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Jim LeBaron (69 KP) rated Terraforming Mars in Tabletop Games

Mar 12, 2019 (Updated Mar 12, 2019)

Terraforming Mars

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

8.7

(33 Ratings)

Tabletop Game Rating

Smooth Game-play (2 more)

Good Replay Value

Theme

Games go a little long for many groups (2 more)

Player boards need trays

Rule book isn't great

Making Their World a Better Place

What a great game. I've played this a few times now and still really like it. It does take a while to teach/learn but once you get going it is really cemented because you are repeating your actions each turn. The end game conditions are very clear so it is easy to see when you are approaching the end of the game. The biggest challenge for me in this game is making hard decisions about which tracks to pursue and which ones to leave alone. I want them all! There is some player conflict but I would say it is minimal, most of your effort will be on building your own corporation.
The games I have played have been 2-3 hours which is fine for me but tends to be a little long for more casual gamers. Each game has been different since you get a random corporation and you don't know which cards you are going to end up with. I'm looking forward to getting the expansions which have additional maps and more cards.
The player boards end up with a lot of cubes on them and if the table gets bumped it can be disastrous so I would recommend the overlay trays that keep the cubes in place. These can be 3d printed or purchased from several locations. It would be great if they fixed this by doing a raised board in a future printing.