Scythe

2016 · Fighting

Scythe

Five factions compete for control of a dieselpunk, alternate-1920s Europa centered on a mysterious closed Factory. Players manage asymmetric starting resources and positions while building economic engines: harvest resources, recruit villagers, build structures, upgrade actions, and deploy mechs. Movement and encounters on a modular map yield choices that shape rewards; combat resolves through player decisions rather than dice. Hidden objectives and encounter cards add targeted goals and situational variability, while streamlined action selection keeps turns quick and scales to multiple players without elimination.

Players
1–5 best 5
Playing time
115 min
Age
14+
Complexity
3.5 / 5
7.9 on LudoyaScience FictionEconomicGrid MovementSolo / Solitaire GameTech Trees / Tech Tracks

On Ludoya's tables

Full stats in Ludoya
2,376
Plays logged
1,878
Players
1h 47m
Average play
533
In collections
63
On wishlists
1
Pre-ordered

7.9/10

from 272 Ludoya reviews

  • AmberKnight9.0

    Great game in combining light civilization building and dudes-on-a-map strategy. My main complaint is that the game ends when it starts to get interesting (i.e. when you have developed your army and resources and are ready to expand in the map or fail). Hopefully it will get better with upcoming expansions that allow for more player interaction.

    Played it 16 times

  • Mestremuten9.0

    Rating: 4/5 Production value: 4/4 Is the game in my collection/Love to have?: 1/1

    Played it 23 times

  • Garfield9.0

    #51 BGExpansions im Dach Very entertaining area control game. First game was a little bit short. [c] Theme: ★★★☆☆ <!-- size 7]Sosolala --> Gameplay: ★★★★★ <!-- size 7]Perfect amount of decisions to make --> Interaction: ★★★★☆ <!-- size 7]A lot of interaction could happen --> Artwork: ★★★★★ <!-- size 7]Beautiful world --> Luck: ★☆☆☆☆ <!-- size 7]Drawing cards --> Strategy: ★★★★☆ <!-- size 7]You have to carefully plan your steps --> Components: ★★★★★ <!-- size 7]Nothing I can complain about --> Play duration: ★★★☆☆ <!-- size 7]First play was over too quick --> Easy to teach: ★★★☆☆ <!-- size 7]Ok --> Rules quality: <!-- size 7]not yet read --> Setup time: ★★★☆☆ <!-- size 7]Ok --> No downtime: ★★★★☆ <!-- size 7]Plays quite quick --> Replay value: ★★★☆☆ <!-- size 7]Different factions --> [/c]

    No plays logged

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Rules questions

Answered from the rulebook by Ludoya's rules assistant.

Can mechs carry workers and resources? Can they carry my character?

Yes — mechs can pick up and drop off any number of your workers and any number of resource tokens during a Move action, but mechs cannot transport your character (characters are a separate unit type). (pages 5, 11)

Can I move across rivers or onto lakes by default? How do Riverwalk mech abilities change that?

By default units may not cross rivers or enter lakes; some faction mech abilities (Riverwalk and other lake-movement abilities) let your character and mechs cross rivers or move onto lakes as specified on your mech ability slots. (pages 5, 11, 15)

What happens if I move into a territory controlled only by opponent workers?

Your movement ends, each of the opponent’s workers on that territory immediately retreats to their home base (leaving resources behind), and you lose 1 popularity for each worker you forced to retreat. (page 11)

When does an encounter trigger and who resolves it?

Only your character triggers an encounter when it moves onto a territory with an encounter token; the character’s movement ends, and after resolving all combats you draw and resolve the encounter card (choose one option and pay its cost if required). (page 24)

How does combat work with power dials, combat cards, and ties?

Both players secretly select a power amount on their Power Dial (up to what they have), may tuck combat cards (one per unit involved), then reveal — the highest total wins and ties go to the attacker; both players pay the power they selected, the loser retreats to their home base, and the winner may gain a combat star (subject to limits). (pages 22–23)

When does the game end and what happens to units that moved into enemy-occupied territories when the final star is placed?

The game immediately ends when a player places their 6th star; if units remain on a territory with an opponent’s units because of that Move action, undo that portion of the Move and return the unit(s) to the territory they moved from. (pages 27–28)

Score sheet by Ludoya

Scythe score sheet

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Game facts (players, playing time, age, credits) from BoardGameGeek.