Teotihuacan: City of Gods

TEOTIHUACAN: CITY OF GODS is a HEAVY DICE-WORKER-PLACEMENT EURO designed by DANIELE TASCINI (Italy), published by BOARD & DICE (Poland, 2018). Spiritual successor to TZOLK'IN (2012, same designer) — replaces rotating gears with DICE-AS-WORKERS. 1-4 PLAYERS build the ancient Mesoamerican city of TEOTIHUACAN through 3 ERAS. UNIQUE MECHANIC: workers are DICE that GROW in value as they AGE around the central pyramid loop (starting at value 1, aging up to 5, then RETIRING at 6 for a decoration bonus). Considered one of the BEST DICE-EURO games ever + a masterpiece of dice-worker design. HELD BGG top-30 since release (2018-2026); peaked in top-20. Multiple expansions: LATE PRECLASSIC PERIOD (2019), SHADOW OF XITLE (2020), MYSTERY OF PERIOD (2020, campaign). ~2 HOURS PLAY TIME. GAMEPLAY: 3 ERAS. Each era has income + actions + eclipse (era-ending event scoring). Players roll DICE-WORKERS + place them on 8 action locations around the central pyramid loop. Actions: gather WOOD/STONE/GOLD, build residential districts, discover technologies (5 tracks), advance up the PYRAMID (3-tier construction), worship at TEMPLES (3 gods: Xochipilli, Quetzalcoatl, Tlaloc), decorate MASKS. Each turn: activate 1 die at its current location — pay cocoa (coins) for its cost + gain that location's benefit. After activation, DIE AGES +1 (rotate up). Age 6 die RETIRES + you gain decoration bonus. TEMPLE DEVOTION: worship at temples advances markers on 3 temple tracks. PYRAMID CONSTRUCTION: 3 tiers; each tier adds VP + trigger endgame bonuses. TECHNOLOGY: 5 tracks (worship, resources, construction, decoration, growth) with escalating bonuses. ECLIPSE end-of-era scoring for temple positions + pyramid progression + residential districts. END GAME: sum era scores + final scoring for temples + pyramid + technologies + gold + masks + residential.

End-game VP: era eclipse scoring + final temple positions + pyramid tiers + technology tracks + residential districts + masks + gold.

Win condition · Highest VP after 3 eras wins.

Central pyramid + 8 outer action locations arranged in a loop. Personal player boards + technology tracks + temple boards.

• Teotihuacan: City of Gods base box

  $60 USD; supports 1-4 players

• Late Preclassic Period expansion (2019)

  $40; new starting scenarios + tribes

• Shadow of Xitle expansion (2020)

  $40; volcano + new mechanics

• Mystery of Period expansion (2020)

  $50; campaign mode

• Central pyramid + 8 action location tiles

  Modular setup

• Dice workers (colored per player)

  Age from 1 to 6

• Wooden resources: wood, stone, gold, cocoa

  Standard euro resources

• Mask + decoration + temple markers

  Scoring components

• Dice aging balance

  Retire dice early for decoration bonus OR keep for stronger actions.

• Temple focus

  Depth on 1-2 temples > shallow on all 3.

• Pyramid race

  First to 3rd tier gains best bonuses.

• Technology synergy

  Match tech tracks to your strategy focus.

• Cocoa (money) economy

  Cocoa pays for actions; balance income + spending.

Dice-worker

Colored die with value 1-6; ages by +1 each action; retires at 6.

Location (8 spots)

Action space around pyramid loop.

Temple (3 gods)

Xochipilli/Quetzalcoatl/Tlaloc devotion tracks.

Pyramid tier

3-tier central construction; VP + bonuses.

Eclipse

End-of-era scoring event.

Cocoa

Currency; pays for actions.

• BGG top-30 consistently 2018-2026

  ongoing · worldwide · since 2018

• Golden Geek Best Strategy Game 2018 nominee

  annual · worldwide · since 2018

• Deutscher Spiele Preis 2019 (top-10)

  annual · Germany · since 2019

• 🇵🇱Poland
• 🇮🇹Italy
• 🇺🇸United States
• 🇬🇧United Kingdom
• 🇩🇪Germany
• 🇫🇷France
• 🇪🇸Spain
• 🇦🇺Australia
• 🇨🇦Canada
• 🇸🇪Sweden

• Board & Dice (publisher)

  Founded 2010 · Poland

• Daniele Tascini (designer)

  Founded 1975 · Italy

• Board & Dice — Teotihuacan— Board & Dice
• BoardGameGeek — Teotihuacan— BGG
• Wikipedia — Teotihuacan: City of Gods— Wikipedia