Scythe

To set up Scythe, place the central game board in the middle of the table, populate it with encounter tokens and territory tokens, and set the supply bowls for coins, resources, and star markers nearby. Each player receives a unique player mat, a faction board, two secret objective cards, a few starting resources, and their respective faction components, which are neatly arranged on their player boards.

The primary objective of Scythe is to accumulate the greatest wealth and fame by the end of the game. Players strive to balance military power, territory control, resource production, and popularity to maximize their final coin tally through various achievements.

A player's turn consists of selecting one of four sections on their player mat, taking one top-row action followed optionally by one bottom-row action. Top actions allow players to move, gain resources, trade, or bolster military power, while bottom actions let them deploy mechs, build structures, enlist recruits, or upgrade actions to become more efficient.

End-game scoring is determined by converting your assets into coins. Players earn coins based on three distinct scoring tracks tied to their popularity tier: the number of stars they placed, the territories they control, and the resource tokens they hold, combined with bonuses from secret objectives and end-game structure cards.

The game triggers an immediate end condition the exact moment that any player places their sixth and final star onto the triumph track. Play stops right there, and final calculations commence without completing full rounds.