Hansa Teutonica

2009

Immerse yourself in a world of strategic trading, where you build your network, control cities, and improve your skills to earn victory points. Originally known as Wettstreit der Händler!

90
minutes

2 - 5
player(s)

12+

Medium Heavy

About the game

Hansa Teutonica is a captivating and deeply strategic board game that transports players to the bustling and competitive trade landscape of the Hanseatic League, a commercial and defensive confederation of merchant guilds and market towns in Northwestern and Central Europe during the Middle Ages. The game’s historical setting and the theme of commercial expansion in a time of trade revolution offer a rich atmosphere that enhances the gaming experience.

The core mechanics of Hansa Teutonica revolve around building a network of merchants across the game’s map, which represents cities and trade routes of the Hanseatic League. Players engage in activities such as establishing trading posts, expanding their influence in towns, developing their trading skills and disrupting opponents’ plans, all in a bid to gain the most prestige points by the end of the game.

Game components Unboxing the fun!

The game of Hansa Teutonica is composed of several components, each with its own functionality and significance. Here’s a list of the components and their descriptions:

1. Game Board:

The game board is the main play area for Hansa Teutonica. It depicts a map of the Hanseatic League with several cities and trade routes. Players use the game board to plan and execute their strategies. Cities are connected by paths, and these paths are where players place their traders and merchants to establish trade routes.

2. Player Boards:

Each player has a player board that represents their trading office. Players use their boards to track their inventory of traders and merchants, and to upgrade their abilities. The player board also provides an overview of potential scoring opportunities and possible strategies.

3. Traders and Merchants (in five player colors):

These are the main pieces that players place on the game board. Traders are small cubes and merchants are larger discs. Both are used to establish trade routes, claim cities, and block other players. The color of these pieces corresponds to the player who controls them.

4. Counters (in five player colors):

These are used to track a player’s progress on their player board. They mark the current level of the player’s abilities in several categories, such as the number of actions they can take on their turn, the maximum size of their trade routes, and the number of bonus points they can score.

5. Bag of Bonus Markers:

The bonus markers are small tiles that provide extra benefits when a player completes certain actions. They are kept in a bag and drawn randomly when needed. Bonuses can include extra actions, points, or resources.

6. Prestige Cards:

Prestige cards are a set of cards that offer additional ways to score points. They are dealt out at the start of the game, and players can claim them by meeting the conditions listed on the card.

7. Office Tiles:

Office tiles are small square tiles that represent offices in the cities on the game board. When a player establishes a trade route to a city, they can place an office tile there to claim it. Owning offices in cities provides various benefits and scoring opportunities.

8. Rulebook:

The rulebook provides the complete rules of the game, including setup, gameplay, and scoring. It also includes a glossary of terms and a detailed explanation of the abilities on the player boards.

Players'turn One turn to rule them all

During a player’s turn in Hansa Teutonica, they have the option to perform two of five possible actions, with the option to perform the same action twice. The actions they choose can greatly impact the strategic outcome of the game. Here’s a detailed breakdown of each possible action:

Place a Trader or Merchant

The player may choose to place a trader or a merchant on a free space on a route between two cities. To do this, they must remove the trader or merchant from their personal supply board. This action plays a crucial role in establishing a player’s presence on the game board and can be used to block other players’ routes.

Displace an Opponent’s Piece

A player may choose to displace an opponent’s piece from a route. To do this, they must return two of their own pieces from their personal supply board to the general supply and replace the opponent’s piece with one of their own. This action can be used strategically to disrupt other players’ plans and claim key routes for themselves.

Complete a Route

When a player has pieces on all spaces of a route between two cities, they may choose to complete the route. This enables them to either establish an office in one of the cities, or to upgrade their abilities by moving a piece from their personal supply board to one of their scoring tracks. This action is key to gaining points and advancing in the game.

Improve a Skill

A player may choose to improve one of their skills. To do this, they must return a number of their pieces from their personal supply board to the general supply, equal to the next value on their scoring track. This action can be used to increase the number of actions a player can perform each turn, the number of pieces they can move, or the number of points they score at the end of the game.

Take Pieces from the General Supply

A player may choose to take pieces from the general supply and add them to their personal supply board. The number of pieces they can take depends on their current Bagging skill level. This action is important for ensuring a player has enough pieces to perform their desired actions.

Each player’s turn provides numerous strategic choices, and the actions they choose to perform can greatly shape the course of the game. Players must carefully balance their need to establish offices and complete routes with their need to improve their skills and maintain a sufficient supply of pieces.

End of the game All good games must come to an end

The game of ‘Hansa Teutonica’ ends when either the last merchant has been placed on the game board or a certain number of cities have been controlled by players. This will trigger the final round of the game.

Victory Conditions:

The main goal of ‘Hansa Teutonica’ is to gain the most victory points by the end of the game. The victory points can be obtained through several ways:

Establishing Trading Posts: Players can earn points by establishing trading posts in the cities across the board. The more trading posts a player has, the more points they get.
Controlling Cities: If a player manages to control a city, they will earn points. The player with the most trading posts in a city gains control over it.
Completing Trade Routes: Players can also earn points by completing trade routes between cities.
Improving Skills: Players can earn points by improving their skills. The higher the skill level, the more points a player can earn.

Actions before Final Scoring:

Before the final scoring, players must take the following actions:

Complete any remaining actions for the current round. This includes completing trade routes, establishing trading posts, improving skills, and controlling cities.
Count the total number of their trading posts on the board. Each trading post counts as one point.
Count the number of cities they control. Each controlled city counts as two points.
Add up the points earned from completed trade routes and improved skills.

At the end of the game, the player with the highest total number of points is the winner. In the event of a tie, the player with the most remaining goods in their supply wins the game.

Scoring Did you outsmart your rivals?

Hansa Teutonica is an exciting board game where players compete to establish their trade networks. The scoring system is intricate and involves several different elements.

To start with, players earn Victory Points (VP) throughout the game in several ways:

Establishing Trading Posts: When a player establishes a trading post in a city, they earn VP equal to the city’s value. The value of each city is denoted on the board.
Completing Trade Routes: When a player completes a trade route connecting two cities, they earn VP equal to the number of trading posts they have in those cities.
Developing Abilities: Players can earn VP by advancing on the Ability Tracks. The number of VP earned depends on the specific ability and its level.
Securing Majority Control: At the end of the game, the player with the most trading posts in a region earns additional VP. The number of VP depends on the region.

At the end of the game, additional points are awarded as follows:

Each player earns 1 VP for every 2 trading posts they have on the board.
Each player earns VP equal to the level they have reached on the Privilege Track.
Each player earns VP equal to the level they have reached on the Merchant Track.

If there’s a tie at the end of the game, the tie-breaker rules are applied in the following order:

The player with the most remaining commodities wins.
If still tied, the player with the most trading posts on the board wins.
If still tied, the player who reached the highest level on the Merchant Track wins.
If still tied, the player who reached the highest level on the Privilege Track wins.
If a tie still persists, the player who went first at the start of the game wins.

Particular Cases and Exceptions Wait… is that legal?

Hansa Teutonica is a highly interactive strategy game where players compete to grow their network of offices in the cities of the Hanseatic League. While the game is straightforward in its basic rules, there are several exceptions, special rules, and important clarifications that players need to be aware of.

Establishing a network: When a player establishes a network between two cities, they can place an office in either city. However, if the route between the cities was completed by another player, the player who completed the route has the first option to establish an office. The other player can only establish an office if the first player declines.

Office limits: Each city has a limit to the number of offices it can hold. This limit is indicated by the number of spaces in the city. If all spaces are filled, a player may still establish an office by displacing an existing office, but only if their power is higher than the player being displaced.

Displacement: When displacing an office, the displaced player receives a compensation of one marker from the general supply for every office they lose. The displacing player must also pay one marker to the general supply for each office they displace.
City Keys: Some cities require a player to have a certain number of city keys before they can establish an office. This requirement is indicated on the game board.
Privilege Levels: Privilege levels allow players to establish offices in cities that require a high level of privilege. The privilege level is indicated by the color of the city on the game board.

End of the game: The game ends when a player completes a connected network of offices between certain cities (Bremen, Lübeck, Danzig, Thorn, and Krakow), all bonus markers are taken, or a player reaches 20 points in their personal supply. It’s important to note that the game continues until the end of the round, so all players have an equal number of turns.

Scoring: At the end of the game, players earn points for their offices in cities, their connected networks, and their bonus markers. The player with the most points wins. In case of a tie, the player with the most remaining markers in their personal supply wins.

Special rules: Some cities offer special abilities when a player establishes an office there. These abilities are indicated on the game board and can include things like extra actions, additional points, or the ability to establish offices in cities that would normally be off limits.