Designer: Jacob Fryxelius

Terraforming Mars has been hailed as one of the biggest success of 2016, in fact, it was named Gamersdungeon.net game of the year for 2016 as well.  With all the hype and perfect 10 reviews from everyone and their mother, it stands to reason the game has a lot to live up to.

Approaching this game objectively was very difficult for me, having already claimed it as Game of the Year, you almost assume that its going to get a perfect score, so I will remind my readers that around here we do things by the book.  I chose Terraforming Mars as game of the year because that judgement is based solely on my personal opinion.  I apply zero objectivity, I simply find a game I think sets a new standard of design, one that rises above the rest in my mind and that’s the one that gets the accolades. When it comes to my review processes things get a lot more niddy-griddy and focused.

Ok without further delay here is your gamersdungeon review of Terraforming Mars!

Overview

Final Score:  (3.65 out of 5 Stars)

Terraforming Mars as the title suggests all about turning the red planet green.  Each player represents a future mega corporation tasked with making our closes neighboring planet habitable.   This is done largely through the playing of cards, resource management and tile placement on a map of mars.

The game features core mechanics like card drafting, representing the researching of technology, managing a variety of resources including the all important mighty dollar and putting elements into play both cards and tiles that adjust the planets temperature, oxygen levels and fill the planet with oceans, cities and greenery as well as populating it with all manner of life in later stages.

While this may appear to be a mutual venture, it is anything but, in fact, Terraforming Mars is very much a competition to see which corporation can make the greatest contribution to making the planet habitable and the competition is filled with nasty plays and take that moments.

Terraforming Mars is definitively stylized and designed as a Euro game, but it is far more interactive and perhaps one might even say cut throat then your typical benign Euro.  This combined with a unique theme certainly makes Terraforming Mars stand out of your typical Euro fare.

Components

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Pros:  Good Quality Components, Great Board Center Piece.

Cons: Stock art on cards is very poor.  Flimsy player boards.

The component quality of Terraforming Mars is a real mixed bag and unfortunately while the good is great, the bad is awful.  On the one hand you have this beautifully artistic representation of the planet in the center stage, with a quality board and high quality tiles to go with it.  You’ll populate that board with high grade and very thematically colored cubes as well as put into play high quality cards.  In general the components of the game are sturdy and made to last and while as is often the case there are a few weak links like the flimsy player mats, all and all there is very little to complain about here.

Still there are some oddities that really distract from the general quality of the components and artistic presentation.  For one, the art on the cards themselves ranges from beautifully illustrated works of art, to stock photo’s of really random shit like a god damn white pudil that are outright ugly.  Its a very strange contrast, distracting to a point and while much of the art is fantastic, a great deal of it can only be described as not art at all, but random photo’s downloaded from facebook of peoples pets or random people standing around.  Its a shame, its clear the publisher simply didn’t have the money to maintain the level of art quality throughout the game and really does take away from the games general artistic presentation.

Its sadder still because the theme is so interesting and unique, yet so much is lost as a result of these very poorly chosen stock photos.  The component quality of Euro games usually takes a back seat to gameplay and longevity in my humble opinion, but in this particular case, because the theme itself is such a big selling point of the game, the card art suddenly becomes very important, in particular in the art style which detracts from the game.

You get used to it after a play or two and I can’t say I’m disappointed with the components here, but it certainly wasn’t perfect.  I may be judging it harshly, but of all the things I hate in games, stock art is among the most offensive.  Just never, ever do this.  Not unless the art has some sort of link to a TV show or movie and even then its usually not good.

Theme

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Pros: An amazingly thematic game with a high level of connection to mechanics.  Its just pitch perfect.

Cons: Again Stock Photos, they really drain a lot of energy out of the theme.

The theme is really the biggest selling point of this game, which is very unusual for a Euro game.  The concept of Terraforming the red planet not only comes at a perfect time when such topics are being seriously discussed at NASA, but also because its so interesting to explore the technologies that apply to terraforming a planet.  Simply put, its just a really fun concept and much of the reason that Terraforming Mars was voted Gamersdungeon.net game of the year for 2016 was the theme.

The fantastic aspect of the game is that the theme and mechanics are so closely connected, the core gameplay just drips with thematic presence, it may in fact be one of the most thematic Euro games I have ever played.  As you put out cards their is logic to their existence, for example you can’t start putting out animals until the temperature and oxygen levels are high enough, or you might not be able to leverage early technologies late in the game when the planet has already become too warm.  There are also all sorts of big epic plays like crashing moons into the planet to create oceans, or lobbing nuclear arsenals to raise the heat levels.  You just have a sense of growth and progress on the planet over time and you really see it develop into a habitable world.

The developer has done an amazing job with a well chosen theme and above anything else about the game, the theme is really what stands out.

Its true that many of the arts, because they use stock photos kind of detracts a bit from the game, but this is more a minor annoyance than a real problem for the theme of the game.  I expect, sometime in the future we will get a much cleaner version of this game, its very obvious it was simply underfunded, which is a shame.  This is definitely a good candidate for a future kick-starter campaign or a deluxe version.

Gameplay

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Pros: A wide range of wonderfully connected mechanics that work on many levels with rich and dynamic strategies to explore.

Cons: A bit long, in particular at higher player counts. Might be too aggressive for some.

While the theme lives and breathes almost in its own space, much of its successful presentation and feel comes from a really wonderful combination of mechanics.

The asymmetrical corporation for starters give you a feeling of ownership and us versus them, each with unique powers that create distinct opportunities for your corporation denied to everyone else.  This creates a healthy dynamic start, while simultaneously setting the player up for a sort of position in the project at large.

Next up are the cards themselves.  I love the fact that you draft the cards and then decide which ones you want to pay for and keep.  This creates an opportunity to deny your opponents the cards they might want to take, without getting stuck with a card you don’t need (often the case in drafting mechanics).  It also creates a moment of contemplation where you plan your move and choose cards to fit your strategy, while simultaneously considering your resources and the timing of each card.  More importantly the cards themselves are great thematic representation of development and growth of the planet.  Each card is important and has a place in someones strategy and as such, there is little waste here.  Its all very dynamic and well thought out, its very clear this mechanic was heavily tested.

Finally you have the board itself and again, the mechanics and theme merge to create a perfect union as you compete with other corporation to be the first in a wide range of technology and development races.  Your pushing for every advantage, creating cities, oceans, working the temperature and oxygen levels and trying to command nature to your benefit.

There is a lot of take that in this game and things can get pretty nasty with a wide range of direct assaults, as well as positional elements on the map and the various competition races for milestone awards.  Its a pretty hostile environment given the kind of benign theme and it may be a bit of a turn of players who don’t like that sort of targeted attack mechanic.  For me personally this is a vital element that is absolutely needed as otherwise it would be a very solitary game with extremely limited interaction.  The ability to strike out at point leaders works as a natural catch up mechanic and while of course people can be mean and attack the guy that falls behind, this typically works to their detriment as its the point leaders you need to go after.  There is a thought out balance there and it’s important to recognize that it works to the benefit of the game.

Other game play elements include your tableau where you collect cards that adjust your resource production and create new actions you can take.  The flow of the game is such that in the early turns you might only be able to take one or two actions per generation (round) but by late game you could be taking 8 to 12 actions in a generation.  More importantly the actions become more and more interactive in the course of the game, creating an almost battle like system where one player might be creating microbes to score points, while another introduces microbe eating animals that eat them.  Then later someone might introduce a predator that eats animals and so the progress of life on the planet starts to take on a life of its own.  It of course does wonders for the theme of the game, but mechanically it creates competition and interaction between players.

The end game scoring is also a bit tricky because while points = money during the course of the game, usually raising your Terraforming Rating (a kind of point/money resources) requires some sort of set back or cost to you.  Its often more beneficial to put out blue cards that create new actions for you, or play cards that raise your resources, but these usually don’t do much for your TR which is where the real race is.  There are always trade offs, managing these decisions is really where all of the strategy and tactics of the game live, doing it well is the only way to achieve victory.

Gameplay is extremely rewarding in Terraforming Mars, you have a sense of personal growth of your tableau, you have the sense of progress on the planet as it becomes more and more habitable and there are constant realignments of strategies and opportunities that come up as you gain new research cards.   The designers have really tapped into the essence of great game-play here, when it comes to design, this game is not over-hyped, it really is a wonderful melting pot with a very streamlined and natural flow.

One drawback of the game is down time.  I have played it two, three and four player at this point and I have to say that the higher the point count the more down time and considerably longer the game draws out.  Really it misses the sweet spot by quite a bit, its just a bit too long even in a 3 player game it step over the comfort zone.  By the very late game you just kind of wish it had wrapped up 20 minutes ago.  I think with experienced players it will become more manageable but I don’t think I would want to play this with more than 4 players.

Replay-ability and Longevity

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Pros: Plenty of dynamics and asymmetrical play creates great replay-ability.

Cons: A bit heavy, a bit too long for back to back plays.

There is plenty of dynamics in the game thanks to the card play and asymmetrical corporation to give the game some longevity.   It is however a fairly heavy and fairly long game so its not something your going to pull out all the time.  After playing it three times in the course of a couple of weeks I felt very much that I needed a break from it.  I think its very re-playable so I don’t think that’s an issue, but it certainly has that weighty feel that will have you considering whether or not you want to get involved with a game that overstays its welcome my a smidget or two.

I think the biggest boon for this game is that the theme is so refreshing, so if you stay away you start to remember how cool planet building is and are drawn back to it.  As such I think this one will remain in my collection for quite a while, it has that instant classic feel to it.

Conclusion

 

Terraforming Mars in my eyes is two things.  First, its a design achievement.  I tip my hat to the designer for creating something truly unique and clever.  This is a smooth game that represents the theme mechanically so well, in particular for a Euro game which usually don’t make particularly strong connections to theme.

Secondly is of course the theme.  I absolutely adore this concept, its such an easy sell too.  The designer has done a really great job of capitalizing on the theme of Terraforming a planet, for science-fiction nerds like me this is an absolute must have in your collection.

There are a few blunders like the stock photos and a perhaps the game is just a tad bit too long with a little too much down time, but their are logical explanation for both and both can be either overlooked or over come.  Stock photos, well, you’ll just have to get used to that.  As for the downtime and pace of the game, I think with experienced players you can really shave off quite bit of the playing time.

All and all this is a great game that belongs in your collection if your a Euro game fan, a science-fiction fan and in particular if you love thematic games and the concept of Terraforming a planet interests you.  I think if you don’t like take that games, you might want to try before you buy here.  It might be a bit too much for some gamers to handle, though I would argue its definitely an important inclusion for the game.