In Deus, players try to develop their own civilizations in a communal environment. Each player starts the game with 5 building cards and takes turns using these cards to build a building or offering a card to the gods. The cards come in 6 colors: Red for military, green for production resources, blue for trading, brown for scoring points, purple for temples, and yellow for a variety of effects.

The game ends when all barbarian villages on the board have been surrounded and attacked or all temples have been completed. The one with the most points wins.