Terraforming Mars

Posted on Posted in Board Games

The taming of the Red Planet has begun. Earth is overpopulated and resources are dwindling. We now face the choice either to recede, or to expand into space to find new homes for humanity. For this reason, we need to turn Mars into a habitable planet.

In the 2400s, mankind begins to terraform the planet Mars. Giant corporations, sponsored by the World Government on Earth, initiate huge projects to raise the temperature, the oxygen level, and the ocean coverage until the environment is habitable. You will be playing as one of those corporations and work together in the process.

The players obtain unique project cards which can represent anything from introducing plant life or animals, hurling asteroids at the surface, building cities, to mining the moons of Jupiter. Buying cards is costly, so there is a balance between buying cards (3 mega credits per card) and actually playing them. Your basic income, as well as your basic score, is based on your Terraform Rating, which increases every time you raise one of the three global parameters. However, your income is complemented with your production, and you also get VPs from many other sources.

Each player keeps track of their production and resources on their player boards, and the game uses six types of resources. Each round is called a generation and consists of the following phases:

1) Player order shifts clockwise.
2) Research phase
3) Action phase

4) Production phase

When the three global parameters have all reached their goal, the terraforming is complete, and the game ends after that generation. Count your Terraform Rating and other VPs to determine the winning corporation. This game can be played with between 1-5 players ages 12+ in an estimated duration of 90-120 minutes. Available here.