The Ludarium · Teach sheet
Teach Terraforming Mars in ten minutes
1 to 5 players · 90 to 120 minutes · Ages 12 and up
The goal: Have the most victory points when Mars is terraformed: from TR, tiles, cards, milestones, and awards.
On your turn
- Player order: first player marker moves clockwise, generation marker moves up 1.
- Research: draw 4 cards, buy any of them for 3 M€ each.
- Actions: take 1 or 2 actions on your turn, or pass for the rest of the generation.
- Actions are: play a card, standard project, milestone, award, blue card action.
- Also actions: 8 plants become a greenery, 8 heat raises the temperature.
- Production: energy becomes heat, then take M€ equal to TR plus M€ production.
- Then take every other resource you produce. Clear markers from used blue cards.
Three tips for your first game
- Buy production early. It pays you every generation that is left.
- Keep only cards you can play soon. Each one costs 3 M€ just to keep.
- Watch the three tracks. When they near the top, switch from engine to points.
Setup
- Board: oxygen on 0%, temperature on -30 °C, 9 ocean tiles on their space.
- Take the Corporate Era cards (red and white icon) out of both decks.
- Each player: a player board with production at 1 on all six tracks.
- TR markers on 20, generation marker on 1. Last game's winner goes first.
- New players: a Beginner Corporation, 42 M€, and 10 free project cards.
- Others: deal 2 corporations and 10 cards. Keep 1 corporation; cards cost 3 M€ each.
- In player order, reveal corporations, take starting resources, pay for kept cards.
- Generation 1 starts straight with the action phase.
Scoring
- Every step you raise temperature, oxygen, or oceans: +1 TR.
- End: 1 VP per TR.
- Greenery: 1 VP. City: 1 VP per adjacent greenery, any owner.
- Milestone: 5 VP. Claim for 8 M€; only 3 of 5 can be claimed.
- Award: fund for 8, then 14, then 20 M€; only 3. First 5 VP, second 2 VP (none with 2 players).
- Cards: printed VPs, including VPs from resources on cards.
- Tie: most M€ wins.
Game end: When oxygen is 14%, temperature is +8 °C, and all 9 oceans are placed, finish the generation. After production, everyone may turn plants into greenery one last time. Then score.