Terraforming Mars reference sheet

Overview

• 1–5 players; ~2 hours; compete as corporations terraforming Mars [p.3 — Game Overview]
• Raise Temperature (−30 °C → +8 °C), Oxygen (0 % → 14 %), and place 9 Ocean tiles [p.3 — Global Parameters]
• Each raise increases your Terraform Rating (TR) = income + VP [p.3 — Game Overview]
• Buy/play project cards each generation to gain resources, production, and VPs [p.3 — Game Overview]
• Game ends when all 3 global parameters reach their goals; score after that generation's production phase [p.3 — Game Overview]
• Most VPs wins; ties broken by most M€ [p.12 — Final Scoring]

Setup

1. Place board; put 9 ocean tiles on reserved space; set temperature at −30 °C, oxygen at 0 %, generation marker at 1, all TR markers at 20 [p.7 — Setup]
2. Shuffle project deck (remove Corporate Era cards unless playing that variant) [p.7 — Setup]
3. Each player takes a player board, color markers, places markers on '1' of all 6 production tracks [p.7 — Setup]
4. Deal 2 corporation cards + 10 project cards to each experienced player; beginners take Beginner Corporation + 42 M€ + 10 free cards [p.7 — Setup]
5. Each player picks 1 corporation, pays 3 M€ per project card kept; discard the rest face-down [p.7 — Setup]
6. First generation skips Player Order and Research phases — go straight to Action phase [p.7 — Setup]

Turn structure

Each generation, in order:

1. Player Order phase — first player marker shifts clockwise; advance generation marker (skip gen 1) [p.8 — Generations]
2. Research phase — draw 4 cards, buy any for 3 M€ each, discard the rest face-down (skip gen 1) [p.8 — Generations]
3. Action phase — players take 1–2 actions per turn clockwise; passing removes you from the round; ends when all pass [p.8 — Generations]
4. Production phase — convert all energy → heat; gain M€ (TR + M€ production), then all other resources; remove markers from used blue cards [p.8 — Generations]

Actions

Standard Projects (B):

Scoring

• TR: each point = 1 VP (starting score) [p.12 — Final Scoring]
• Awards: 1st place = 5 VP, 2nd = 2 VP (no 2nd in 2-player); ties share the same place bonus [p.12 — Final Scoring]
• Milestones: each claimed = 5 VP [p.12 — Final Scoring]
• Greenery tiles: 1 VP each [p.12 — Final Scoring]
• City tiles: 1 VP per adjacent greenery tile (any owner) [p.12 — Final Scoring]
• Cards: VP icons on blue/green cards + resource-based VPs (e.g. animals) + event card VPs [p.12 — Final Scoring]
• Tie-breaker: most M€ [p.12 — Final Scoring]

End of game

• Game ends when all 3 parameters are complete: 9 oceans placed, temperature = +8 °C, oxygen = 14 % [p.3 — Game Overview]
• Ends after the production phase of that generation [p.12 — Game End]
• After production, players may convert plants → greenery tiles one final time (in player order) [p.12 — Game End]
• Then final scoring; highest VP wins; M€ breaks ties [p.12 — Final Scoring]
• Solo: must complete all 3 parameters by end of generation 14 or lose [p.13 — Solo Variant]

Glossary

• Terraform Rating (TR): tracks terraforming contribution; = income bonus + 1 VP/step; starts at 20 [p.3 — Game Overview]
• Global Parameters: temperature, oxygen, ocean — raising any increases TR 1 step [p.3 — Global Parameters]
• Production: resource generated each production phase; tracked by markers on player board; M€ production can go to −5 [p.6 — Player Boards]
• Steel: building material; worth 2 M€ when paying for building-tag cards [p.6 — Player Boards]
• Titanium: space resource; worth 3 M€ when paying for space-tag cards [p.6 — Player Boards]
• Active card (blue): has ongoing effects or once-per-generation actions; stays face-up [p.10 — Place the Card]
• Automated card (green): immediate effect only; placed face-up, tags still count [p.10 — Place the Card]
• Event card (red): one-time effect; placed face-down after play; tags only apply while being played [p.10 — Place the Card]
• Placement bonus: resources/cards printed on a map area received when placing a tile there; +2 M€ per adjacent ocean tile [p.5 — Tiles]
• Red-bordered icon: effect targets any one player's resources/production/tiles (optional for resources, mandatory for production) [p.15 — Red Border on Icons]
• Milestone: one-time claim for 5 VP; costs 8 M€; only 3 of 5 can be claimed total [p.10 — Milestones]
• Award: funded category scored at game end; costs 8/14/20 M€; winner gets 5 VP regardless of who funded it [p.11 — Awards]

FAQ

• Q: Can you play a card that raises a parameter already at its goal? — A: Yes; just ignore that part of the effect [p.9 — Check the Requirements]
• Q: Can you play a card if you can't collect the resources it adds? — A: Yes; those resources are simply lost [p.9 — Check the Requirements]
• Q: Are red-bordered resource removals mandatory? — A: No; they are optional and can be performed partially [p.9 — Check the Requirements]
• Q: Can M€ production go below −5? — A: No; −5 is the floor [p.6 — Player Boards]
• Q: Who gets VPs from an award — the funder or the leader? — A: The leader in that category at game end, regardless of who funded it [p.11 — Awards]
• Q: If two players tie for 1st in an award, does anyone get 2nd place VPs? — A: No; if multiple players share 1st, no 2nd place is awarded [p.11 — Awards]
• Q: When multiple effects trigger simultaneously, who chooses the order? — A: The active player chooses order for all triggered effects, including opponents' [p.12 — Suggestions]