In Terracotta Army you represent talented craftsmen and artists working to build a wondrous collection of sculptures. Throughout the game, you gather resources, upgrade your workers, and seek favor with the Emperor's advisors. Your goal is to play a crucial role in the process of creating the Terracotta Army, and your success is measured in victory points. During the game, you and your fellow players build the army together, but after the fifth round of the game is over, only one of you - the one with the most points - will be the winner.

During the game you place miniatures in the mausoleum and form groups. A group's miniatures can be multi-player, as indicated by those miniatures' bases. Within the mausoleum there may be several separate groups consisting of the same type of miniature.

You have many opportunities to score points based on dominance and presence. To achieve domination, you must be the only player with the most of the specific resource or statue type currently being scored. To attend, you must have at least one of the specific resources or statue type currently being scored.

At the end of the fifth round, the player with the most victory points wins.