The battle of Moytura has begun. As a leader of the Tuatha Dé Danann, you seek to spread your influence across the land and become the High Ruler of Ireland. Call upon powerful deities who command water, travel, war, and creation, but beware of the Fomorians, other mythical beings, and a rival clan standing in your way.

In Moytura, two players command competing factions of the Tuatha Dé Danann, but they are not alone in the struggle for control. Three enemy clans act together as a third faction that competes with the players and also scores victory points.

Points are awarded at the end of each era based on influence across Ancient Ireland. Within each of the game's eleven regions, the factions with the most and second-most units score the indicated points. After two eras, the faction with the highest score wins.

On each turn, a player selects a deity tile, potentially spending worship tokens to reach it, and then performs that deity's actions. After use, the deity tile resets to the most expensive position on its track. Each deity provides unique abilities for expanding influence and battling enemies.

During the enemy faction's turn, an activation card is revealed to activate one of the three enemy clans. Since some activation cards are more powerful than others, players must carefully anticipate which clan is most likely to attack and where it will expand.

Moytura includes seven different map setups for various clan combinations. It also features three special enemy clans that can replace one to three standard Fomorian clans. The Ellén Trechends expand in all directions, the Oilliphéist spread rapidly along the coast, and the Banshees invade targeted regions instead of expanding from their largest group.

The game also includes solo and cooperative variants that make use of the same intuitive enemy faction system found in the main game.