Terraforming Mars

It's the 2400s, and humanity has set its sights on turning the Red Planet green. Giant corporations, backed by the World Government on Earth, are racing to raise Mars's temperature, oxygen levels, and ocean coverage until the planet is truly habitable. In Terraforming Mars, you play as one of those corporations, working together with rivals to terraform the planet — but secretly competing for Victory Points (VPs) earned not just from terraforming, but from building infrastructure across the solar system and pulling off other impressive feats.

You'll build your strategy by acquiring unique project cards from a deck of over 200 possibilities. Buying cards costs precious MegaCredits, so you must balance purchasing new options against actually playing them. Many cards have requirements that only unlock as the temperature, oxygen, or ocean levels rise, adding a dynamic layer to your planning. When cards aren't enough, Standard Projects are always available as a reliable fallback. Your Terraform Rating determines your basic income and starting score, but your production of resources boosts your income, and VPs come from many other sources too.

The game uses six resource types: MegaCredits, Steel, Titanium, Plants, Energy, and Heat — all tracked on your player board. On the main board, you'll compete for prime spots to place city tiles, ocean tiles, and greenery tiles, while also vying for Milestones and Awards that can swing the final score. Each round, called a generation, flows through four phases: shifting player order, a Research phase where everyone buys cards from a private hand of four, an Action phase where players take 1-2 actions (playing cards, claiming Milestones, funding Awards, using Standard Projects, converting plants into greenery to raise oxygen, converting heat to raise temperature, or using a card's action in play), and finally a Production phase where you collect resources based on your Terraform Rating and production. The turn keeps circling until everyone passes. Once all three global parameters hit their targets, the game ends after that generation. Add your Terraform Rating to your other VPs, and the highest-scoring corporation wins the race to shape Mars's future.