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Scythe Movement Rules
Understand movement permissions, Riverwalk, tunnels and unit restrictions.
Understand movement permissions, Riverwalk, tunnels and unit restrictions.
In Scythe, the first question is which unit is moving. A character, mech, and worker may all use printed tunnels, but Riverwalk and lake abilities do not automatically apply to all three. A mech can carry workers across an otherwise impassable border when the mech’s move is legal.
Can units cross rivers at the start?
By default, a river blocks movement between the two land territories it separates. An unlocked faction ability or another specific rule can permit a crossing. The Nordic workers’ Swim ability is an exception: check the faction mat rather than treating every worker as having the same restriction.
How does Riverwalk work?
For the base-game factions, Riverwalk allows that faction’s character and mechs to cross rivers onto the two destination terrain types named by its ability. Those terrain types differ between factions. The ability does not turn every river edge into a legal move: the destination must match the printed faction rule. Unlocking Riverwalk does not give an unaccompanied worker Riverwalk.
Example: Suppose your Riverwalk ability names forests and mountains. A character can cross a river into one of those terrain types, but not into a village just because it lies across the same river. Check the exact wording on your own faction mat; do not copy the terrain list from another faction.
Can a mech transport workers across a river?
Yes, if the mech itself can legally make the move. Mechs can pick up and drop off your workers and resources during their movement. The passengers move with the mech; carrying them does not use a separate Move selection for each worker. A worker dropped off by the mech may also make its own movement if you select that worker as another unit to move, subject to the worker’s normal restrictions. A character can transport resources but cannot transport workers.
Example: Your Riverwalk-enabled mech picks up two workers, crosses to a permitted forest territory, and drops them there. The workers did not individually gain Riverwalk. One may then use its own legal movement if selected, but cannot walk back over the river without an applicable worker ability or transport.
How do tunnels and the Mine work?
Printed tunnel territories are adjacent to one another for movement. Moving from one printed tunnel territory to another uses one territory of a unit’s movement, even if they are far apart on the map. The Mine structure adds its territory to your tunnel network: it acts as a tunnel only for you. All unit types, including workers, can use printed tunnels and your Mine. The Mine’s movement ability is not contingent on who currently controls that territory.
Example: A worker on your Mine can move to a printed tunnel territory as one movement step. It does not need Riverwalk for that tunnel move. An opponent cannot use your Mine as a tunnel merely because it is on the board; that opponent may still use ordinary printed tunnels.
What about lakes and airships?
Standard ground units cannot enter lakes without a specific ability. A lake movement ability applies to the units named by that ability; a worker carried onto a lake cannot be left behind when the mech moves away. The Wind Gambit adds airships with their own movement rules: rivers and lakes do not constrain them in the same way as ground units. Check that expansion’s rules when an airship is involved.
Quick movement check
- Identify whether the moving piece is a worker, mech, or character.
- For a river, read that faction’s ability and the destination terrain.
- For a tunnel move, check the printed tunnel or your own Mine, and count the move as one territory.
- For passengers, check the mech’s legal route first, then where workers can be dropped.
These are movement permissions; other rules such as enemy units and combat can still affect where a unit’s movement ends.
Related Scythe guides
Sources
Base-game rules checked October 2026; airships are from The Wind Gambit.