgrades) will earn you a Star.

Deploy

This action costs Metal and permanently adds a Mech to your units and unlock a Mech ability. First, the Mech will be deployed on a territory with at least one of your workers. Second, the Mech panel will open for you to choose one of the four abilities available to your faction. This ability will benefit all of your Mechs and your character. See the chapters Units and Factions above from more details regarding Mechs and Mech abilities.

Deploying all 4 Mechs will earn you a Star.

Build

This action costs Wood and permanently adds a Structure of your choice to a territory with at least one of your workers (excluding lakes and your home base, but including the Factory). Structures add additional benefits to Top row Actions:

• Monument: Whenever you take the Bolster action, also gain 1 Popularity.
  
• Armory: Whenever you take the Trade action, also gain 1 Power.
  
• Mill: Whenever you take the Produce action, the territory with the Mill may count as an extra (bonus) territory for production. The Mill will produce as if it were a worker. If there are actual workers on the Mill territory, they may also produce resources.
  
• Mine: The Mine acts as a tunnel that only you can use. You may move units to and from your Mine as if it is a tunnel (even if an opponent controls the territory the Mine is on). Unlike the other structures, this is an ongoing ability associated with all unit movement.

Each Structure can only be built once per faction. Only a single Structure can be built on a given territory. So if you’re the first player to build a Structure on a specific territory, neither you nor any opponent may build another Structure there. Structures cannot be destroyed or moved.

Opponents can’t use your Structures' abilities. You always get the abilities from your structures even if you don’t control the territories they’re on (except for the Mill: you can’t Produce on the Mill’s territory if you don’t control that territory).

A territory with one of your Structures on it is under your control even if you have no units there. However, if an opponent’s unit is on a territory with your Structure, that territory is under their control.

Building Structures in specific patterns is the only way to get end-game Structure bonuses. See the chapter Scoring below from more details.

Building all 4 Structures will earn you a Star.

Enlist

This action costs Food and grants you an immediate one-time bonus and an ongoing bonus.

Each one-time bonus can only be enlisted once per faction. They are:

• Gain 2 Power
  
• Gain 2 Coins
  
• Gain 2 Popularity
  
• Draw 2 Combat Cards

Picture on the left: the choice of one-time bonuses.

Each ongoing bonus can only be enlisted once per faction. First, you choose it from the 4 available on your Player Mat, in the lower right corner of every column. For the rest of the game, whenever you or your imediate neighbours on your left or right (the icons of these players are displayed in your ongoing bonuses boxes) perform the bottom row action related to your ongoing bonus, you may gain the specified bonus:

• Upgrade: gain 1 Power
  
• Deploy: gain 1 Coin
  
• Build: gain 1 Popularity
  
• Enlist: draw 1 Combat Card

Picture above: a Player Mat with an ongoing bonus activated for the Build action. Everytime you or your immediate neighbours will Build, you will gain 1 Popularity.

Enlisting all 4 Recruits will earn you a Star.

Player Mats

Player Mats introduce more variety in gameplay by defining the play order, the starting amounts of Popularity and Coins, and the costs and benefits of bottom row actions.

The player with the lowest number in the label on their Player Mat starts to play. So if the Industrial Mat (label 1) is used, the player with this mat will play first. If the Industrial Mat isn't used, the game will look for the next superior label to determine the starting player.
Play proceeds clockwise from there.

1] Industrial Mat

It starts with 2 Pop and 4 Coins. A great mat to Deploy cheap Mechs after upgrading.

Industrial Mat	Column 1	Column 2	Column 3	Column 4
Top action + structure	Bolster + monument	Produce + mill	Move + mine	Trade + armory
Bottom action and cost (minus upgrades)	Upgrade for 3 (-1) oil	Deploy for 3 (-2) metal	Build for 3 (-1) wood	Enlist for 4 (-2) food
Bottom action reward	3 Coins	2 Coins	1 Coin	0 Coin

2] Engineering Mat

It starts with 2 Pop and 5 Coins. A great mat to Build cheap Structures after upgrading and earn 3 easy Coins.

Engineering Mat	Column 1	Column 2	Column 3	Column 4
Top action + structure	Produce + mill	Trade + armory	Bolster + monument	Move + mine
Bottom action and cost (minus upgrades)	Upgrade for 3 (-1) oil	Deploy for 4 (-2) metal	Build for 3 (-2) wood	Enlist for 3 (-1) food
Bottom action reward	2 Coins	0 Coin	3 Coins	1 Coin

3] Patriotic Mat

It starts with 2 Pop and 6 Coins. Upgrades are affordable (2 Oil) but can't be upgraded further. Deploy, on the other hand, is very expensive at start (4 Metal) but can upgraded up to 3 times and will earn you 3 Coins.

Patriotic Mat	Column 1	Column 2	Column 3	Column 4
Top action + structure	Move + mine	Bolster + monument	Trade + armory	Produce + mill
Bottom action and cost (minus upgrades)	Upgrade for 2 (0) oil	Deploy for 4 (-3) metal	Build for 4 (-2) wood	Enlist for 3 (-1) food
Bottom action reward	1 Coin	3 Coins	0 Coin	2 Coins

4] Mechanical Mat

It starts with 3 Pop and 6 Coins. The bottom actions are exact copies of the Industrial Mat, so it's a great mat to deploy Mechs at a bargain price after upgrading.

Mechanical Mat	Column 1	Column 2	Column 3	Column 4
Top action + structure	Trade + armory	Bolster + monument	Move + mine	Produce + mill
Bottom action and cost (minus upgrades)	Upgrade for 3 (-1) oil	Deploy for 3 (-2) metal	Build for 3 (-1) wood	Enlist for 4 (-2) food
Bottom action reward	0 Coin	2 Coins	2 Coins	2 Coins

5] Agricultural Mat

It starts with 4 Pop and 7 Coins. Unsurprisingly the Agricultural Mat makes an excellent use of Food: Enlist can be very cheap after upgrading and earn 3 easy Coins. Like the Patriotic Mat, upgrades are affordable (2 Oil) but can't be upgraded further.

Agricultural Mat	Column 1	Column 2	Column 3	Column 4
Top action + structure	Move + mine	Trade + armory	Produce + mill	Bolster + monument
Bottom action and cost (minus upgrades)	Upgrade for 2 (0) oil	Deploy for 4 (-2) metal	Build for 4 (-2) wood	Enlist for 3 (-2) food
Bottom action reward	1 Coin	0 Coin	2 Coins	3 Coins

Militant Mat - Invaders from Afar

3 Pop and 4 Coins

Innovative Mat - Invaders from Afar

3 Pop and 5 Coins

Interface tip

You can view the Player Mats of the other players by placing your mouse over the Factions icons, just above the End Turn button.

Scoring

Stars

There are many ways to earn a Star:

• reaching 18 Popularity
  
• reaching 16 Power
  
• completing all 6 upgrades
  
• deploying all 4 mechs
  
• buidling all 4 structures
  
• enlisting all 4 recruits
  
• producing all 8 workers
  
• completing an objective (Saxony can complete both of its objectives to get 2 Stars)
  
• winning a battle (limited to 2 stars from successful battles for every faction except Saxony)

You can't lose a Star. For example, if you earn a Star for reaching 18 Popularity and you later drop below 18, the Star is still yours. You cannot earn one more by reaching again 18 Popularity.

When a faction earns its 6th star, the game ends immediately. The faction with the highest score wins the game - it may not always be the faction which earned 6 stars!

Coins

Ever the sinews of war. Coins allow you to pay for many things in Scythe, but it's also an end in itself as it's the base of your final score.

Popularity (aka Pop)

Pop is the key to maximizing your final score.

As you can see on the track on the left, the more Pop you have when the game ends, the more valuable are your assets. For instance:
With a Pop between 0 and 6, each Star is worth 3 Coins.
With a Pop between 7 and 12, each Star is worth 4 Coins.
With a Pop between 13 and 18, each Star is worth 5 Coins.

Structure bonus

At the start of each game, a structure bonus is randomly picked from this list:
- Number of your structures in a row
- Number of farms and tundras with your structures on them.
- Number of tunnel territories with your structures on them.
- Number of tunnel territories adjacent to your structures
- Number of encounter territories adjacent to your structures
- Number of lakes adjacent to your structures

At the end of the game, you gain Coins based on the number of structure bonuses you achieved. You gain this bonus even if you don’t control the territories your structures are built on. This bonus represents how property values have strengthened your expanding empire.

Final score calculation

Your final score is the sum of these elements:

• Coins possessed
  
• Structure bonus
  
• Number of Stars x Popularity factor
  
• Number of territories under control (the Factory counts as 3 territories) x Popularity factor
  
• Number of 2 resources under control x Popularity factor

Tiebreakers

In case of ties, the winner is decided according to these tiebreakers (in order):
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

Interface

Tooltips

A huge range of items and interface elements are explained in tooltips which appear when you leave your mouse over an element for a second.

New game setup: add/remove players

Look at the 4 buttons in the column Type. You can add a human player by clicking on the 1st button on the left, and add a bot of increasing level by clicking on the 3 other ones (Easy/Medium/Hard).
You can remove a human player or a bot by clicking again on its highlighted button, which will then turn dark.

New game setup: display Faction and Player Mats

Look at the 2 square / rectangular buttons in the columns Faction and Player Mat. You can learn more on what they represent by clicking on them. A full screen illustration of this faction or player mat will open.

In-game: display the Player Mats of another player

You can view the Player Mats of an opponent by placing your mouse over its Faction icon, just above the End Turn button.

In-game: give Coins to another player

After making a deal with another human player in the chat, click on their Faction icon just above the End Turn button. It'll display an interface allowing you to select the amount of Coins to give. Gifts take effect immediatly. Alliances aren't guaranteed, your allies will probably betray you at some point... unless you betray them first.

Music

The original soundtrack of the game is available for free, which is a good thing as some tracks are trully great. To get them, visit the DLC page below and simply press Download.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/893130/Scythe_Digital_Edition__Soundtrack/
The tracks will be added to your Steam music player and your hard drive.

Steam music player: in your Steam client, hover over Library and select Music. The soundtrack is listed and playable from this page. If you click on Show in System, it will open the folder Scythe soundtrack where the mp3 tracks are located.

Hard drive:
- default Windows folder:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Scythe Digital Edition\Scythe soundtrack
- default Mac folder: \Users\[your username]\Library\Application Support\Steam\steamapps\common\Scythe Digital Edition\Scythe soundtrack

If you have any issue with finding the folder, you can go to your Library, right-click on Scythe: Digital Edition, select Properties, open the tab Local Files and select Browse Local Files to open the folder Scythe soundtrack where the mp3 tracks are located.

Trading Cards, Emoticons, Backgrounds

Playing the game will earn you 3 random trading cards. Collecting a full set of 5 cards, via trading with your friends or buying them from the Market, will allow you to craft a badge and grants you a random emoticon (5 available) and a random profile background (9 available).

You can preview all these items on Steam Card Exchange:
https://www.steamcardexchange.net/index.php?gamepage-appid-718560

Miscellaneous

What does the name of the game mean?

Scythe is a reference to both the traditional agricultural tool present in many artworks and the weapon used by the Rusviet mechs.

Turn-Based Tactics

If you enjoy turn-based games, visit the Steam community Turn-Based Tactics. We review the best games of the genre (from AAA to indie gems), we share weekly news regarding games in development, and we maintain a huge release schedule of upcoming titles.

[Saint Scylla]

Shogunate typo fixed

[thomasjayne]

The factions section contains a spelling error. Its Shogunate, not shogunat.

[Palomaris]

Thank you for help people get started

[TheGrimRabbit]

Really good guide that helped me get started. Thx alot!

[Saint Scylla]

Trollius Charlford: use Steam Remote Play Together and set up a local game with 2 human players. I haven't tested it so I can't help you any further, here's the official documentation: https://store.steampowered.com/remoteplay

FleshIntoGear: in the bottom right corner of the in-game screen you'll find the round counter and an arrow. The arrow allows you to set the speed at which the actions of the bots are displayed.

[FleshIntoGear]

Is there a way to set Bot turn speed down?

[Trollius Charlford]

Having a hard time finding out how to play with my friend. Any suggestions?

[MattyRasker]

Great guide. As a new player, good to confirm things I had worked out, and learnt some new things too.

[Saint Scylla]

Frazer, glad you enjoy the guide!
Upgrades in the original game are made through a single token move, but in two distinct steps in the digital adaptation:
1) you first have to select which upper row action will become more effective,
2) and then which bottom row action will become more affordable.
At the end of the day you get the same benefits.

[Frazer]

very good guide, thanks! one interface element I continue to struggle with is the step by step mechanics of Upgrade. In the board game, you simply move a covering token to reduce cost and increase gain. But in the online version, I don't understand the process. A guide update to explain that interface would be great.