How To Play: Mexica

Welcome to my Mexica strategy guide! After many evenings of wild canal construction and some very questionable city planning decisions with my friends, I’ve figured out not only how to play Mexica, but also how to win (sometimes). In this guide, I’ll give an outline of the game rules and share the best tips that helped me beat Carl (finally).

Overview

What’s in the box

• 1 Game board
• 4 Player pawns
• 44 District tiles
• 52 Building pieces
• 32 Canal tiles
• 12 Bridge tokens
• 4 Player markers
• 1 Scoring track
• 4 Scoring disks
• 1 Rulebook

How To Play Mexica: Rules Summary

Setup

1. Lay out the game board in the middle of the table. Make sure no one eats on it (trust me, salsa and cardboard don’t mix).
2. Each player picks a color and grabs their matching bridges, temples, and figure. If you’re slow, you get stuck with the ugly color—sorry, Dave.
3. Shuffle the district tiles and place them face down. Random is key, unless you like chaos.
4. Sort out the canal tiles in reach of everyone. You’ll need these for watery shenanigans.
5. Put the scoring markers on the zero space at the edge of the board. This may be the only time you see first place, so savor it now.

Gameplay

1. On your turn, you get 6 action points. You can use them to move, build canals, place bridges, create districts, and build temples. Spend these wisely—don’t be like me and use them all to show off your bridge-building skills.
2. Move your Mexica figure around the board. Each space you move costs 1 action point. I once took a wrong turn and ended up in the wrong district for half the game.
3. Build canals by placing canal tiles, each costing 1 action point. Canals split up the land and let you shape the city, or ruin your friend’s carefully laid plan. Oops.
4. Place bridges for 1 action point each. Bridges let you cross canals while giving you a cool tourist vibe.
5. Create districts when you enclose an area with canals. Then, draw a district tile to set its value. Everyone cheers, or groans if you make a monster district.
6. Build temples in districts for 2 action points each. Temples are how you control districts, like a boss. Or like me, who built temples in districts nobody wanted.
7. The round ends when all districts are made or all temples are gone. Prepare for scoring!

Winning

1. After two rounds, add up scores for each district based on area control. First and second place get points. If you’re like me, you beg for a recount.
2. The player with the most points after the second scoring wins. Crown yourself ruler of the Mexica empire, or just gloat in front of your friends.

Special Rules & Conditions

1. If two players tie for first in a district, they share first and skip second place points. I once lost by a tie—I’m still bitter.
2. Districts must fit the current value from the district tiles, or else you’re not allowed to place it. No cheating by making super districts.
3. If you run out of action points, your turn ends. No freebies, not even for your birthday.

That’s it for how to play Mexica! These rules sound tricky, but after one round, you’ll feel like you’ve built half of ancient Mexico City. Unless you mess up as much as I did.

Best Mexica Strategies

Mastering Optimal District Placement in Mexica

Think Ahead: Plan for Growth

Always look for spots where you can expand districts without facing a wall of canals later. Try to keep your options open for future placements.

1. Choose central areas for flexibility.
2. Avoid edges unless you want to limit your opponents.
3. Space out your districts to increase control options.

Reading the Opponent

Watch your friends like a hawk. If you see them eyeing a juicy area, act fast and block or claim key spots first.

1. React quickly to enemy moves.
2. Place districts where others can’t easily steal majority.

Adapting on the Fly

Sometimes, your plans go sideways faster than a canoe hitting a canal. When that happens, pivot and pick new spaces that keep you in control. This is the real secret to winning Mexica and, honestly, to keeping your game buddies guessing.

Canal and Bridge Mastery: Flooding Your Way to Victory in Mexica

Plan Your Canal Cuts

1. Always think where a canal will split a large district into several smaller ones.
2. Use canals to block opponents from reaching juicy spots.
3. Spend your actions wisely and never overbuild when a quick canal segment will do the trick.

Bridge Bonanza

1. Drop bridges to jump over canals and reach key areas fast.
2. Build a bridge before someone beats you to a prime position.
3. Remember, bridges sometimes help rivals, so don’t make it too easy for them!

Combo Canal and Bridge Moves

1. Surprise everyone! Place a canal, then leap across with a bridge for a cheeky land grab.
2. Sometimes, connect districts for points and cut off foes in one smooth move.

When learning how to play mexica, the canal and bridge tactics can make or break your game. Trust me, my friends still grumble about my sneaky bridges!

Mastering the Art of Area Majority in Mexica

Strike When Opponents Least Expect It

So, you want to nail the area majority scoring in Mexica, eh? Timing matters more than me waiting for pizza delivery! Here’s what helped me clinch more victories than I’d like to admit.

1. Wait for rivals to blow their action points early. Jump in when they can’t respond.
2. Keep a poker face, then grab majority when others focus elsewhere.
3. Secure majority just before scoring rounds, not too soon, or you’ll get muscled out.

Keep Your Options Open

Remember, flexibility wins games. Whenever I acted too soon, my friends always punished me. Let them get comfy, then snatch glory!

How To Play mexica: Score at the Perfect Time

Honestly, the best wins come from smart timing. In “How To Play mexica” sheets, this trick often gets missed. Don’t let it!

Final Thoughts: Claim the Canals, Rule the City

After playing Mexica way too many times (my friends may or may not return my texts now), I can say one thing—timing is everything. Mastering how to play mexica is not just about canals and districts, it’s about reading the board and outsmarting your friends. Don’t be afraid to make bold moves and steal majorities at the last second. And hey, if you manage to win, be sure to remind everyone next game night. Good luck, city planners!

Want to know what we think of Mexica? Read our detailed review of Mexica here