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Terraforming Mars
Build a beautiful machine, then watch it turn a red rock blue.
Designed by Jacob Fryxelius · 2016
One of the great engine-builders, and it earns its reputation, as long as you can forgive the cheap components and a couple of slow turns. If a deep card-driven economy sounds like a good evening, this is a keeper.
Best for: Strategy gamers who love building a card-driven economic engine.
What it is
Here's the pitch. You're a corporation tasked with making Mars livable, raising the temperature, flooding in oceans, and seeding oxygen until the planet hits habitable. You do it by playing cards, and there are over 200 of them. Each one bolts another part onto your economy. The thing real players rave about is that engine. Andrew at Meeple Mountain put 20 games in and said no two felt the same. That's the hook, and it holds.
The catch
Now the honest part. The components don't match the price. You track resources by parking little plastic cubes on a flimsy player board, and one bumped table sends them sliding, so half your tracking is gone. Reviewers flag it constantly. There's downtime too, since a heavy card hand invites analysis paralysis, and an early lead tends to snowball. Two-player games drag, and five-player games end before your engine really sings. Three or four is the sweet spot.
Who it's for
So who's this for? People who actually want a heavy euro and will happily spend two hours feeding a machine they built from scratch. It rewards patience and punishes folks who want something light and quick. Grab a playmat or some baggies to tame the cubes and you'll forgive the box. It sits at number nine on BoardGameGeek for a reason, and the fans who love it really love it. Worth the table time.
What other players say
This write-up is grounded in real reviews and player discussion, not just one opinion. A few worth reading:
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