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TERRAFORMING MARS

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BGG Link


Designer: Jacob Fryxelius
Our Rating: 9

DESCRIPTION

We first played Terraforming at a Gathering of Friends and were immediately taken by it. At its heart it's an engine-building game; players start with a corporation that has some special ability, and over the course of the game they acquire project cards that produce a result or give an ongoing or recurring benefit. There are a number of different resources: in addition to money (Megacredits, or M€), there is steel, titanium, plants, energy and heat.

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The game ends when three conditions are met: the temperature rises to +8°C, the atmosphere is at 14% oxygen, and nine ocean tiles are placed on the board.

This is a long game, and the early stages can be slow – and sometimes frustrating, as the corporation's power, the project cards, and the actions of other players can interfere with a plan. At least in its basic incarnation, there is more than a little luck involved, though that is somewhat offset by the Swiss draft style of project card acquisition (take one, pass the others).

It has a solo version which we haven't played much, and it does work well two player.

EXPANSIONS

HELLAS AND ELYSIUM MAPS

In 2017, two new maps were introduced in the Hellas and Elysium package. We usually choose maps at random, and each of these gives new achievements and different configurations of map resources. We own this package.

VENUS NEXT

Also in 2017, Venus was added in the Venus Next expansion. This adds a bunch of new cards with the Venus tag, a small board with one more global parameter. It also adds a new board, viz.,

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and a new resource type - the floater. Basically Venus as an expansion adds complexity and dilutes the project card stack, and you're either involved in Venus projects or you avoid them entirely.

We play Venus when we want a long game, but often leave it out when playing 2p.

PRELUDE

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Added in 2018, this expansion adds some startup bonus cards. There are also a few new projects and new corporations. This helps alleviate some of the early game frustration, and we always use Prelude even if teaching new players. It makes the first few turns much more enjoyable.

COLONIES

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The Colonies expansion adds a whole new distraction to the game, giving players a chance to spend time in the satellites of gas giants. It appears to be best suited for multiplayer; so while we own it, we haven't played it much.

TURMOIL

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We backed this on Kickstarter, but haven't played it yet. It adds an entire layer of complexity, sort of a Terraforming Mars meets Die Macher vibe. It's definitely suited for multiplayer, and still hasn't made it to the table.

BIG BOX

Yeah, we backed it. We have 3D tiles for greenery, cities and oceans, but this package was way too cool to pass up. It earned out at $2.7M, so they have plenty of M€ to throw at development. Expected March 2021.

PROMOS

There are a bunch of them. The ones we have are marked with a star (★)


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