Terraforming Mars (board game)

Terraforming Mars is a board game for 1 to 5 players designed by Jacob Fryxelius and published by FryxGames in 2016, and thereafter by 12 others, including Stronghold Games.

This article is about the board game. For the technological process, see Terraforming of Mars.
Terraforming Mars
Designer(s)Jacob Fryxelius
Illustrator(s)Isaac Fryxelius
Publisher(s)FryxGames (2016)
Players1-5
Playing time120 minutes
Random chanceModerate
Skill(s) requiredStrategy, tactics, logic

In Terraforming Mars, players take the role of corporations working together to terraform the planet Mars by raising the temperature, adding oxygen to the atmosphere, covering the planet's surface with water and creating plant and animal life.[1] Players compete to earn the most victory points, which are measured by their contribution to terraforming and to human infrastructure. Players accomplish these goals by collecting income and resources which allow them to play various projects, represented by cards (drawn from a deck of over 200 unique cards), which increase their income or resources or directly contribute to terraforming the planet or building infrastructure.

The game has been well received by fans and critics, winning or being nominated for multiple awards and accolades.

Gameplay
A game of Terraforming Mars that has just been completed

Players represent competing corporations who all have a stake in terraforming Mars. The game board depicts the planet's surface, which is represented by an array of 61 contiguous hexes. Each hex represents about 1% of Mars' surface area. Onto these hexes, players can place oceans, greenery, cities and other special features.[2] The object of the game is for players to complete three terraforming conditions: raise the atmosphere's oxygen level to 14%; raise the temperature from -30 to +8 degrees Celsius; and cover 9% of Mars' surface by ocean (represented in-game as having 9 ocean tiles placed on Mars).

Players accomplish these goals by playing cards that represent various technologies or buildings used to terraform Mars.[3][2] The game is played over a number of generations, each represented as one game round. A generation begins with players drawing cards, then players take turns performing actions (which can be playing cards, using the ability of a card already in play or paying for one of the several actions depicted on the board). Once all players have finished taking actions, players collect income and resources according to their production of the different resources, then the next generation begins.

One of the unique aspects in Terraforming Mars is the Terraforming Rating (TR) system. Whenever a player performs an action that advances one of the terraforming conditions, the player's TR increases. A player's TR not only represents the victory points they have earned during the game, but is also added to a player's money income when collecting income and resources at the end of each generation.

The game ends at the end of any generation when the three terraforming conditions have been met.[4][5] Then, players count up their points, which come from their TR at the end of the game, cities and greeneries that they have placed on Mars, achievements they have claimed during the game and cards they have played, and the player with the highest score wins.

Expansions

Five expansions have been released:[6][7][8][9]

  • Hellas and Elysium (2017), which adds a new double-sided board representing two new regions of Mars, with each region having its own terrain layout and end-game achievements
  • Venus Next (2017), which adds a new side-board representing Venus as a new terraforming opportunity and new Venus-related cards for the deck
  • Prelude (2018), which adds Prelude cards that players take during setup to jump-start their production and terraforming
  • Colonies (2018), which adds areas around the solar system for players to colonize and travel to, providing alternative ways of getting resources without having to play cards
  • Turmoil (2019), which adds a Martian government with several political factions, each with their own agendas, which players can influence to gain various bonuses

A legacy variant[10] and a dice game[11] are being developed and are expected to be released in 2020 or 2021.

Video game adaptation

A video game adaptation of Terraforming Mars, developed by Asmodee Digital, was released in October 2018. Matt Thrower of Strategy Gamer considered the adaptation to have "too many rough edges to recommend".[12] However, in a list of Best Board Games On PC from the same site he later revised this opinion, saying "developer Asmodee Digital has stepped up the plate with a host of updates. And while the interface remains a bit obtuse, the game itself is shining as it should."[13]

Reception

Popular Mechanics named Terraforming Mars as one of its 50 best games of the year.[14] Polygon named Terraforming Mars its runner up for best game of 2016 and best strategy game of 2016,[15] Ars Technica listed the game as one of its 20 best games of 2016,[16] and Vulture called it "the best high strategy game of 2016."[17]

The game was nominated for the 2017 Kennerspiel des Jahres award for best strategy game of the year.[18] As of 2019, Terraforming Mars is ranked 3rd among all board games on BoardGameGeek.[19]

Hellas and Elysium and Venus Next were the two runners-up for the Golden Geek award for the best expansion to a game in 2017.[20]

References
  1. Nightingale, Melissa (February 10, 2018). "Adults claiming board games as more than a childhood hobby !". New Zealand Herald. Retrieved February 22, 2018.
  2. Law, Keith (December 8, 2016). "Terraforming Mars is One of The Best Games of 2016". Paste Magazine. Retrieved December 26, 2017.
  3. Olson, Jeremy (May 24, 2017). "Game of the year 2017 nominees announced!". Albany Times-Union. Retrieved December 26, 2017.
  4. Anderson, Nate (October 1, 2016). "Terraforming Mars review: Turn the "Red Planet" green with this amazing board game". Ars Technica. Retrieved December 26, 2017.
  5. "5 Board Games David Gardner Would Put Under the Tree This Year". Motley Fool. December 19, 2016. Retrieved December 26, 2017.
  6. Adams, Sabrina (August 19, 2017). "Locally printed board game "Terraforming Mars" returns to Gen Con with new expansion". WXIN. Retrieved December 29, 2017.
  7. McAleer, Jeff (December 19, 2017). "Ring in the New Year with 'Terraforming Mars: Venus Next'". The Gaming Gang. Retrieved 9 January 2018.
  8. "Terraforming Mars". BoardGameGeek. Retrieved January 1, 2019.
  9. "TERRAFORMING MARS // Turmoil - erste Bilder". Brettspiel (in German). October 18, 2019. Retrieved November 4, 2019.
  10. Zoch, Patrick. "Terraforming Mars Legacy in the Works". Dice Tower News. Retrieved 2019-01-27.
  11. Kenntoft, Jay. "Terraforming Mars: The Dice Game". Boardgame-News News. Retrieved 2020-04-01.
  12. Thrower, Matt (October 24, 2018). "Review: Terraforming Mars". Strategy Gamer. Retrieved November 29, 2018.
  13. Thrower, Matt (May 22, 2019). "The Best Board Games On PC 2019". Strategy Gamer. Retrieved May 23, 2019.
  14. Hall, Charlie (March 9, 2017). "The Best Board Games of 2016". Polygon. Retrieved December 29, 2017.
  15. "Game on! The best board games of 2016". Ars Technica. December 27, 2016. Retrieved December 26, 2017.
  16. Law, Keith (December 21, 2016). "The Best Board Games for Every Holiday Situation". Vulture. Retrieved December 29, 2017.
  17. Anderson, Nate (May 22, 2017). "2017's "Board Game of the Year" shortlist is out—get playing!". Ars Technica. Retrieved December 26, 2017.
  18. "Browse Board Games | BoardGameGeek". boardgamegeek.com. Retrieved Aug 27, 2019.
  19. Hall, Charlie (March 14, 2018). "The best board games of 2017, as chosen by the Board Game Geek community". Polygon. Retrieved March 17, 2018.

Further reading
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