How to Play

Tzolk'in: The Mayan Calendar

2-4 players 90-90 min 7.8 Board Game Geek Rating

Players control Mayan tribes using a unique rotating gear mechanism for worker placement. Workers advance to better action spaces as gears turn, but corn is required for placement. Players must either place or retrieve workers each turn, performing actions when collecting them. Victory comes through various strategies like temple construction or offering crystal skulls to gods.

Published 2012

Get Ready

Setup the game with these step-by-step instructions before diving into your turn.

Standard setup

Set up the game according to standard Tzolk'in rules

Select shared goal

Randomly select one shared goal card that must be met for any player to achieve victory

Distribute individual goals

Shuffle the individual goal cards and give each player 2 cards; they select one and discard the other

Full coop option

If playing full cooperative mode, have individual goals as open information

Configure allegiance deck

If adding traitor possibility, collectively decide which allegiance cards to include (at least 1 card per player, up to all 9 even in 2-player games)

Deal allegiance cards

Mix the selected allegiance cards and give each player 1 allegiance card

Adjust starting resources

For an easier game, all players start at 15 corn instead of 0 (or 20, or whatever feels appropriate for your level)

On Your Turn

What you can do during your turn.

Follow standard turn rules

Take your normal Tzolk'in turn actions as per the base game

Light side action modification

The action that normally lets you move gears twice instead allows all players to do nothing for the remainder of the turn if they want to (neither pick up nor place a worker)

Contribute to grand temple

At any time, any player may contribute resources to the grand temple shared goal (requires 2 corn, 2 wood, 2 stone, 2 gold, and 1 skull per player)

Trade resources

You may trade resources at the end of every turn

Winning

How to claim victory.

Meet shared goal

The randomly selected shared goal must be completed for any player to win

Meet combined score threshold

The combined score of all players must be greater than the combined score value of all individual goal cards (found in lower middle of individual goal cards)

Complete individual goal

Each player must complete their own individual goal card requirement

Traitor victory

The traitor wins if the shared goal is NOT completed and they reach their own goal score; they lose if a detective correctly accuses them

Ghost victory

The ghost wins by completing their individual goal and the goal of another player; the shared goal does not matter to them

Ally victory

The ally wins if both the shared goal and their individual goal are completed

Detective victory

The detective wins by correctly accusing the traitor OR completing their individual goal; they lose if they accuse an ally or if the shared goal is not completed

Accusation phase

At end of game, before goals are evaluated, detectives may accuse another player of being the traitor in player order starting with first player; the accused must show their allegiance card