Components
- 1 Double-sided game board
- 150 Terra cards
- 1 Card box
- 36 Markers in 6 player colors
Object of the Game
Players guess the areas and measurements regarding the topic on the current Terra card. In turn order, they place their markers on the world map and bars.
At the end of each round, players score 7 points for correct answers and 3 points for close estimates. The player with the most points at the end of the game wins.
Setup
Place the gameboard in the middle of the table. Each player gets 6 markers of one color and places one of them next to space 1 on the score track.
The gameboard is double-sided, with Imperial units (feet, lbs, miles, gallons, etc). on the front, and Metric units (cm, kg, liters, etc). on the back. Look for the word "Imperial" or"Metric"in the lower right corner of the gameboard.
Fill the card box with Terra cards. Even though you only need six cards for a game of TERRA, fill the box up entirely with cards. For your first game, don't use any of the red-bordered cards; those are particularly challenging and can be added after you've played the game at least once.
The globe is only on one side of the card box-use this as the "front" where you always draw the cards, and discard them to the blank "back" of the box.
Terra Cards
The upper half of the card shows the information players get before they place their markers:
1 Topic - There are 3 questions for each topic; the active player decides which questions he will try to solve.
2 Photo - always refers to the topic. However, the photo doesn't always show the topic exactly.
3 Question 1 - Number of areas on the map in which the topic on the card can be found.
4 Questions 2 and 3 - Measurements. Each refers to 2 of the 3 bars on the gameboard. They are color-coded as follows:
- Green: the year bar
- Blue: the length/distance bar
- Orange: the number bar
This information is visible when the card is in the card box.
The lower half of the card shows the answers and additional information.
5 Solution to question 1 - the area(s) in which the topic can be found on the map.
6 Map for the answer to question 1 - a world map to help find the applicable areas.
7 Answers to questions 2 and 3 - estimated measurements.
8 Information box - additional information on the topic.
During the placement of the markers, the lower half of the card is concealed by the card box.
The answers are shown only when the card is taken out of the card box.
Game Play
Determine who in your group is the most knowledgable, and give the box of Terra cards to the player directly on his left.
Each game uses six Terra cards. For each card, there are 3 steps:
- Placing the markers
- Scoring
- Changing the start player
1. Placing the Markers
The start player gets the card box and reads the topic and the questions on the first card in the card box out loud without removing the card from the box (this keeps the answers hidden).
The other players may also look at the card, but may not remove it from the box. Beginning with the start player and going clockwise, each player places one of his markers on the board, either in an unoccupied area or on an empty space on one of the bars.
Placing a marker in an area
You may place one of your markers in a land or sea area on the world map in which there is no other marker yet (neither yours nor another player's).
The red player wants to place one of his markers in an area.
The Midwest, Central America, and the Rocky Mountains are already occupied by other markers, so the red player has to choose a different area to place his marker in.
Sea Ares are marked with a frame around their name.
Sea areas also include the islands within them (e.g., Newfoundland in the North Atlantic, or Sri Lanka in the Northern Indian Ocean), unless these are specifically marked as land areas (e.g., Japan or New Zealand).
West Coast, Rocky Mountains, Midwest, Northeast, The South and Central America are land areas.
The Caribbean is a sea area that also includes the islands within it.
The ares refer to different regions in the world and are roughly based on existing country borders. It is possible that large countries extend over several areas, e.g. the USA (including Hawaii) or Russia (including the larger islands in the Arctic Ocean and in the Northwestern Pacific); on the other hand, one area can also comprise several countries (partly or completely), e.g. Central America or the Sahel.
The Compass
The world map is divided into 4 quarters with a compass.This compass is shown on some of the cards to provide a clue to help find the area(s).
 The upper left quarter of the world map |
The compass on this card indicates that Alhambra is located in the northwest section of the world map (in the upper left quarter).
If one or more areas in question extend over more than one quarter, the compass highlights the quarter in which the item asked about is (if it can be located exactly); otherwise, it indicates the quarter with the largest applicable portion of the area.
In the case of Great Britain or Spain, as shown in the example, sometimes the northwest quarter can be indicated, and other times, it can be the northeast quarter, depending on the question.
Placing a marker on a bar
You can place one of your markers on a space in one of the bars (i.e., the space between two lines) on which there is no other marker (your own or another player's).
There are three bars, each referring to different measurements. Each card asks for measurements on only two of the three bars.
Year bar - questions about a point in time or period of time (year or century).
Length/distance bar - questions about length, height or distance in inches, feet or miles (or in centimeters, meters, or kilometers on the Metric side of the board).
Number bar - all other measurements, e.g., questions about area in square feet or square miles (m2), volume in cubic feet or cubic miles (m3), degrees in Farenheit (°F), percent (%), hours (h), gallons or liters (I), tons (t), etc., or the number or age of different things.
For questions about number and year, the unit of measurement is indicated.
Placing Another Marker
After each player has placed one marker, beginning with the start player, players may place another marker, or pass.
In turn order, you may place another marker in an empty area or on an empty space of a bar. For each card, you may place several markers on the same bar; and you may place several markers in different areas as well, as long as you have the markers to place.
Passing
If you pass because you are no longer willing or able to place markers, you may not place any more markers for this card. When all players have passed, scoring of this card takes place.
2. Scoring
Pull the Terra card completely out of the card box. The areas are scored first and then the bars are scored. Each placed marker is scored only once: either 7 points (exact) or 3 points (adjacent).
For example, if a marker has been placed correctly (7 points) and, at the same time, is adjacent to another correct space, you may not score another 3 points for this.
Area Scoring
You score 7 points for each marker you have placed in a correct area. You score 3 points for each marker you have placed in an area that is adjacent to a correct area. Immediately advance your marker on the score track.
The Terra card "Pyramids of Giza" has one correct area: Eastern Sahara. The Eastern Sahara area has 5 adjacent areas (4 land areas and 1 sea area). The white player scores 7points; the blue player scores 6 points (two adjacent areas).
The yellow player doesn't get any points (Anatolia is not adjacent to the Eastern Sahara area).
Adjacent areas: Two areas are adjacent if they have a common border.
Bar Scoring
As in the area scoring, you score points both for correct answers and for answers that are adjacent to the correct answer. You score 7 points for each of your markers on a correct bar space. You score 3 points for each of your markers that are adjacent to a correct bar space.
Example of bar scoring: Since the correct answer is "1700", the two spaces left and right of "1700" are considered correct answers.
In this example, Yellow and Red each score 7points; Blue scores 3 points. The players immediately advance their markers on the score track.
If "1710" was the correct answer, only the space to the right of "1700" would be correct; the space to the left of "1700" would only be adjacent.
Non-scoring Placed Markers
Any markers that scored points should be placed back in each player's personal supply. Markers that did not score points are placed in a supply next to the gameboard. Some of them will be available to the players again only after the start player has changed.
Prior to scoring, you may find it easier to remove all non-scoring markers and place them in a supply next to the gameboard; this can make scoring quicker and easier.
3. Changing the Start Player
After a card has been scored, the card box is passed to the next player (in a clockwise direction).
He becomes the start player for the next card. Each player gets back one of his markers from the supply next to the gameboard, provided he has any markers in it.
If you have fewer than 3 markers in front of you after receiving one from the supply, you may refill your personal supply to 3 markers, so that you have at least 3 markers you can place for the next card.
End of the Game
The game ends after the 6th card is scored.The player who has the most points after this card wins the game. In case of a tie, there is more than one winner.
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