Scythe Encounters – Stonemaier Games

Scythe Encounters

Scythe Encounters

Designed by Jamey Stegmaier and fans of Scythe | Art and Worldbuilding by Jakub Rozalski

A boxed set of 32 new promo encounter cards (43-74)

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Scythe Encounters is a boxed set of 32 new promo encounter cards (43-74) designed by fans of Scythe and developed into the final cards by Jamey Stegmaier. We recommend that you play with this deck of cards by itself a few times to experience the new options before shuffling them into the original encounter deck.

Media

Release Details

  • Worldwide English retail release was on December 7, 2018 (SKU: STM641).
  • Also available in other languages from localization partners.

The Story

In June 2018, Scythe fans were invited to design ONE encounter card each using specific art. Jamey reviewed the submissions, selected his favorites (often mixing and matching various submissions), edited them, and is in the process of publishing them. The design guidelines were:

  • Players must have options
  • Consistent with existing encounters
  • Appropriate word count and length
  • Applicable to any configuration of Scythe
  • Outside-the-box options

Fixes

  • Luke Sheldon is the designer of card 48.
  • Tim Cherna is the designer of card 62.
  • Card 58 can be played even in solo games.

Rules

  • Some cards include “secret” options in parentheses that should not be read out loud. If you choose that option, keep the card face-down until you use its ability by sharing it with all players. If Polania choose the secret option as 1 of their 2 choices, they must only read the non-secret option out loud until they use the secret ability.
  • When playing against the Automa, if an encounter card has the “no Automa” icon, you may choose to discard it and redraw, as one or more of the options may not apply. This icon appears on 11 cards.

130 Comments on “Scythe Encounters

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  1. In encounter card #62 option 2, must the recruit bonuses be uncovered on my faction’s board in order to fulfill the encounter?

      1. Sorry, I can’t find the English text, I have translated it like this: “pay 2 resources and gain 2 bonuses from your recruits (at your choice from those which are uncovered on your faction’s board). Hope this helps. Thanks a lot Jamey

        1. Thanks! You can choose that option even if you only have 1 revealed recruit (in that case you would only gain 1 benefit).

  2. Can you please clarify encounter card 57? The card says, “Pay $4 to build 1 monument and gain 1 popularity.” Does this mean specifically the monument structure or any one structure? We are confused because it doesn’t just say to build the monument, it says 1 monument.

  3. Do. You have to take. Am e counter token when you move to a hex with a token on it? I understand the rules. Of. Engaging in combat state thst if the winner wants to resolve the encounter token then they may do so. Am I misunderstanding that whole Thing? I guess the question is do I have to draw an encounter card if I don’t want to if the token is present?

  4. Beautiful expansion! Unfortunately it is now impossible to find in Italian (it seems it will not be reprinted).
    I purchased the English version and I ask you if it is possible to have at least one document with the translation from English to Italian to keep on hand when playing. Thank you! :-)

    1. Maurizio: Thanks! We only have the English text, but you’re welcome to ask Ghenos to post a spreadsheet of the Italian text.

  5. Love this addition! Can i get clarification on Card 64, Option 2 – Help the Lumberjacks: Pay $1 per unit to move up to 3 of your units to this territory.

    Does this mean you can move any of your units regardless of where they are? or do the units have to be able to reach that territory using legal movement actions?

  6. Card 60. I chose to keep the card for an extra turn. I attacked an opponent causing him to get his 6th star… since it’s still my turn, can I still get an extra action even tho somebody place their 6th star?
    Thanks a lot,
    Maxime Hébert

    1. As noted on page 28 of the rulebook, “The game immediately ends when a player places their 6th star token, even if they have other things they could do that
      turn or other things would happen afterwards.”

      It doesn’t matter whose turn it is–the 6th star causes the game to end immediately.

  7. Is it possible to chose an option such as: “lose 2 points of popularity and win 4 Woods” if you have l’ESS than 2 popularity points before making the choice?

  8. There are a set number of encounter tokens on the board during a game, and if I recall the rules say to remove that token from the board after a player resolves a card. Does that mean that there’s only a limited number of times encounter cards can be drawn during a single game? (seems weird since that severely limits opponent’s access to encounter cards if one or two players surge ahead in their mobility)

  9. Hello,

    I have a small question about option 3 of encounter #49 :

    « Pay 2 popularity to choose a village territory. All units there must retreat to their home base »

    I guess the faction concerned have to leave its resources (if it have some) into the village ?

    Thanks in advance,

    Julien

    1. Hi Giacomo. Scythe Encounters works for solo players. As with all of Scythe, Automa doesn’t use the encounter cards; only you do. In this set of 32 cards, 21 work well for you when playing solo. The other 11 we ask you to skip as they don’t make sense against Automa. I love using them! The community came up with a lot of fun ideas! Please let me know if you have further questions.

  10. Card 60. 2 options are to keep the card and 1 to discard. When playing Polania, you have to either choose to have the two ‘keep the card’ options or you have to give up one of them to discard the card or choose 1 option. Or can you, as Polania, choose a discard and a keep option and still get to keep the card. Otherwise the power of ‘choose two options’ is made obsolete with this particular card.

    1. Carly: With that card and Polania, because it contradicts Polania’s ability, I think it’s best to simply draw another encounter card. That set of encounters is a bit wacky in that way. :)

      1. Thanks. It was the first card that was picked and caused a ‘slight disagreement’ between my and the hubby. Next time we’ll just skip it :)

  11. Encounter 59:
    3rd choice: Steal a man’s wings and attach them to yourself: Pay 2 popularity to keep this card. Before each of your combats, gain 2 popularity

    I picked up this as saxony. My opponents were not amused and they interpreted “*your* combats” as in combats initiated by me and not when I was attacked. Is this correct?

    1. Hi Krystian! The 2nd option of Encounter 67 says “Pay $3 to place your character on an empty land territory up to 3 territories away.”

      A territory with an encounter token would not be empty, so you could not move to that territory.

  12. Hi Jamey,

    On card #68, option 2 says “Skip your next to turn to gain 8 food now.”

    Is the first “to” a typo, or should it read “next two turns”? I assume the first, but eight food is pretty powerful…

    Thanks!

  13. Hi Jamie!!

    I have been playing Scythe for 9 months now and I love it! I taught it to my friends, they loved it too and now we play 2-3 times/week! I have gotten all the expansions and recently we started the RoF campaign and played episode 2B (piece) with the new encounters expansion for the first time. After a few turns in, I got the encounter saying to get a factory card and then destroy the rest! As you understand, that gave me immediately a star and removed that option from the other players for the rest of the game! My brother had Rusviet and was going for a factory card, thus a star, in his next turn…It felt overpowered and I’m sure it would have created a problem during episode 3 as well. We decided to play the campaign only with the “normal” encounters” from now on and use the new ones during our regular games. What are your thoughts on this?
    Thank you for this wonderful game and for being engaged in the community answering all kinds of questions!!

    1. Constantine: Thanks for your note! I appreciate you sharing Scythe with your friends. I agree that some of the new encounters just don’t work in The Rise of Fenris (the only game I recommend using them is episode 6).

  14. I have a question regarding some of the encounters interaction with Polania. For example, in encounter #72, one of the options allow you to keep the encounter for future use. Could Polania choose a second option if it chooses that one? And, in that case, when should it receive the other option, in the same turn the encounter was obtained or in the turn the encounter is finally used?
    Thank you in advance

  15. I would like to know when exactly the new encounters cards will be available in French and by which editor? Thank you !

  16. Hi
    I’m interested by these new card , but i have the french version of scythe .
    Then do you know if a translation is plan ? if yes when ?
    it will be better to mix encounter card from the initial box and this upgrade

    thanks

    1. Please ask Matagot about their release plan for Scythe Encounters (it’s their information to share, not mine).

  17. For encounter 43 the top option effectively can make any faction like Rusviet for their special ability correct? Or am I misunderstanding the text of it

  18. I am really enjoying the Scythe game. I was wondering about a variation of Scythe in which the Scythe hexes were not on a game board but individual hex blocks that could be mixed and played in different variations.

  19. Jamey: If we ordered the Scythe Encounters directly from Stonemaier Games, when should we expect to receive them? I see that retailers will receive them 12/7.

  20. Are these encounter cards recommended for Rise of Fenris campaign, or should we avoid them until we finish the campaign?

    1. If you’re going to use them in the campaign, I would suggest using them in Episode 6. They work in the other episodes, but that’s the episode I would recommend, just to get a taste of the new cards.

  21. Hey Jamey,
    Do Automa also pick up an encounter card and resolve it if they land on an encounter tile with the token? If so, how do they resolve the encounter card?

    1. The Automa removes the encounter token from the board, but doesn’t take or resolve an encounter card.

  22. Got my cards and played our first game, and wow they really change things up. Personally wasn’t a fan the first time because one of the cards robbed me of a victory and it felt like losing to luck rather than strategy, but I’m sure I’ll get over it.

    There are a few things I wonder though. For example, one of the cards allowed a character to move to a new hex. Is this considered a move action? Can Albion or Togawa deploy a flag or a trap on the new hex? (Which actually brings up another question though this is more about the invaders expansion: tokens occur at the end of a move, but so do encounters, so which happens first? Do you drop your token first or process the encounter first?)

    Secondly, we had a card come up that moved your character up to three hexs, which put the character in contact with another encounter. Do they they then get to take that second encounter before taking their bottom action? And again, can they deploy a token afterwards?

    Thanks for a great set though. I love how you keep changing the game up!

    1. Thanks for your questions! I’ll answer below.

      For example, one of the cards allowed a character to move to a new hex. Is this considered a move action?

      –No, it’s not a move action.

      Can Albion or Togawa deploy a flag or a trap on the new hex?

      –No, they cannot.

      Which actually brings up another question though this is more about the invaders expansion: tokens occur at the end of a move, but so do encounters, so which happens first? Do you drop your token first or process the encounter first?

      –I always have to look this up. :) Here’s how we say it in the rules, “After ending your
      character’s movement (unless they enter combat and/or an encounter, in which case they must wait until all units have moved and the combat/ encounter has been resolved on that territory), the Albion player may place a Flag token from their supply on the character’s territory.”

      Secondly, we had a card come up that moved your character up to three hexes, which put the character in contact with another encounter. Do they they then get to take that second encounter before taking their bottom action? And again, can they deploy a token afterwards?

      –Yes, they get to take that encounter, but they’re official movement for the turn is already over, so they can’t place tokens.

      1. I always love it when players can go straight to the source, so thanks so much for being so engaged with the community!

        But your response does bring up the odd contradiction that I’m trying to get at.

        Because if, as the rules say, you place the token after the combat/encounter resolves, but then the encounter moves your character to a new hex, but their official movement for the turn is already over so they can’t place tokens as you say, then at what point can they play their token? Or do they sacrifice the option to play a token when they take the optional non-move-action “move” of the encounter. (My gut feel is that the token would be where the character ultimately ends up, but I hope I’ve clarified the problem. Or I’m missing something in which case sorry in advance for harping on it!)

        1. That’s a great point, and you’re right–you have to completely resolve the encounter, and then wherever your character is, you can place a token there.

  23. We hadn’t actually looked at any of the cards before using them. And the first one that came up this Friday was “Pay $5, take a Factory card, destroy the rest” (paraphrased). Well, it came super early in the game and dropped like a bomb! LOL

  24. I just got my encounter card in the mail! SOOOOO stoked! I wanted to know if there is going to be a similar thing for factory cards? I was thinking it would be really cool to have a Tesla coil that can destroy mechs but at the high cost of 3-4 popularity. Anyways I am really excited to add these card to my campaign.

    1. We don’t have any plans for new Factory cards, but you’re welcome to design some and post them in the Scythe Facebook group. Thanks!

  25. Sorry if I missed it, but is this a new artwork, or is it “reused” artwork from previous encounters and/or other cards. Thanks a lot! (As you can see, Im interested :D )

    1. It’s artwork that was used in other parts of Scythe and its expansions, but there is no duplicate encounter art.

  26. Does anyone know if these will fit into the Broken Token legendary organizer? Really want to get these!

  27. Where was this June contest publicized? I’ve been a Scythe fan since the beginning and would have loved to enter one, but I never saw word of it. I used to get the Stonemaier emails but they stopped coming.

    1. Jeremy: I publicized it in the Scythe Facebook group. You’re welcome to join if you haven’t already. :)

  28. Cool, a really fun idea to expand on the way the encounters work. Looking forward to this one, especially since I don’t have the promo cards from the kickstarter. :)

    Perhaps a question you can’t answer, but I was looking at the map of Europa 1920+, and have to ask. How come you did not add a “Turkoman Sultanate” or something like that, a faction inspired by the Ottoman Empire?
    Given the setting they would seem like a natural fit? They could have a faction ability like “Trade blockage. When an enemy spends a resource located in a space adjacent to a Turkman unit, the enemy must pay the Turkoman player $1 per resource spent.” :D

    Perhaps it’s just the historian in me that saw the map and figured that the Crimean wars were fought right next to the factory position. Basically Albion, Rusviet, Crimea and “Turkomans” given the 1920+ setting.
    As I have understood it, there will be no more expansions with factions right?

    1. That’s a good question for Jakub! He’s the one who decides the scope of the world and which factions enter his 1920+ alternate universe. You’re correct that there will be no more expansions with factions, though we’re happy for fan creations to exist. Feel free to design your own faction and share it in the Scythe Facebook group or BoardGameGeek. :)

      1. Inspiration isn’t easy to control I guess? :)

        Hmmm… given that I’m rather good at sculpting, it would be kinda fun to make a new faction, though making balanced rules really is a challenge, especially without a large base of playtesters (as I have played wargames and boardgames most of my life, I have to say I am rather impressed by your efforts as a game designer!).
        However, the art by Jakub really is at the core of the entire setting, so it feels a bit backwards to design rules for a faction that lacks art. But one has to start somewhere. :) Thanks for the fast reply!

  29. If you were to become a character in a game of Dungeons and Dragons what character race, class, and alignment do you think would become?

  30. Hi Jamey,

    I see a comment asking that the names of the winners be printed on the actual card. Did that come to fruition? I ask because I’m interested in new encounters, but honestly not interested in buying a product with peoples names on them.

      1. Got it and thanks! Absolutely love this game, but I stay away from products that have the designers name on them. Cheapens it in my opinion and takes away from the theme. Like if you put Jamey Stegmaier all over the game…

  31. hey stegi, why it doesend have the old promocardsets in german????? i ask feuerland spiele but they kidding me only and dont answer me legit…

    1. Andre: Feuerland is responsible for that answer, and I’m sure they’ll answer properly when they’re ready.

  32. Jamey, when will we know if we were in the first 1900 orders? I’m a champion and was excited to see this news today! Can’t wait! Thanks!

  33. Hi,

    this cards are new or new is only artwork? I dont understand, sorry :/ Or what is new in these cards?

    Thanks :)

    1. The mechanical design of every card is new. The artwork is appearing on the cards for the first time, though it appeared elsewhere in Scythe previously.

  34. Hey Jamey, I don’t know if you already mentioned this. I’m sorry if you did.
    Will this product be available to purchase at Essen Spiel this year?

  35. Wow people put a lot of effort in to those. The winning encounters are amazing. If I spent a few hours thinking about an encounter I don’t think it would be half as good as those. I can imagine how they would spark brand new ideas for you Jamey, it must be great to haven gotten all those wonderful entries.

    1. Indeed, they provided an incredible spark! I spent about 10 hours working on the final versions, and I’m really excited about them. :)

        1. John: I’d like to keep some things a surprise. :) Honestly, I think the best way to play the first few games with the new encounter cards is to not look at them in advance and instead just play a game with them, discovering them as players reach encounters.

  36. Jamey: Thanks again for holding a great contest for new Encounter Cards. I know mine was way outside that box you mentioned above “Think outside the box for these encounters”. I really enjoyed it and assume that since I did not receive an email I was not one of the chosen one. — Thanks again Jamey
    — John

    1. John: I actually sent an e-mail to everyone who submitted. Can you double check your spam folder to see if it’s there?

      1. Jamey: I checked all my mail, and will try to look again. I know my entry was for #50, and I will check again. — Thanks
        — John

        1. John: I just took a look, and unfortunately your card wasn’t selected, but I really like the idea of paying other players!

          1. Jamey: No worries, I appreciate the opportunity and I knew going in that I would be thinking way outside the box. And you know what they say… “Only Dead Fish Go With the Flow” – Thanks again Jamey
            — John

  37. Those entries make quite a list of creativity. Very happy to have my entry selected (#74), thank you Jamey! And I really like your suggested adjustment for option 2. That was the one I was least happy with. But that suggestion both fits the theme very well and is a nice extra interaction with the board. Wish I had thought of that :)

    1. Thanks Denper! My brain was full of ideas after reading through these entries, so I made some notes like that. I appreciate you offering your creativity to this special set!

  38. I’ve never played Viticulture automa, but how does it handle when a choice is given to other players to accept a benefit? Trying to come up with something similiar for Scythe with offering resources/payment, but not sure how you would have it jive with the automa mechanic.

    1. Jamie: I think in Viticulture Automa, you’re supposed to just ignore (discard and redraw) any visitor cards that refer to opponents.

  39. Hi Jamey!

    How many card are accepted from one person?

    Oh God… Today is deadline! And I make it in my birthday)

  40. Hi Jamey, when do you think this promo pack ll be released, I consider preordering RoF but maybe i should just wait and ordrer it and the promo pack at the same time.
    Thanks in advance :)

    1. Oliv: I think you will be waiting a long time if you do that. :) From the minute I tell Panda to start making a product to the minute it arrives at a retailer is 5 months minimum. And that minute hasn’t even happened yet, as I haven’t picked the winners, nor has my graphic designer put the text on the cards, nor have they been proofread, etc.

  41. Darris: It might be possible to do that. I’ll talk to my graphic designer about it when we finalize the cards. :)

  42. Hi Jamie, what a fantastic opportunity to be immortalized in one of the best games on the market! Have you considered writing the name of the winner on the card instead of the box? In small font just above the card’s text box or beside the number. I’d love to be reminded that the card I’m encountering during a game was designed by a fan!

    Thank you for always thinking of new ways to engage your fans!

  43. Awesome contest!! Just submitted one and enjoyed creating it. I wish I could do one for all of them. Enjoying Scythe a lot! Cannot wait for my Wind Gambit expansion to come this week!! Bye Bye Weekend!

  44. I just submitted one for 73, I was curious if you could at least say if it at least meets the guidelines of acceptability. You don’t have to tell me if you like it or not. I just really don’t want to be disqualified for something I overlooked.

    1. Sorry David, if I do it for you, I’d have to do it for all 150+ submissions, and I can’t do that. If you have questions about a specific guideline that you want to ask here, I’m happy to answer it.

  45. Jamey – I recall you saying we could edit our entries until June 15, but is there a way to recover the entry we already submitted? Clicking on the form link just brings up a blank form.

    1. The link is on the page that popped up immediately after you submitted your entry. You might be able to find it in your browser’s history; if not, just make a new submission for the same card, as I’ll only use the newest submission for each person.

      1. Looks like I can’t rescue the link from my history – just a blank document. That’s okay, I really just wanted to see what I’d written, not make changes. I’ll wait for when my prize is mailed to me.

        ;)

  46. Which card is the most popular so far? By popular I mean the one most people chose to create an encounter for.

    1. I haven’t looked yet. :) I’ve only checked for encounters that haven’t been submitted, as I want to make sure there’s at least one submission for each encounter.

      1. Probably best to save that for a post on the 16th of June. I just thought of an encounter for 68 but it’s only 1 submission per person, and I’ve already submitted mine. Ah well, next time :)

  47. To whomever decided that “Click on one to embiggen” was appropriate text to put on this page… I love you.

    1. That’s me! I’ve used that word for a while…it’s a Simpson’s reference, right? :)

  48. So much great artwork made it hard to choose what card/idea to use! I also enjoyed that you linked to the form four separate times. Very thorough, haha!

  49. I have a few questions: Do encounters have to work for a player that only has the base game? Will the best one per each image be what makes it into the promo pack? (What if there were 2 amazing ideas for 1 card, but only a pretty good idea for another?)

    1. Jamie:

      “Do encounters have to work for a player that only has the base game?” They must work for any configuration of Scythe, but you could probably find creative ways to give players options if they happen to be playing with certain expansions.

      “Will the best one per each image be what makes it into the promo pack? (What if there were 2 amazing ideas for 1 card, but only a pretty good idea for another?)” Yes, one per image. I’ll pick the best submission for each image.

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