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Peter Shephard (2822 KP) rated Terraforming Mars: Venus Next in Tabletop Games

May 25, 2019

Terraforming Mars: Venus Next

2018 | Space, Territory Building

7.7

(13 Ratings)

Tabletop Game Rating

Great, but fully optional, expansion

There are lots of things about Venus Next which are enjoyable. The addition of a new card resource (floaters) adds an interesting mechanism, which with a bit of luck can really be a huge boost to your game (in some cases, however, they can be a bit of a damp squib).

Venus itself isn't a game changer, and it is absolutely viable to completely ignore Venus - remember, Venus itself it supposed to be the next challenge for Humanity after Terraforming Mars (hence "Venus Next..."!). I have had a couple of games where Venus' terrforming didn't get beyond a couple of percent (but there were plenty of Floater cards!) but equally I've had a couple of games where Venus was developed as far as the Board would allow, before Mars was even half-way completed.

It is a very good expansion, but personal opinion it would be one to get after the other expansions - some of the others offer much more

Kudos

Entertainment Editor (1988 KP) rated Terraforming Mars in Tabletop Games

Mar 7, 2018

Terraforming Mars

2016 | Business / Industrial, Economic, Environmental, Science Fiction, Territory Building

8.7

(33 Ratings)

Tabletop Game Rating

Terraforming Mars review: Turn the “Red Planet” green with this amazing board game

But to find the fun, you have to give Terraforming Mars a chance—and the game does itself few favors when it comes to table appeal.

The game's icons look like vector clip art from the early 2000s, all glittering gold surfaces and apparent depth. The player mats are thin cardboard that provide just enough space to track the game's essential production levels using cubes; because they have no linen finish, the mats are also smooth. Even tiny bumps can dislodge these core gameplay elements, so you need to be extremely careful while playing. Speaking of cubes, those used for counting resources come coated in metallic paint, which has already begun to chip off some of the corners, giving them a slightly sad faux-luxury look.

Critic: Nate Anderson
Read the full review here: https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2016/10/terraforming-mars-review/

Kudos

Dillon Jacoby-Rankin (202 KP) rated Ticket to Ride in Apps

Jan 18, 2020

Ticket to Ride

Entertainment, Games

9.1

(12 Ratings)

App Rating

Components (3 more)

Player Count

Easy to learn

Strategy

Trains full of fun!

Plays up to 5 people which is always nice for a good group. Very quick and easy to learn. I had watched how to plays but never actually played until the other night and I picked it up super quick even if I did come in last place. It was tons of fun! Essentially you're connecting trains across the map and there are secret goals to connect certain cities and these goals will either earn you point or lose you points based or whether you can complete them or not. Also this makes for a great strategy game as you can block other players as well if you know where they are going. The trains, board, and cards are nice quality and from the amount of other ticket to rides out there, the game is deffinently expandable and adaptable to change.