Mezo Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Important Concepts and Terms
  • Action Card Archetypes
  • Devotion
• Pyramids
• Resolving Actions and Abilities
• Presence
• Gaining VP
• Game Terms and Keywords
• Setup
• 2-Player Variant
• Game Play
  • Start of Age Step
• Deploy Step
• Call Step
• Conflict Step
• God Action Cards
• Pass Action
• Resolving the Conflict
• Blessed Region
• End of Age Step
• End of Game

Components

• 4 Champions
• 32 Warriors
• 32 Shamans
• 20 god action cards
• 4 god reference cards
• 4 god miniatures
• 4 god rings (1 in each player color)
• 6 champion rings (1 in each player color, 2 additional in 2 player colors for 2 player variant)
• 2 god reminder tokens
• 1 double-sided game board
• 4 tribe boards
• 4 tribe tokens
• 4 VP markers (1 per player)
• 2 Desolate region markers
• 5 altar tokens
• 1 Blessed region token
• 24 glyphs (6 per player)
• 9 Wrathful god tiles (3 per Age)
• 4 devotion markers (1 per player)
• 6 conflict tiles
• 21 double sided strength reminder tokens
• 12 action selection markers (3 per player)
• 1 Age dial
• 12 tribe ability markers (3 per player)
• 40 pyramid pieces (11 per player)

Important Concepts and Terms

There are many important concepts and game terms in Mezo that will be important when discussing the various phases of play. In addition to the concepts covered in this section each game term is also summarized in this section and on the tribe boards as a convenient reference throughout the game.

Action Card Archetypes

Each god has a set of five action cards. While all of these cards differ greatly from god to god, god action cards with the same title share a similar function.

Legacy: Cards with a CALL and an effect tied to the building of pyramids and glyphs.

Vengeance: Cards with a CALL and an effect that can directly or indirectly affect a conflict.

Fervor: Cards with an effect tied to your level of devotion.

Edict: Cards with an explosive effect that can drastically alter the state of the current conflict, the board, or the Age.

Task: Cards with a regroup effect, often tied to the generation of VP or devotion.

Devotion

Devotion represents the religious fervor of your tribe towards your god. This is usually increased through the sacrifice of units, either during a conflict in the Blessed region or the use of certain actions on your god action cards. For each devotion you gain, they move your devotion marker one space to the right on the devotion track on your tribe board. If a player gains devotion when their devotion marker is at the end of a level they move their devotion marker up to the first spot on the next level indicated by a [arrow symbol] in the bottom corner. All players score VP at the end of the game as indicated by the value of the space their devotion marker occupies on the devotion track. If you ever gain devotion when your devotion marker is on the final space of the devotion track, immediately score 1 VP for each devotion gained.

The effects of some actions are tied to your level of devotion. There are three levels of devotion, each represented by one of the levels of the pyramid on players' tribe boards. If a player gains devotion when their devotion marker is at the end of a level they move their devotion marker up to the first spot on the next level indicated by a ▶ in the bottom corner.

Pyramids

Some actions allow you to BUILD a pyramid. Pyramids can only contain four levels at most, each built in ascending numerical order (i.e. level 1 followed by level 2, then level 3, and finally level 4). When you BUILD the first level of a pyramid in a region, it must be the lowest level pyramid piece in your Reserve at the time. When you BUILD a pyramid in a region already containing one or more pyramid pieces, you must use a piece corresponding to the next pyramid level following the topmost existing pyramid level in ascending numerical order. Depending on the size of the first pyramid piece placed, some pyramids can only be two or three levels tall. If you do not have a pyramid piece in your Reserve that conforms to the rules described, your BUILD action has no effect.

After a player BUILDs a pyramid in a region, they score VP equal to the number of pyramids there. Each other player with pyramid in that pyramid gains 1VP (regardless of their number of pyramid pieces).

The Yellow player is taking a BUILD action to add the fourth and final level to a pyramid. All players who have a pyramid piece earns VP. Yellow will earn 4VP for building the fourth level, however, they do not earn any additional VP for the third level that they previously built. Red and Blue will both earn 1VP because they have pyramid pieces in this pyramid.

NOTE: Scoring pyramids happens simultaneously. Scoring for each player that earns VP should be performed in descending VP order starting with the player with the most VP.

Resolving Actions and Abilities

Mezo is full of powerful effects that result from player actions, Immortal Calendar and Heroic Codex abilities, wrathful god abilities, and Call abilities. Understanding where all of these actions can be resolved is crucial to playing Mezo properly.

• If an ability or action does not specify where it is to be resolved, it must be resolved in a region where your god has presence.
• If an ability or action states that it is to be resolved in "this conflict" it can only be resolved in the current conflict region. This does not require your god to have presence in the conflict region.
• If an ability or action states that it can be resolved in "any region" it can be resolve in any region not designated as a Desolate region. This does not require your god to have presence in the region.
• If an ability or action states that it can be resolved in "another region" it can be resolved in any region other than the current conflict region. This does not require your god to have presence in the region.
• If an ability or action provides more than one effect and states they are to be resolved in "the same region" resolve the second effect in the same region as the first. The first ability or action must follow normal restrictions on where it can be resolved, which may or may not require your god to have presence in the region.

Presence

During a game of Mezo gods will never occupy a region, but rather a vertice bordering multiple regions. Gods are considered to have presence in all regions bordering the vertice on which they are located. This is indicated by the arrow extending from the vertice into adjacent regions. Any ability or action that does not specify where it must be resolved can only be resolved where your god has presence. Actions requiring presence contain the god's icon in the action selection space of the action.

You will move your god during the Call Step and after using god action cards that allow you to CALL your god, they will move their god to an available vertice. When selecting a god action card it is imperative to remember this rule, as many abilities can only affect regions where your god has presence.

If Kukulcan were to use the second action ability on Fervor Kukulcan would only be able to SMITE Shamans in Chichen Itza and Coba because those are the regions where they have presence as indicated by the red arrows on the vertice.

Gaining VP

During setup, each player's VP marker is placed in descending order. Why? Because players can never have the same score throughout the game. If you score an amount of VP that would place your VP marker on the same space as another player's marker, they instead move your marker forward to the next available space. When scoring, players will always count the spaces occupied by other VP markers. When multiple players gain VP at the same time, always score the player with the most VP first and then proceed in descending VP order.

Green has a score of 12 VP, and Yellow has 13 VP. Yellow builds the second level of a pyramid on top of the piece belonging to Green. Scoring from pyramid building occurs simultaneously with VP awarded to the player currently having the highest score, followed by each remaining player descending VP order. In this case, Green is awarded 1 VP, due to Red building on top of his pyramid, bringing his total to 14 VP. Red receives 2 VP for building the second level of a pyramid, also bringing his total to 14 VP. Since VP markers can never occupy the same space on the scoring track, Red's piece moves to next open space.

Game Terms and Keywords

The following is a summary of all the game terms in Mezo, which can also be found on the tribe boards. Many of the game terms below have a general explanation, but must still abide by their god's presence rule.

It is important to remember that when a player takes an action or gains an ability from a bonus, they resolve it to their best of their ability.

For example, if a player chooses an action to RECOVER 3 units, but only has 2 units in Xibalba, they would apply the action to as many units as possible, returning 2 units to their Reserves.

APPEASE: Sacrifice units from a region where your god has presence or your Reserves to use the ability on a Wrathful god tile. If there are no units on the wrathful god, place 1 of your units from a region where your god has presence or your reserve on the wrathful god and choose a Wrathful god tile to resolve. If any units are already on the wrathful god you must place 2 of your units on the wrathful god space to choose a Wrathful god tile to resolve.

AWAKEN: Move your units from Xibalba to an applicable region. You may only AWAKEN your own units. The type (if restricted) and number of units you AWAKEN is always defined by the action or ability being resolved.

BUILD: Allows you to add 1 glyph OR 1 pyramid to an applicable region. You are limited to the number of glyphs and pyramids available in your supply. BUILD cannot be used to move a glyph or pyramid already placed on the board.

Some actions allow you to BUILD a pyramid. Pyramids can only contain four levels at most, each built in ascending numerical order (i.e. level 1 followed by level 2, then level 3, and finally level 4). When you BUILD the first level of a pyramid in a region, it must be the lowest level pyramid piece in your Reserve at the time. When you BUILD a pyramid in a region already containing one or more pyramid pieces, you must use a piece corresponding to the next pyramid level following the topmost existing pyramid level in ascending numerical order. Depending on the size of the first pyramid piece placed, some pyramids can only be two or three levels tall. If you do not have a pyramid piece in your Reserve that conforms to the rules described, your BUILD action has no effect.

After a player BUILDs a pyramid in the region they score VP equal to the number of pyramids there. Each other player with pyramid pieces in that pyramid gains 1VP (regardless of their number of pyramid pieces)

CALL: Requires you to both move and use the Call ability of your god, however, these actions may be resolved in any order.

DEMOLISH: Remove a glyph or the topmost pyramid in the applicable region.

DEPLOY: Add units from your Reserves to the applicable region. If the action or ability specifies a unit type, DEPLOYED units must be of that type.

EXILE: Return a unit from the applicable region to the controlling player's Reserves.

RECOVER: Return units from Xibalba to your Reserves. You may only ever RECOVER your own units.

SMITE: Move units from the applicable region to Xibalba.

TRANSFORM: Replace a glyph or the topmost pyramid in the applicable region with one of your own. For pyramids, gain VP as if you chose to BUILD. You may choose to TRANSFORM your own pyramid, and are awarded VP as though it was just built.

Setup

1. Place the Age dial so the arrow points to Age 1 on the corresponding space of the board.

2. Shuffle the 6 conflict tiles and place them facedown on their corresponding space on the game board. Next, reveal the top conflict tile to determine the Desolate region. Place a Desolate region marker in the region matching the revealed conflict tile and return that conflict tile to the box. In a 3-player game reveal a second conflict tile, placing a Desolate region marker in the region matching the second revealed conflict tile as well and return the second revealed conflict tile to the box.

3. Add a random altar token to every region on the game board without a Desolate region marker. Set the Blessed region token aside, this will be placed during the Age 1 Deploy Step.

4. Take 1 random Wrathful god tile for each Age (noted by the number of circles on each tile back) and place them facedown on their corresponding spaces on the game board, and returning the remaining Wrathful god tiles to the box.

5. Each player chooses a tribe and tribe token, taking the components corresponding to their chosen tribe: miniatures, god ring, Champion ring, tribe board, pyramid pieces, glyphs, devotion markers, tribe ability markers, action selection markers, and VP marker. Each player places their devotion marker on the 0 space of the devotion track on their tribe board. Lastly, each player places 1 Shaman and 1 Warrior in Xibalba on the game board.

6. Take the VP marker from each player and randomly reveal one. Place that player's VP marker on the 5 space of the Victory Point or "VP" track on the game board. The next player clockwise places their VP marker on 4 points and so on until each player's VP marker is on the track.

7. Starting with the player with the fewest VP and proceeding in ascending point order, each player selects a god and takes all of their corresponding components: god miniature, god reference card, and god action cards. Then, each player places the god ring of their tribe on the base of their god.

Return all unused components to the box. Age 1 begins.

2-Player Variant

Setup for the 2-player variant follows the normal rules with the following exceptions:

1. Reveal the top conflict tile to determine the Desolate region. Place a Desolate region marker in the region matching the revealed conflict tile and return that conflict tile to the box.

2. Reveal the next 2 conflict tiles. Place one of the two largest pyramid pieces from an unused player color in each of the revealed regions, and reshuffle those conflict tiles with the rest of the conflict tiles.

3. Each player selects 2 Champions, as both players use 2 Champions in a 2-player game.

4. Players must select one of the tribes with 2 Champion rings and affix them to their champions.

Gameplay for the 2-player variant follows the normal rules with the following exception: Players Deploy both of their Champions at the same time during their Deploy Step.

Follow all other rules from the normal game when playing the 2-Player Variant.

Game Play

Mezo is played over 3 Ages. During each Age, players choose an ability for their tribe, Deploy their tribe to regions of the board, Call their god, and then resolve conflicts in each of the regions on the game board. The player with the most points at the end of the game is the winner.

Each Age is made up of the following steps which are discussed in detail throughout the next few pages:

• START OF AGE STEP: Reveal Wrathful gods tile for the current age, select tribe board abilities.
• DEPLOY STEP: Place units on the board, place Champions, determine Blessed Region.
• CALL STEP: Call gods.
• CONFLICT STEP: Resolve conflicts in each region.
• END OF AGE STEP: End of Age scoring, cleanup for next Age.

Start of Age Step

First, reveal the facedown Wrathful god tile with the number of shaded circles matching the current Age (the number of faceup Wrathful god tiles should always be equal to the current Age)

Next, starting with the player with the most VP and proceeding in descending VP order, players select a tribe ability for the current age by placing a tribe ability marker on the corresponding space of their tribe board. The ability they select will provide a powerful advantage for this Age and all remaining Ages.

Example tribe ability board, showing the three tribe ability columns and their three levels each:

Level	Column 1	Column 2	Column 3
1	AWAKEN units equal to the current Age in any region at the start of your DEPLOY step.	Choose two options when you APPEASE.	Gain [VP] equal to your level of devotion x2 at the end of the Age.
2	BUILD glyphs in any region equal to the current Age at the start of your DEPLOY step	Your god provides strength equal to your level of devotion during conflicts in regions where it has presence.	Gain 3 additional VP for each unit you have on the Calendar or Codex.
3	Your Champion gains strength equal to the current Age.	Repeat your Calendar and Codex abilities.	Gain 5 additional VP after you win a conflict.

Deploy Step

Starting with the player with the most points and continuing in VP order, each player performs their Deploy Step one at a time. Players cannot Deploy to regions with a Desolate region marker, as they are effectively not part of that game. A player's Deploy Step is resolved using the following rules:

1. Resolve any tribe abilities that must be performed at the start of your Deploy Step.
2. Deploy your Champion to a region without another Champion. A player may Deploy their Champion to a region that already has their units in it from a previous Age or as a result of their tribe ability.
3. Deploy up to 3 units, in any combination, to each region that does not contain their own Champion. A player may Deploy units to a region that already has their units in it from a previous Age or as the result of their tribe ability.

The last player to Deploy will choose which region becomes the Blessed region. The Blessed region is the only region without a Champion. Place the Blessed region token on top of the Altar token in that region, replacing the reward.

NOTE: Regions with a Desolate region marker are effectively out of play. Players cannot Deploy units to these regions nor resolve abilities or actions affecting "any region" in Desolate regions.

Call Step

Starting with the player with the most VP and proceeding in descending VP order, each player will CALL their god. In Age 1, each player will CALL by placing their god on an available vertice and using its Call ability in any of the regions where it has presence. Your god is considered to have presence in all regions its vertice borders.

After the initial placement of your god in Age 1, CALL requires you to both move and use the Call ability of your god, however, these actions may be resolved in any order. Each god's Call ability scales to the current age, as shown in the example using Kukulcan below.

In this example Kukulcan CALLS during Age 2 deploying 2 Warriors. The vertice Kukulcan is on borders Becan, Hochob, and Palenque. They can DEPLOY Warriors to any region that their vertice touches. After deploying Warriors Kukulcan will move to the vertice just below bordering Palenque and Becan.

Conflict Step

This Conflict Step is where the majority of the game takes place. Players select god action cards to trigger abilities and determine their strength in regions, as well as majorities for the Immortal Calendar and Heroic Codex in regions.

First, reveal the top conflict tile to determine which region is the conflict region. Every player participates in each conflict whether or not they have units present in the region and/or their god has presence there.

NOTE: Conflicts in the Blessed region are handled differently, rules concerning conflicts in the Blessed region are covered on page 11.

Each player performs the following steps during a conflict:

1. Draw the top three cards of your god's action card deck. If there are fewer than three cards in your god's action card deck, draw as many as you are able.

2. Select one of the god action cards drawn and place it face down next to your god's reference card. Place the unchosen drawn cards back on top of your god's action card deck in any order.

3. Once all players have completed step 2, each player reveals their chosen god action card. The player to the left of the player whose Champion is in the conflict region begins the conflict by selecting one of the actions not covered by an action selection marker on their chosen god action card, and covering it with an action selection marker. Chosen actions are always resolved to the best of your ability. Action selection continues in clockwise order until each player has taken two actions.

4. Beginning with the player to the left of the player whose Champion is in the conflict region and proceeding clockwise each player with at least 1 glyph in the region may choose to DEMOLISH one of their glyphs, returning it to their supply, and choose the third action on their god action card. After each player with a glyph makes this choice, resolve the conflict.

In this 4-player example Hochob is the conflict region. Blue does not have any units in this conflict but because every player participates in each conflict, Blue will still select a god action card for this conflict. Each player selects and reveals their god action and the conflict begins. Since Green's Champion is in this conflict, action selection will start with the player to their left.

God Action Cards

Each god has a unique deck of five god action cards, each with three actions. The bottom action, known as the Ceremonial action, is the same on each of a specific god's action cards. The Ceremonial action is generally weaker than the other actions but also allows you to APPEASE the wrathful god. When you choose to APPEASE you activate one of the abilities on the revealed Wrathful god tile, however, APPEASING requires you to make a sacrifice. If there are no units on the wrathful god, place 1 of your units from a region where your god has presence, or Reserves on the Wrathful god space below the Wrathful god tiles and choose a Wrathful god tile to resolve. If any units are already on the Wrathful god, place 2 of your units on the Wrathful god space to choose a Wrathful god tile to resolve.

Some actions contain a god reminder token icon indicating to place the corresponding god reminder token in the current conflict region so that all players can easily see any activated abilities. On the god action card to the right, when Kukulcan uses the second action ability they place their reminder token in the conflict region to signify that they have the most Warriors in the conflict.

Some actions will have their god's icon in the action selection box as a reminder that those abilities only affect regions where that god has presence. In the example to the right Kukulcan's first action, SMITE 1 of your Warriors to gain 2 strength, is limited to regions where Kukulcan has presence.

Card anatomy example (Edict card): Card Name — Action Selection Spaces — Reminder Token — Ceremonial Action.

Pass Action

A player unable or not wanting to perform any of their available actions may instead choose to take a Pass Action. When you take a pass action you can choose to gain 1 devotion or RECOVER 1 unit. When taking a pass action, you must choose one of the actions on your god action card to cover with an action selection marker. That action is unavailable for the remainder of the conflict. Players who take a pass action are not out of the conflict and continue to participate until the conflict has been fully resolved.

Kukulcan takes a pass action and covers the top action on their Edict god action card to RECOVER 1 unit instead of resolving the action ability of the card. On future turns during this conflict the top action will not be available as if the action had been resolved as normal.

Resolving the Conflict

The player with the highest total strength in a conflict is the winner. To determine your strength, add up the value of your units, Champion, and/or any other bonuses:

• Champions: 2 strength + any applicable bonuses.
• Glyphs: 1 strength per glyph.
• Shamans: 1 strength per unit.
• Warriors: 1 strength per unit.
• Bonuses: Strength bonuses from tribe abilities or actions chosen during the conflict.

The player with the highest strength wins the conflict and gains the altar bonus in the conflict region. If there is ever a tie in strength, the player whose Champion is in the conflict region chooses the winner from among the tied players.

After determining the winner of the region, check for Immortal Calendar and Heroic Codex majorities. The player with the most Shamans in the conflict region takes one of their Shamans from the conflict, places it on an available space on the Immortal Calendar, and resolves the corresponding Calendar ability. Next, the player with the most Warriors in the conflict region takes one of their Warriors from the conflict and places it on an available space on the Heroic Codex, resolving the corresponding Codex ability. If there is a tie for Immortal Calendar and/or Heroic Codex, the player whose Champion is in the conflict region chooses the winner from among the tied, if there are ever no units of the relevant type present in the region then no majority is granted for that unit type in this conflict.

At the end of the conflict, remove the Champion and units from the conflict region, returning them to their respective player's Reserves (Glyphs remain in that region). Move all units sacrificed to the Wrathful gods to Xibalba and remove all action selection markers from your chosen god action card. Place the conflict tile beside the board and resolve the next conflict following the above steps until conflicts in all regions have been resolved.

In this conflict Blue has 2 strength, Yellow and Green 5 strength, and Red 7 strength. Red wins the conflict, earning the altar bonus of 7VP. Green, Red, and Yellow are all tied for the Immortal Calendar majority, so Green decides the tiebreaker since their Champion is in the conflict region. Green breaks the tie in their favor to win the Immortal Calendar majority, moving one of their Shamans from the conflict to an open Immortal Calendar space of their choice. After Green selects the RECOVER 5 units space and resolves its ability, the Heroic Codex majority is resolved. Yellow has the most Warriors in the conflict region and earns the Heroic Codex majority, moving one of their Warriors from the conflict to an open Heroic Codex space allowing them to AWAKEN 1 unit to any region.

Blessed Region

The Blessed region symbolizes momentary harmony between the tribes, where ritual sacrifices are made as an offering of devotion to the gods. The conflict for the Blessed region is resolved differently than all other conflicts.

Starting with the player with the most VP and proceeding in descending VP order, each player chooses how many units in their Reserves they wish to sacrifice to their god. Each unit sacrificed in this way immediately awards players with 1 devotion and 1 additional strength in the Blessed region conflict. Place the sacrificed unit(s) on your god reference card.

NOTE: Players cannot sacrifice units from the Blessed region, only from your Reserves.

After each player has chosen how many units to sacrifice, the winner of the Blessed region conflict is determined by totaling the strength of each player in the Blessed region (units in the region, glyphs, bonuses from tribe abilities or actions chosen during the conflict, and units sacrificed from their Reserve) gains 8VP instead of the altar bonus in the region. If there is a tie between players, the player with the fewest VP among the tied players chooses the winner. Immortal Calendar and Heroic Codex majorities are not awarded for the Blessed region.

Once the winner of the Blessed region conflict has been determined, return all units from the Blessed region to each player's Reserves (Glyphs remain in the region). Move all sacrificed units (on god reference cards) to Xibalba. Place the conflict tile beside the board and resolve the next conflict following the steps on page 10 until conflicts in all regions have been resolved.

In this example the Blessed region is Uxmal, as identified by the unique Blessed region altar token. Green has the highest score so they will be the first player to choose how many units to sacrifice. Green chooses to sacrifice four units from their Reserves earning them 4 devotion and 4 strength. With the 3 strength they have from units in the region, Green now has 7 strength in the conflict. The sacrificed units are placed on their god reference card until the end of the conflict and Green moves their devotion marker up 4 spaces. Continuing in score order the players decide how many units to sacrifice. Red sacrifices four units for a total of 8 strength in the conflict, Blue seven units for 9 total strength, and Yellow decides to sacrifice five units for a 9 total strength. Both Yellow and Blue have a strength of nine, since Yellow has fewer VP than Blue, they will decide the tiebreaker. Yellow chooses themselves to win the conflict, earning the 8VP instead of the altar bonus.

End of Age Step

After all conflicts have been resolved, players will conclude each Age by resolving the following steps:

1. In descending VP order award each player 2VP for every unit they have on the Immortal Calendar and Heroic Codex. Return units on the Immortal Calendar and Heroic Codex to each player's Reserves.

2. In descending VP order, award each player VP equal to the current Age for every region where they have at least 1 pyramid.

3. Each player shuffles their god action card deck and places it facedown beside their god reference card.

4. Rotate the Age dial to the next Age.

5. Shuffle the conflict tiles facedown and place them on their corresponding space on the board.

If this is the end of Age 3, proceed to the End Of Game and final scoring. Otherwise, begin the next Age with the Start of Age Step.

End of Game

After Age 3, the game ends and final scoring occurs. Starting with the player with the most VP and proceeding in descending VP order, each player gains VP equal to the value of the their devotion marker occupies on their devotion track as well as VP granted by any unscored Age 3 tribe ability.

In this example the Green player earns 13VP for the position their devotion marker occupies and 6 additional VP for their Age 3 tribe ability (2VP per level of devotion).

The player with the most VP at the end of the game is the winner, honoring their god throughout the ages!