TERRAFORMING MARS
1 - 5 players
In Terraforming Mars, you control a corporation,
and you buy and play cards describing different projects.
The projects often directly or indirectly contribute to the terraforming process,
but can also consist of business enterprises of different kinds.
In order to win, you have to accumulate a good terraform rating (TR)
and many victory points (VPs).
Your TR is increased each time you raise a global parameter
(temperature, oxygen or ocean).
Your TR determines your basic income, as well as your basic score.
As the terraforming process proceeds, more projects become feasible.
Additional VPs are awarded for anything enhancing mankind’s grip on the solar system.
This can be anything, from founding cities
to building infrastructure, or protecting the environment.
Time is measured in generations, and each generation starts with a Turn Order phase,
followed by a Research phase, in which players access new cards.
In the Action phase, players take turns doing 1 or 2 actions,
going around the table until everyone has passed.
Then, in the Production phase,
all players produce resources according
to their production parameters on the player boards,
and gain income from their TR.
The central game board has tracks
for temperature, oxygen level, terraform rating, and generations.
There is a surface map where you add ocean tiles,
greenery tiles, and city tiles as the game progresses.
There is also a list of standard projects available to all players,
as well as milestones and awards that players can compete for.
The game ends when there is enough oxygen to breathe (14 %),
oceans enough to allow Earth-like weather (9),
and the temperature is well above freezing (+8 ˚C).
It will then be possible, if not comfortable, to live on the surface of Mars!
The winner is the player with most VPs at the end of the game.
VPs come from your TR, your tiles on the game board,
won awards, claimed milestones, and VPs on cards you have played.
(Global Parameters)
Temperature, oxygen, and ocean are called global parameters.
Whenever you raise one of them, your terraform rating also increases by that much,
giving you a higher income and score.
When a global parameter has reached its goal,
it can’t be raised any further, and so does not increase your TR.
You may still play cards and actions
that increase the parameter - just ignore that part of the effect.
When all three global parameters have reached their goal, the game ends after that generation (after the production phase).
If you scan the QR code above, you can also see it on your mobile!
<Components>
- Game board
1) Terraforming rate (TR) track
: All players start at 20.
This is your basic income and VPs.
You increase it every time you terraform.
2) Generation track
: The generation marker measures time (rounds)
and starts at 1, moving up on the TR track.
3) Solo games start with a TR of 14,
and end after generation 14.
4) Oxygen
: This global parameter starts at 0%.
This percentage compares to Earth's 21% oxygen.
5) Ocean tiles
: This global parameter starts with 9 tiles in a stack here,
to be placed on the board during the game.
6) Temperature
: This global parameter
(mean temperature at the equator)
starts at -30˚C.
7) Bonus steps
: If you raise the parameter to this point,
you also get the attached bonus.
8) Standard projects
: May be used by any player regardless of
what cards you have.
9) Milestones/Awards
: can be a good source of extra VPs.
10) Placement bonuses
: When placing a tile on an area with a placement bonus,
you get the printed resources or cards.
11) Ocean-reserved areas
: Blue areas are reserved for ocean tiles.
Ocean tiles may only be placed here
and no other tile may be placed here.
12) Special reserved areas
: 3 areas are reserved for specific cities.
No other tiles may be placed there.
: Ocean tiles may only be placed on areas
reserved for ocean.
Placing an ocean tile increases your TR 1 step.
- 60 Greenery tile/City Tiles
Greenery tile
: If possible, greenery tiles must be placed
next to another tile that you own.
When placing a greenery tile, you increases
the oxygen level, if possible, and also your TR.
If you can't raise the oxygen level
you don't get the increase in TR either.
City tiles
: May not be placed next to another city.
(exception : Noctis city must always
be placed on its reserved area.)
Each city tile is worth 1 VP for each adjacent
greenery tile at the end of the game.
- 11 Special tiles
- 200 Resource cubes
: Resources are collected on the player board
or on specific cards.
(COPPER = 1, SILVER = 5, GOLD = 10)
- 200 Player markers
: Each player uses her(his) own color to mark TR,
ownership of tiles, production,
and to indicated used blue card actions.
- 3 Game Board Markers(Temperature, oxygen, and generation markers)
- 1 First player marker
- 5 Player boards
1) Production tracks
: If you gain production of a resource,
mark the new production level with your player marker.
Production is not limited to 10.
2) MegaCredits (M€)
: Are used to pay for cards and other things.
Your M€ income is the sum of your
M€ production and your TR.
3) Steel
: Is only used to pay for cards with
a building tag and is worth 2 M€/cube.
4) Titanium
: Is only used to pay for cards
with a space tag and is worth 3 M€/cube.
5) Plants
: May be converted into greenery tiles
by using the depicted action.
6) Energy
: Is used by many cards.
All leftover energy is converted into heat
at the beginning of the production phase.
7) Heat
: May be spent to raise temperature 1 step
by using the depicted action.
- 17 Corporation Cards
Each player starts the game with a corporation card.
-208 Project Cards
During the game, players buy and play many project cards
to get benefits of different kinds.
Project cards are divided into active cards(blue),
automated cards(green), and event cards(red).
1) Tag
: Places the card in certain categories.
2) Starting conditions
: This tells you how much money(M€)
you start with, as well as other
starting resources and production.
3) Effect/action
: Actions may be used only once per generation,
while effects are always active.
4) Flavor text
: Gives you some background information.
5) Cost
: This is what you pay to play the card from your hand.
6) Requirement
: Any requirement must be met
in order to play the card.
: Most cards affect your resources or production.
8) VPs
: Some cards give your VP at the end of the game.
<Game Preparation>
Place the game board centrally on the table.
Place the 9 ocean tiles on their reserved space.
Place the temperature and oxygen markers
on their starting positions.
Also place the generation marker on "1" on the TR track.
Resources cubes and remaining tiles are placed
so that everyone can reach them.
Make sure you have no Corporate Era
in project deck or among corporation cards.
Shuffle the project cards and
place the project deck next to the board.
The player who most recently won
a game of Terraforming Mars is given
the first player marker.
Player choose their colors and take
the corresponding player markers and a player board.
Place player marker on number 1
of each track on the player board.
Each player also places one marker
at the starting position(20) of the TR track
on the game board.
Players new to Terraforming Mars
each get a Beginner Corporation card,
while the other players are now dealt
2 normal corporations and 10 project cards.
In play order, each player reveal
which corporation they will play,
get any starting resources and production
stated on the corporation card,
pay for the cards they keep.
Each card costs 3 M€,
and the remaining cards are discarded
in a common discard pile
(cards are always discarded face down)
Put the discarded corporation back in the box.
The first generation starts
without a player order phase and a research phase,
so that first player just starts the action phase.
<Game Progress>
Each generation the players go through 4 phases.
1. Player Order phase
2. Research phase
3. Action phase
4. Production phase
1. Player Order phase
The first player marker shifts 1 step clockwise
and the generation marker is moved up 1 step.
This phase is skipped the 1st generation.
2. Research phase
Each player draws 4 cards and decides
which of them he wants to buy to his hand.
Each card costs 3 M€ to buy to the hand,
and you may buy 0-4 cards.
The rest of the 4 drawn cards are discarded.
There is no hand limit.
If the deck runs out of cards,
shuffle the discard pile to form a new deck.
This phase is skipped the 1st generation.
3. Action phase
Player take 1 or 2 action each turn, or pass.
Play proceeds clockwise
until all players have passed.
The actions may be combined in any way
the player choose.
The available actions are :
a) Play a card from your hand
b) Use a standard project
c) Claim a milestone
d) Fund an award
e) Use the action on a blue card
f) Convert 8 plants into a greenery tile
g) Convert 8 heat into a temperature
increase as described on the player board
4. Production phase
All players perform this phase simultaneously.
First, all energy is converted into heat.
Secondly, all players receive new resources.
Player get M€ according to
their terraform rating plus any M€ production,
then the players also get any other resources
they have production of according
to the player board.
place all generated resources in
their corresponding boxes.
Finally, remove player markers
from used action cards,
to mark that they may be
used again next generation.
<Actions>
There are 7 different actions that
players may choose from on the Action phase.
Players may do 1 or 2 actions on their turn.
a) Play a card from your hand
When playing a card,
there are 3 steps to consider :
1) Check the requirements.
2) Pay for the card and get any immediate effects.
3) Place the card appropriately.
1) Check the requirements
: In order to play a card you must meet
its requirements and be able to perform
the effects stated on the card,
with the following exceptions :
- raises global parameters that
have already reached their goal
- adds resources that you can't collect
- removes resources for any player
if you can't or do not wish to.
Even if these effects can't be performed,
you may still play the card,
performing all other effects as usual.
2) Paying and performing immediate effects
: First you must pay the card's cost.
Then the lower panel of the card shows
you any immediate effects.
These effects are performed in
any order you choose.
Any production must be performed.
Resources or production with
a red frame means that you can affect
any player you choose (even yourself).
Resources or production
without red frames always affect yourself
and must be performed.
Cards may also feature tiles and tags
with a red border,
and that red border signifies that
you may target any player's tiles or tags.
This is also specified in the card text.
Any resources are gained, or removed.
Again, a red border means
you can choose the resources of
any one player.
Non-standard resources
(That are not collected on your player board)
are instead collected on specific cards.
By default, those resources are
usually placed on the same card
that generates them.
If a card symbol has an asterisk(*),
then it is an exception to the normal rules,
and you must read the explanation
in parenthesis to see details of
how the card works.
VP icons serve no function during play,
but will be counted in the final scoring.
3) Place the card
Events(red cards) are collected in a personal pile
face down after being played.
Their tags only apply while being played.
Automated cards(green cards) are placed
face up in a stack on the table
with only the top row visible.
They have no further effect,
but since they represent the current
extent of your operations,
their tags still apply.
Active cards(blue) have ongoing effects that
may trigger at any time,
or actions that you may use
(just like the corporations).
Since you need to keep track of these cards,
they are placed with
the top panel visible.
b) Use a standard project
The 6 standard projects printed on the game board
are always available to the players.
Each of them may be used several times
during the same generation.
1) Sell patents
: You may discard 1 or more cards
from hand to gain 1 M€ per card discarded.
2) Power plant
: For 11 M€ you get to increase
your energy production 1 step.
3) Asteroid
: For 14 M€ you get to increase
temperature 1 step (and therefore your TR).
4) Aquifer
: For 18 M€ you get to place a ocean tile.
5) Greenery
: For 23 M€ you get to place a greenery tile,
which increases oxygen level 1 step,
and collect any placement bonus for the tile.
6) City
: For 25 M€ you get to place a city tile.
You also get to increase your M€ production 1 step.
c) Claim a milestone
If you meet the criteria of a milestone,
you may claim it by paying 8 M€
and placing your player marker on it.
A milestone may only be claimed by one player,
and only 3 of the 5 milestones
may be claimed in total.
Each claimed milestone is worth 5 VPs
at the end of the game.
These are the milestones and
what you need to claim them
(besides paying 8 M€) :
1) Terraformer
: Having a terraform rating of at least 35.
2) Mayor
: Owning at least 3 city tiles.
3) Gardner
: Owning at least 3 greenery tiles.
4) Builder
: Having at least 8 building tags in play.
5) Planner
: Having at least 16 cards in your hand
when you claim this milestone.
d) Fund an award
There is no requirement that
must be met to fund an award.
The first player to fund an award pays 8 M€
and places a player marker on it.
The next player to fund an award pay 14 M€,
the last pays 20 M€.
Only three awards may be funded.
Each award can only be funded once.
In the final scoring,
each award is checked,
and 5 VPs are awarded to the player
who wins that category.
e) Use the action on a blue card
Many blue cards and corporations have actions,
as indicated by a red arrow.
Each such action card may be used once
each generation.
When you use an action on a blue card,
you must first pay any cost
stated to the left of the arrow.
f) Convert plants into greenery
8 plant resources may be turned into
a greenery tile,
which increases oxygen level 1 step
(and therefore also your TR 1 step).
Note that the greenery tile must be placed
next to another of your tiles (if possible)
and may generate placement bonuses.
g) Convert heat into temperature
8 heat resources may be spent to
increase temperature 1 step
(and therefore also your TR 1 step).
<How to Finish the Game>
When all 3 global parameters
(ocean, temperature, and oxygen)
have reached their goals,
the game ends at the end of that generation.
After the production phase,
players have one extra chance to convert plants
into one or more greenery tiles.
- Final scoring
1) TR
: Your TR at the end of the game
is your basic score.
Move your marker onward from this point as
you add VPs from the rest of the scoring.
2) Awards
: Gives the leading player in that
category 5 VPs and the runner-up 2 VPs.
Players at the same level get the same VPs.
Add your points to the TR-track.
3) Milestones
: Each claimed Milestone is worth 5 VPs.
4) Game board
: Players get VPs from the map on the game board.
Each greenery tile is worth 1 Vp
and each city tile is worth 1 VP
for each greenery adjacent to it.
(regardless of who owns the greenery tiles)
5) Cards
: First count all VPs on cards
that collect resources.
Then gather all of your remaining played cards
and count your VPs.
If you have Jorvian cards,
these may have to be counted seperately.
The player with the highest total score
is the winner!
Any ties are won by having the most M€.
<Extra Rules>
- Corporate Era (Extended game)
To play the extended game,
simply add all cards marked with a red and white icon
on the card's lower left border
at the start of setup, including 2 new corporations.
Players start with no extra production of resources.
Corporate Era can be combined with
any of the other game variants.
Corporate Era focuses on economy and technology.
These are projects that do not contribute directly
to the terraforming,
but make the corporations stronger,
adding new strategic choices to the game.
- Solo version
The solo version always uses
the Corporate Era setup,
include all the Corporate Era cards
and start without any production,
except for what your corporation may give you.
All rules apply as usual with these exceptions.
1) Before you choose your cards,
place 2 neutral city tiles on the map
with an adjacent greenery tile each.
2) Start with a terraform rating of
14 instead of 20 (marked solo on the track)
and without the extra production of
resources described for the standard game.
3) Awards and Milestones are not used.
4) You have a neutral opponent that
you can steal from, or reduce
any kind of resources and production from.
5) You always pay 14 generations (marked solo).
In order to win, you need to
complete terraforming before
the end of generation 14.
After generation 14, you may convert plants
into greenery tiles, following normal rules
but without raising the oxygen,
and finally you score VPs
to get as high a score as possible.
If you have not completed
terraforming by the end of generation 14,
you lose.
<Symbols>
- Victory points
: You win the game by having
the most Victory points (VPs).
VPs are scored at the end of the game
for your Terraform rating,
from tiles on the map,
from Milestones and Awards,
and from many of the cards.
- Parameters
: Terraforming Mars is about making Mars
earth-like enough to live freely on it.
There are 4 parameters on the game board
connected to this process :
Terraform rating, temperature,
oxygen level and ocean coverage.
Terraform Rating(TR) is the measure of how much
you have contributed to the terraforming process.
Each time you raise the oxygen level,
the temperature, or place an ocean tile,
your TR increases as well.
Each step of TR is worth 1 VP
at the end of the game,
and the Terraforming Committee awards
you income according to your TR.
You start at 20.
: The mean temperature at the equator
is raised 2˚C at a time from -30˚C to +8˚C.
This will create an equatorial zone
where water stays liquid.
This symbol means that you raise
the temperature 1 step,
and therefore you also increase your TR 1 step.
Each ocean tile represents 1% ocean coverage.
With 9% of the surface covered by oceans,
Mars will have a hydrological cycle, creating rain and rivers.
This symbol means that you place an ocean tile,
and therefore also increase your TR 1 step.
- Resources
: All resources are represented by resource cubes.
These come in 3 sizes; 1 (copper), 5 (silver) and 10 (gold)
and can be used as any kind of resource.
Where you place them determines what they are.
The six standard resources are megacredits, steel, titanium,
plants, energy and heat, and they are all collected on the player board.
Certain cards may also collect other resources (usually animal and microbe cards).
If a card adds a non-standard resource,
it is generally placed on that same card.
If a card adds a resource to another card,
then that card has to be a card that collects that kind of resource.
Steel represents building material on Mars.
Usually this means some kind of magnesium alloy.
Steel is used to pay for building cards, being worth 2 M€ per steel.
Titanium represents resources in space or for the space industry.
Titanium is used to pay for space cards, being worth 3 M€ per titanium.
As an action, 8 plant resources can be converted into a greenery tile
that you place on the board.
This increases the oxygen level (and your TR) 1 step.
Each greenery is worth 1 VP and generates 1 VP to each adjacent city tile.
This usage may either be via an action on a blue card,
or via a decrease in energy production.
Leftover energy is converted into heat.
As an action, 8 heat resources may be spent to increase temperature
(and therefore your TR) 1 step.
Other resources (including animals and microbes) are collected on their respective cards,
which also define what they do.
by having the resource symbol in a brown production box.
In this example the symbol means
that you increase your plant production parameter on your player board 1 step.
This in turn will give you a steady income of plant resources.
Production is not limited to 10;
if your production exceeds 10, just leave the marker on 10
and start a new marker to complement it.
Only M€ production can be negative (only as far as -5, though).
But since TR is added to your production,
your total income will not be negative.
- Tags
: Cards have 0-3 tags that thematically describe them and
allow other cards to relate to them.
There are no special rules for the different tags.
Building
Steel may be used to pay for this card.
Space
Titanium may be used to pay for this card.
Power
Science
Some cards require science tags.
This project represents infrastructure in the outer solar system.
Earth
Plant
Microbe
Animal
City
This often requires
energy production and produces M€.
Event
All events are red cards that are turned face down after being played.
- Tiles
:The game board has a map where tiles may be placed.
When placing a tile, you may receive a placement bonus printed on the area
(plus 2 M€ for each adjacent ocean).
There are 4 kinds of tiles below.
-Red border on icons
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