Which Expansion

Terra Mystica expansions

Base game: 2–5 players150 minFeuerland Spiele / Z-Man Games / Capstone Games6 expansions checked
  1. #1 overall

    Terra Mystica: Fire & Ice

    Buy this first

    BGG rates it 8.4 from about 4,600 ratings. Many Reddit commenters pick it first; one says its turn-order track 'transforms the game from good to great'. The auction suits experienced players.

    Needs: Just the base game

    Adds: Six new factions, a new map, four new final-scoring tiles, a turn-order track and an optional faction auction.

    Fixes: Eases the strong-faction problem: the new map and faction auction help balance, and the final-scoring tiles make where you build matter more.

    Expansion2–5 playersAbout the same rules loadBest for experienced groupsPrice: $20–$40
    DetailsBuy:Capstone Games
  2. #2 overall

    Terra Mystica: Merchants of the Seas

    Worth it

    BGG rates it 8.1; a thread warns it makes the game significantly more complex, while the co-designer says it improves 2-player. Reddit: it 'fundamentally changes' play. Pick for a deeper game.

    Needs: Just the base game

    Adds: Ships and a Shipyard with faction-board extensions, trading ships that give VP and resources, new round and Favor tiles, extra power actions and two new maps.

    Fixes: Adds a tactical movement layer and more interaction. The designer says ship trading improves the 2-player game. Carries the updated starting-VP balance list.

    Expansion2–5 playersAdds more rulesBest for experienced groupsPrice: $20–$40
    DetailsBuy:Capstone Games
  3. #3 overall

    Terra Mystica: Automa Solo Box

    Depends on your group

    Only worth buying for solo or two-player games. A BGG reviewer calls it 'a worthy opponent that isn't easy to beat' (BGG 8.2); nobody argues it is needed for a normal 3-5 player group.

    Needs: Just the base game

    Adds: A solo mode against a card-driven Automa with 10 factions and several difficulty levels. It can also add the Automa as a neutral third player in 2-player games.

    Fixes: Gives Terra Mystica a solo mode and a way to play it with fewer than the usual 3 to 4 players.

    Expansion1–2 playersAbout the same rules loadPrice: Under $20
    DetailsBuy:AmazonCapstone Games
  4. #4 overall

    Terra Mystica: Fan Factions

    Depends on your group

    Weak evidence: BGG rates it 8.7 from only about 210 ratings and no written reviews exist yet. An add-on for experienced groups wanting more factions, not a fix for any base-game problem.

    Needs: Just the base game

    Adds: 20 new factions (two per colour plus two multi-colour ones), submitted by fans and vetted by the publisher. It is an official product, not a free download.

    Fixes: Adds faction variety only (no new map or rules overhaul); the Merchants-of-the-Seas shipyard rules for these factions are still being asked about on BGG.

    Expansion2–5 playersAbout the same rules loadBest for experienced groupsPrice: $20–$40
    DetailsBuy:Capstone Games
  5. #5 overall

    Terra Mystica: Mini Expansion

    Most groups can skip

    BGG rates it 8.2, but the only discussion found calls the special landscapes imbalanced and fiddly, though one likes that it revives weak factions. Worth it only for completionists.

    Needs: Just the base game

    Adds: A shipping bonus card, 4 town tiles, a special landscape tile per faction and a new scoring tile for building a Temple.

    Fixes: The special landscapes were meant to lift weak factions such as Giants, Fakirs, Swarmlings and Auren.

    Mini expansion2–5 playersAbout the same rules loadBest for experienced groupsPrice: Under $20
    DetailsReference:View on BoardGameGeekBuy:Capstone Games

Need the base game?

Buy:Capstone GamesCapstone Games

Stuck between two?

Not yet ranked · 1

We don’t have enough solid reviews to rank these, so we aren’t recommending them yet. Here is what we know.

  • Terra Mystica: Big Box — Everything in the base game plus Fire & Ice, Merchants of the Seas and the Automa solo mode in one box (20 playable factions, 2 double-sided boards with the base and Fire & Ice maps plus the two Merchants maps, a storage solution guide).Big box · 1–5 players · $100+

Terra Mystica expansions: quick answers

Which Terra Mystica expansion should I buy first?

Terra Mystica: Fire & Ice. BGG rates it 8.4 from about 4,600 ratings (about 14,000 owners). A Karma Games reviewer on BGG calls it 'pretty much the best of all possible Terra Mystica worlds' and says the new factions are fun, the new map and endgame scoring add variety, and the auction helps balance factions; he warns the auction only really works for experienced players and that Shapeshifters look very strong. On Reddit (r/boardgames, 'Fire and Ice or Merchants of the Seas?') several commenters pick Fire & Ice first: one says the variable turn-order track alone 'transforms the game from good to great' and another says 'Fire & Ice just for the new factions' makes it the superior expansion; others say Merchants changes the game more and both are worth it. A Reddit poster separately calls it 'an expansion many (myself includes) consider essential'.

Is Terra Mystica: Fire & Ice worth it?

Our verdict: buy this first. It adds: Six new factions (Ice Maidens, Yetis, Acolytes, Dragonlords, Shapeshifters, Riverwalkers), a new world map and a variant of the base map, four new final-scoring tiles, a turn-order track (turn order follows the order players passed) and an optional auction for factions.

Terra Mystica: Fire & Ice or Terra Mystica: Merchants of the Seas: which first?

We’d buy Terra Mystica: Fire & Ice first. See the side-by-side comparison for what each adds and needs.

Other games’ expansion guides

Rankings are our editorial picks, built from the reviews linked on each expansion page. Last checked 2026-10-09.