Terraforming Mars Standard Projects: The Price List on the Board

Welcome to Level 1. At Level 0 you learned the rules. Now you start learning what things are worth, and the best place to begin is the strip of six standard projects printed on the board. They never change, anyone can use them, and each one may be used several times in the same generation. That makes them a price list for the whole game.

The six projects

Each one also triggers the normal tile rules. An Aquifer, Greenery, or City placed next to oceans collects 2 M€ for each one, and printed bonuses on the space are yours too.

The two free conversions

Two actions on your player board work like standard projects with no M€ cost:

• 8 plants become a greenery tile, which raises oxygen.
• 8 heat raise the temperature one step.

Compare them with the price list. A greenery from plants does what the 23 M€ Greenery project does. Heat does what the 14 M€ Asteroid does. That is why plant and heat production are worth more than they look. Every 8 cubes you produce is a free standard project.

What each project is really worth

The cost on the board is only half the story. Here is what each one buys over a game.

Asteroid, 14 M€. One TR. In generation 2 that TR adds 1 M€ to every income for the rest of the game and scores 1 point at the end. In the last generation it is just the point. Watch the temperature track’s bonus steps too. The early steps give heat production, and the step to 0 °C places an ocean, which is another TR.

Aquifer, 18 M€. One TR, plus a placement bonus and ocean money. Since oceans sit next to other oceans, an Aquifer often pays a few M€ back. Only 9 oceans exist, so these get scarce late.

Greenery, 23 M€. The best value of the three terraforming projects when oxygen is still open: a TR, a point for the tile, a point for each of your cities next to it, and a bonus space. Remember that the greenery must go next to one of your tiles if you can, and that it also scores for any rival city it touches. At 8% oxygen, the temperature rises a step as a bonus, which is one more TR.

City, 25 M€. One M€ production right away and a tile that will score for every greenery that ends up next to it. A city placed early can pay back much of its cost through production and its neighbors over a long game.

Power plant, 11 M€. One energy production. Many cards need energy, and any energy you do not spend turns into heat at production. Even unused, it adds heat every generation.

Sell patents. Not a way to make money, but a way to clean up. A card you will never play is worth 1 M€ in your hand and nothing at the end.

The bar every card has to beat

Here is the most useful way to think about the list. Cards are cheaper than standard projects for the same effect, almost always. A card that raises the temperature for less than 14 M€ plus the 3 you paid to keep it is a good deal on TR. A card that places a city for less than 25 M€ plus 3 is beating the board.

So when you look at a card, ask: which standard project does this replace, and is it cheaper? If the card costs more than the project and does less, the board is the better buy. The full method for pricing a card comes at Level 2, in how to value a card.

When to use them

Standard projects shine in three moments:

1. Your hand is empty or stuck. You can always spend money on Mars. A turn with nothing to play is a turn for a project.
2. A placement bonus or race is on the line. A City project can claim a great space before a rival, or finish a third city for a milestone.
3. The last generation. Money stops mattering at the end, so every spare M€ should turn into a point. The endgame lesson prices each project in points.

They are a poor choice early when your hand has strong production cards. Spending 14 M€ on one TR in generation 2 often loses to spending it on a card that pays you every generation.

A habit to build

At the start of each generation, glance at the list and ask what each line is worth right now. Is the temperature still open? Are any oceans left? Is there a city space with greenery room? Those answers change every generation, and they change what your cards are worth too.