Teach the Game
A practical introduction to Tianxia's four rounds, actions, battles and scoring.
How you win
Lead the noble family with the most Prestige after four rounds. You gain it by building political influence, making deliveries, protecting regions from the Xiongnu, collecting Jade Figurines and fulfilling Objectives. In solo, outscore Li Mu and never let your Prestige fall to zero.
The boards
The main board shows the seven kingdoms, four Palace tracks, three Barges, three ports, the round track and four northern attack paths. Each player board holds your resource and action pieces, buildings, turn order marker, two special Palace tiles and available walls and towers. The player board’s two sides offer different Merchant actions. See components.
A round
Each of four rounds follows five phases: Setup reveals a stack of round bonus tiles and the coming nomad attack card; Income pays your Barge workers and income buildings (workers on Barges do not pay in round one); Action alternates turns until everyone passes; Attack resolves battles where a chieftain reached a kingdom; Cleanup refreshes ships, markers and turn order. Skip cleanup after round four and score.
On your turn choose one region action, Military action, Barge action or Pass. A region visit may cost a coin for each earlier action marker there; then take its banner advance and at least one available regional action. Military uses its shared action space and advances a Palace track. Barge placement costs one coin plus one for each of your existing workers on that barge.
How the game ends
After the fourth attack, score Jade Figurines, Palace track majorities, Objectives and leftover resources. Most Prestige wins. Ties go to more towers, then more walls, then more coins; otherwise share the win.
Ways to score
| Source | How and when |
|---|---|
 Ship deliveries | During play: the reward on the  Demand tile and on the space your  marker covers |
 Defence ranking | During play: 7 / 4 / 2  Prestige for first, second and third |
Buildings,  Bonus tiles, Palace rewards | During play: immediate Prestige |
 Jade sets,  Palace track,  Objectives | End of game:  end-game Prestige |
Leftover    resources | End of game: 1 per five in total |
| Raid losses | A breakthrough can remove  Governors and cost Prestige |
What each resource is for
| Resource | Why you need it | How you use it |
|---|---|---|
| Wood | Placing Governors | The space may add a wood cost |
| Stone | Defence | Build  walls and  towers |
| Rice | Defence | Train  Soldiers |
   Goods | Ship deliveries | Pay a port’s demand |
 Coins | Crowded actions, raid protection | Also unlock Palace advances when passing with Jade Figurines |
| Bonus tiles | One-use effects | Use, then  flip |
| Jade Figurines | Palace advances and end points | Kept on your board |
| Prestige | The score | — |
Teaching tips
Explain that the central tension is timing: governors and barge workers create future income, while the attack deck makes neglecting a wall dangerous. Show one region action and its mandatory cost, one ship delivery and its two rewards, then describe the battle ranking before players choose where to defend. Make clear that a player may take any number of actions but must resolve at least one on a region visit. For the source walkthrough, see Videos.