r/TerraformingMarsGame

A group of us played our second game of the Epic version of Terraforming Mars yesterday. The game lasted for 12 generations and went for about 15.5 hours. All who played had an absolute blast, and we made a whole day of it again. We did smoked Mac and Cheese for lunch and smoke Salmon and other yummy stuff for dinner! The winner won with 315 points while I brought up the rear this game with 233.

We added in some more of the rules and game elements this time. The bigger adds were The Generational Ship Silesia, CEO’s, industries, and populations. 

Both the ship and CEO’s were a big hit, and the CEO’s in particular lead to some fun splashy plays. The ship was instrumental in launching the two players were fighting for the lead ahead. 

Industries did not really get used, and populations were fine, but they will be more exciting when we pair them with factions next time. 

We also swapped out the Epic rules colony set for the Red Planet Colonies collection. These worked really well and felt like they might have a little narrower of a power delta than the OG colonies mixed with the Epic set, which players appreciated.

Some of the rules we didn’t play with were the turmoil factions/the extended goverment Epic adds, Acts, undercover agents, or nuclear.

Next time around we’re goin to add in the nuclear track and factions to go along with populations. We’re hoping to go again in about another month with potentially some new players swapping into the game due to some schedule conflicts. 

Pictures include the overall game board, the starting cooperations of each player with the winner in the top left and lowest score in the bottom right, and some of the other game elements. 

Link to the Epic version BGG thread in the comments below:

Haven't seen anyone talk about it yet, repayable coop 🤔

Heya folks,

Legacy of Mars is officially available on Gamefound:

https://gamefound.com/en/projects/stronghold-games/terraforming-mars-the-legacy-of--mars

Interestingly, I can't find any reference to this only being a "Part one" like was previously stated. I wonder if plans changed?

Finally got these painted. Super happy with the result.

Previous SHOTW

##Useful Links

For information on how SHOTW works, please refer to the SHOTW Helper

Screenshot of starting hand

##Pre-game information

Expansions: Prelude

Players	Order
1	1st
2	2nd
3	1st
4	4th
5	5th

##Board details

Board: Elysium

Milestones: Generalist (1 production of each), Specialist (10 of any production), Ecologist (4 eco tags), Tycoon (15 green/blue cards played), Legend (5 event cards played)

Awards: Celebrity (cards costing >=20 MC), Industrialist (steel and energy), Desert Settler (tiles on bottom 4 rows), Estate Dealer (tiles next to ocean tile), Benefactor (TR)

##Starting hand

Cards drawn

• Corporations: Recyclon, Inventrix
• Project cards: Underground City, Asteroid Mining Consortium, Self-replicating Robots, Giant Space Mirror, Cloud Seeding, Acquired Company, Permafrost Extraction, Energy Saving, Caretaker Contract, Nitrophilic Moss
• Prelude cards: Galilean Mining, Mohole Excavation, Metal-rich Asteroid, Martian Industries

##Extra project cards

Cards 1-5	Cards 6-10	Cards 11-15
>!<	>!<	>!<
>!<	>!<	>!<
>!<	>!<	>!<
>!<	>!<	>!<
>!<	>!<	>!<

Card draws for specific tags:

• Space tags: >!Lagrange Observatory, Ganymede Colony, Beam from a Thorium Asteroid, Space Hotels, Space Elevator!<
• Plant tags: >!Protected Valley, Ecological Zone, Tundra Farming, Noctis Farming, Greenhouses!<
• Microbe tags: >!Nitrite Reducing Bacteria, Tardigrades, Viral Enhancers, Regolith Eaters, Designed Microorganisms!<
• Extra prelude cards: >!Nitrogen Shipment, Mohole, Biosphere Support, Power Generation, Supplier, UNMI Contractor, Polar Industries!<

Gen 2 drafting hand: >!Micro-mills, Research Outpost, Adaptation Technology, Great Escarpment Consortium!<

I have been thinking about making a fan-made corporation for a while now, and it is harder than it looks. There are several things to keep in mind:

- It needs to be balanced with the current corporation pool, including edge cases like Merger.
- It should be interesting, memorable and thematic.
- It should not introduce too many new rules, niche cases or timing questions.
- The wording needs to be as clean as possible.
- It should not break the game or prevent other players from playing normally.

I have probably seen over 100 fan-made corporations. Some are great, some are interesting but hard to balance, and some feel a bit bland. This idea is something I have not personally seen before. It has some possible issues, but I would love feedback.

I will start with what I think works well, and then list the problems or questions I see.

Positive
- The theme feels strong. Thalassa is a sea goddess in Greek mythology, and the name also connects well to Poseidon, which already exists in the game. Thalassa is also one of Neptune’s moons.
- The basin markers represent future ocean sites or build sites. Thalassa marks where future seas may form, and then profits if oceans are placed there.
- The idea could create new board states and interesting decisions. Other players may choose to use the marked areas and gain from them, ignore them, or deliberately block them.
- There is already some precedent for placing oceans in unusual areas, such as Artificial Lake. This corporation would expand on that idea in a different way.
- It gives every player something to think about when placing oceans. Do you take the extra bonus and help Thalassa, or do you block the marked area with another tile?
- I chose silver cubes instead of player markers because Arcadian Communities already uses player markers. This matters especially in Merger games, where using the same marker type for both corporations could become confusing.
- Silver cubes also fit the reward mechanically, since the main ocean trigger gives 5 M€. A silver cube can simply be taken from the board and placed among the player’s megacredits when triggered.

Possible problems / questions
- I am not sure about the balance yet. Starting resources and exact rewards are open for discussion, but I thought 5 M€ for the ocean trigger could be a good core value.
- It might be too fiddly, depending on how many markers end up on the board.
- It could make the board feel smaller. If several oceans are placed on basin marker areas, some normal ocean spaces may never be used. This should not prevent the game from ending, since oceans still get placed, but it could make some reserved ocean spaces irrelevant.
- Other players can still place any other tile on a basin marker area. If that happens, Thalassa gains 1 steel and removes the marker, then the game continues normally.
- After all oceans are placed, the action can still be used, but it would only function as a possible 1 steel fallback when another tile is placed on that area. This may or may not be worth keeping.

Current wording

THALASSA PRIME
You start with 38 M€ and 5 steel. As your first action, place 2 basin markers on empty non-reserved areas.

Action: Place 1 basin marker on an empty non-reserved area.

Effect: Oceans may be placed on areas with your basin markers. When an ocean tile is placed on such an area, remove that marker and gain 5 M€. If another player placed that ocean tile as their action, they gain 3 M€. When any other tile is placed on such an area, gain 1 steel and remove that marker.

Flavor text:
Where others saw dry land, Thalassa Prime marked the basins of future seas.

Clarification
Basin markers are represented by silver cubes. They are not player markers and do not reserve areas. Any player may place a tile on an area with a basin marker. If the tile is an ocean, the ocean placement is allowed even if the area is not normally reserved for ocean. If the tile is not an ocean, Thalassa Prime gains 1 steel and removes the basin marker.

Happy of all feedback and discussion!