Phase II (Action Phase):

During the Action phase, beginning with the Starting player and left to right order (of the faction icons at the bottom), each player takes exactly one Action. Continue to do so until no player wants to take any more Actions or can no longer do so and every player have already passed. There are eight possible Actions to choose from. Except for passing, all Actions can be taken multiple times during the same Action phase (but only once per turn).

1. Transform and Build

You may change the type of one Terrain into another type of terrain given that you have enough resource to do so. If however you have changed its type to your home terrain (example: when you’ve turned a terrain into a forest if you are a witch or Auren), you may immediately build a Dwelling on that space.

Conditions before building a Dwelling: (to build a Dwelling on a Terrain space, this space needs to be)

a. Terraformed or already the type of terrain of your Home terrain

b. Unoccupied

c. Directly or indirectly adjacent to one of your structures

d. Also, you need to pay its building costs.

Each Dwelling costs 1 Worker and 2 Coins. (Exceptions: The Engineers build Dwellings for 1 Worker and 1 Coin, the Swarmlings for 2 Workers and 3 Coins.)

Transforming a Terrain

To ensure the first condition is met, you are allowed to transform one unoccupied Terrain space into your Home terrain immediately before building a Dwelling. Transformation has its price: Each step between the source and destination terrain on the Transformation cycle of your Faction board costs 1 Spade. Thus, transforming adjacent types of terrain (on the Transformation cycle) into one another costs 1 Spade, with a maximum cost of up to 3 Spades if they are on opposite sides of the cycle as you can move in either direction on the cycle. (Exception: Giants always have to pay exactly 2 Spades to transform any type of terrain into their Home terrain.)

Spades can be acquired in a variety of ways. You may exchange Workers for Spades. The Exchange track of your Faction board displays the Exchange rate: At the beginning of the game, this is usually 3 Workers for 1 Spade. You upgrade this later on in the game to lower down the exchange rate. Also, 1 or 2 Spades can be acquired via certain Power actions (Power Token Conversion). Finally, one of the Bonus Cards can provide 1 Spade when picked. (Note: Halflings and Giants gain additional Spades for immediate use after building their Stronghold.)

Spades may only be applied to a single Terrain space. However, there are two special cases:

a. If the Spades gained via a Power action or Bonus card do not suffice to transform a Terrain space into your Home terrain, you may exchange Workers (depending on your current exchange rate) for the missing Spades (The Darklings pay 1 Priest for each missing Spade instead).

b. When gaining 2 Spades, if you only need one of them to transform a Terrain space into your Home terrain, you may apply the second Spade on another Terrain space. However, you may not place a Dwelling on this second space. (The same is true when the Halflings build their Stronghold, immediately gaining 3 Spades)

c. If the current Scoring tile depicts a Dwelling, you get 2 Victory points for each Dwelling you build. This Scoring tile awards 2 Victory points for building Dwellings.

d. You may not save Spades for future Actions. Spades need to be used immediately.

e. If the left side of the current Scoring tile depicts a Spade, you get Victory points for using Spades during the current Action phase. This Scoring tile awards 2 Victory points for using Spades.

f. After transforming a Terrain space, you do not need to build a Dwelling immediately. You can do this in another Action at a later point in time.

g. You do not need to transform a Terrain space into your Home terrain, you may stop at any other type of terrain (e.g. if you can not afford more Spades). However, during their turns, your opponents may claim that Terrain space for themselves. (Terrain spaces with Terrain tiles on them but no Structures are considered unoccupied.)

h. Even when transforming a Terrain space without building a Dwelling, the transformed Terrain space needs to be directly or indirectly adjacent to one of your Structures

i. You may not transform a Terrain space that already houses Structures (may it be yours or your opponents’).

j. You may also get Spades via Cult bonuses. As these Spades are gained outside the Action phase, you may not build a Dwelling immediately afterwards, nor do you get to exchange Workers for more Spades (You have to wait for the next Action phase to build a Dwelling in that terraformed terrain.)

2. Advancing Your Shipping Level

Terrain spaces and Structures need to be indirectly adjacent to one another if you want to expand beyond River spaces. In order to transform Terrain spaces or build Structures beyond River spaces, as an Action, you may move the Marker on your Shipping track forward one space. Your Faction board displays the costs of this Action which is usually 1 Priest and 4 Coins. As an additional reward for advancing your Shipping Level, you also get a number of Victory points as indicated on the Shipping Level you move to.

3. Lowering the Exchange rate for Spades

At the beginning of the game, Spades usually cost 3 Workers each (resource conversion). In order to reduce this cost down to 2 Workers or even down to 1 Worker, as an Action, you may move the upgrade your Exchange track. Your Faction board displays the costs of this Action: 2 Workers, 5 Coins, and 1 Priest. (Exception: Halflings pay fewer Coins, and Darklings do not even have an Exchange track as they exchange Priests for Spades.) As an additional reward for advancing your Exchange track, you also get a number of Victory points.

4. Upgrading a Structure

Structures can be upgraded step by step. The costs for each upgrade are depicted on the Faction board (clicking the faction icon, and then the small green “I” icon at the lower left part of the screen) and illustrates some upgrade flow (depicted by the green arrows) along with their upgrade costs.

When upgrading, you are replacing Structures by one another. This is not fully explained in the mobile version of the game. When you build some structure in the game, you take that particular structure from your faction board and place it on the terrain board. Upon doing so, you are revealing some resource on the faction board (where the newly built structure was previously sitting). This particular resource can then be earned in every income phase, as long as it is revealed in your faction board. This is done automatically by the digital version of the game, but we’ve found out that it necessary to explain to new players in order to figure out how they would earn a particular resource they need.

When a structure is placed back as you upgrade it (say for instance putting back a “Dwelling” in the faction board upon upgrading it to a “Trading House”), it covers up again the particular resource that it used to grant you every income phase. On the other hand, you earn the particular resource that the new Structure that you’ve just put up. For example: a dwelling gives you 1 worker per income phase. As you upgrade it to a Trading House, you won’t be able to receive the worker any longer, and instead, you will earn 1 power token and 2 coins every income phase. Place the new Structure on the same space on the Game board where the just removed Structure has been upgraded.

There are four possible upgrades (two of which can only be done once per game).

Dwelling >>> Trading House

Upgrading a Dwelling to a Trading house costs 2 Workers and 6 Coins. If there is at least one opponent’s Structure directly adjacent to that Dwelling, you only need to pay 3 Coins instead of 6. If the current Scoring tile depicts a Trading house, get 3 Victory points for this upgrade.

Trading House >>> Stronghold

Upgrading a Trading House to a Stronghold costs a number of Workers and Coins depending on the faction. After building its Stronghold, each faction gains a specific special ability. If the current Scoring tile depicts a goal of building a Stronghold, you’ll get 5 Victory points for this upgrade.

Trading House >>> Temple

Upgrading a Trading house to a Temple costs 2 Workers and 5 Coins. As a reward, immediately choose and take one Favor tile (two Favor Tiles for Chaos Magicians) and immediately take advantage of the bonuses gained from this Favor tile, or use it during the current Action phase, (whichever is applicable). (Note: Engineers pay less and Swarmlings pay more when upgrading to a Trading House or Temple.)

Temple >>> Sanctuary

Upgrading a Temple to a Sanctuary costs a number of Workers and Coins depending on the faction. This is also awarded with another Favor tile (two Favor Tiles for Chaos Magicians). If the current Scoring tile depicts a Sanctuary, get 5 Victory points for this upgrade.

5. Send a Priest to the Order of a Cult

There are 4 spaces below each of the Cult tracks of Earth, Water, Fire, and Air that each can hold exactly 1 Priest. As an Action, you may choose to permanently sacrifice a priest to advance your token -- multiple levels on a cult track of your choice, or instead place them back on your inventory to be summoned again once you earned them. Take note that you only have a maximum of 7 priests in every game.

Only one player may advance to space 10 of each Cult track. To do so, you also need to have founded a Town for each space 10 you want to advance to – else there is also one town tile that provides 2 Town Tiles upon earning it.

6. Power actions

There are two types of Power actions: full-fledged Power Actions and Power Conversion Actions. Power actions visible on the shortcut tab on the right side of the screen are actions that may only be taken once per round – first come, first served. Whenever a player takes this Actions, they will be automatically grayed out and unavailable for the remainder of the round. There is also the Power Token Conversions Action where allows you to (during your turn), on top of your Action, you may do any number of Conversions.

7. Special actions

Each Special action may be taken only once per round. Special actions, like Power actions, are indicated by orange octagons and can be gained in a variety of ways. Some factions unlock a Special action when building their Stronghold (For instance, after building their Stronghold, the Witches may build a free Dwelling once per round).

Aside from this, there is also one Favor tile and one Bonus card that provide a Special action to advance 1 space on a Cult track. Another Bonus card provides a free Spade for transforming a Terrain space.

8. Passing and new Starting player

On your turn, if you cannot or do not want to take any more Action, you have to pass and stop taking Actions for the remainder of this round. The first player to pass becomes the Starting player for the next round (followed by the second one to pass, and so on).

When passing, you are prompted to return your Bonus card and take one of the three available ones. This may be a card another player has already returned this round.