
The tribe selection menu, showing the 15 tribes released before 2021 and the "random tribe" button.
The Battle of Polytopia features 16 characters called tribes for players to play as, including 12 regular tribes and four special tribes. Different tribes start with different technologies and have different terrain spawn rates.
On mobile, four tribes are available for free (Xin-xi, Bardur, Imperius, and Oumaji), and the other 12 are available as in-app purchases. Purchasing a tribe unlocks online multiplayer. In-app purchases help pay for game development while keeping the game free of advertisements.[1] The Steam version of Polytopia includes all regular tribes and access to online multiplayer, while Special tribes are sold as DLC.
Each tribe has its own unique cosmetic design for terrain, resources, units, cities, and monuments. These cosmetic differences do not impact gameplay. Also, each tribe has its own ambience that plays on tiles of their "native lands." For instance, a rattlesnake is heard in Oumaji terrain, and howling wind and wolves are heard in Bardur terrain.
More tribes will continue to be added in the future; however, all future tribes will be special tribes. (Yădakk is the final regular tribe.)[2]
Regular Tribes
Regular tribes, formerly known as human tribes, share the same standard technologies and units. Each tribe has its own unique starting technology, except for Luxidoor, which starts with a level 2 city. The four free tribes, Xin-xi, Imperius, Bardur, and Oumaji, are all regular tribes.
On mobile, all paid regular tribes cost $0.99 USD, except Luxidoor, which costs $3.99 USD. The Steam version includes all regular tribes.
Image | Name | Starting Technology | Release Date | Color |
---|---|---|---|---|
Xin-xi | Climbing | February 4, 2016 | Red | |
Imperius | Organization | February 4, 2016 | Blue | |
Bardur | Hunting | February 4, 2016 | Black | |
Oumaji | Riding | February 4, 2016 | Yellow | |
Kickoo | Fishing | February 4, 2016 | Bright green | |
Hoodrick | Archery | March 23, 2016 | Brown | |
Luxidoor | None (starts with a level 2 city) | March 23, 2016 | Purple | |
Vengir | Smithery | June 23, 2016 | White | |
Zebasi | Farming | August 4, 2016 | Orange | |
Ai-Mo | Meditation | December 1, 2016 | Teal | |
Quetzali | Shields | October 19, 2017 | Dark green | |
Yădakk | Roads | December 25, 2018 | Crimson |
Special Tribes
Special tribes have unique technologies, buildings, and units.
All special tribes cost $1.99 USD on mobile and $2.99 USD on Steam.
Image | Name | Starting Technology | Release Date | Color |
---|---|---|---|---|
Aquarion | None | June 8, 2017 | Salmon pink | |
∑∫ỹriȱŋ | Forest Magic (replaces Hunting) | May 24, 2018 | Hot pink | |
Polaris | Frostwork (replaces Sailing) | June 14, 2019 | Light tan | |
Cymanti | Farming (modified) | February 17, 2021 | Lemon-lime |
Disabled Tribes

The Xin-Xi tribe has been disabled, as seen by its greyed-out tribe head.
Tribe disabled; it cannot be used by you or the AI.
-In-game description
Disabled tribes cannot be used by opponents. Tribes can be disabled in the tribe picker menu. Players commonly disable tribes that are difficult to play against.
Disabled tribes do not decrease the maximum number of opponents in single-player; rather, multiple opponents will play the same tribe.
See also
References
- ↑ Official support page
- ↑ Zoythrus on Reddit
Game Mechanics |
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Buildings and Structures, Cities, City Connections, Combat, Game Modes, Movement, Player Relationships, Population, Ruins, Score, Stars, Technology, Terrain, Tribes, Units, Unit Abilities, Unit Skills, Villages |
Tribes |
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Regular tribes: Xin-xi, Imperius, Bardur, Oumaji, Kickoo, Hoodrick, Luxidoor, Vengir, Zebasi, Ai-Mo, Quetzali, Yădakk |