The first time I introduced Terraforming Mars to my family, about three years ago, I was hoping that it would work out for our weekly family game night; however, when I pulled the thick rule book out of the box and handed it to Dave, he took one look at the size of the rule book and then asked, “Did you buy homework instead of a game?” Honestly, I thought that was fair. However, there are times when you find a game that is simply so well-designed, so satisfyingly puzzle-like, that you cannot help but continue to explore even when it is far beyond your normal comfort zone.
Our first game took us almost three hours to stumble our way through, and we were constantly referencing the rule book and giving each other puzzled glances at the table. Max checked out after generation four, Lily complained about the math the whole time she stayed in, and Dave…well, Dave seemed to enjoy himself, albeit begrudgingly. He said, “It’s like Sim City but competitive,” which I took as a victory. We did not play it again for two months.
However, I couldn’t stop thinking about it. I loved the way that all of the systems in Terraforming Mars interacted — the way that your corporation choice impacted every single decision you made, the way the cards you drew produced these intricate little engines, the way that the board state evolved depending upon what every single player chose. So I began playing the digital version during my lunch breaks at the library, and told myself that I was doing this to help learn the rules so that I could teach it to others better. Yeah, right. In a week, I was totally hooked.
When I finally realised that most strategy advice on Terraforming Mars focuses on card valuation or optimal play patterns, and completely ignores probably the most critical decision you make – which corporation you are going to select – I knew that I had to write down my thoughts (in that obsessive manner that drives my family slightly crazy). After possibly 30+ games, I noticed patterns beginning to emerge. The corporations that appeared to be the strongest on paper – the ones with the most obvious immediate benefits – were not always the ones that resulted in the highest win totals. On the other hand, some of the corporations that seemed unimpressive could easily produce higher totals than the seemingly superior corporations.
For example, let’s take Inventrix. When you first read their ability – “requirements for global parameter cards are -2 or +2 steps” – it seems very limited. Perhaps useful once in a while, but nothing terribly exciting. However, when you play Inventrix with an opening hand that contains early terraform cards, you can begin playing Atmosphere Filtering on turn one instead of waiting until mid-game. The flexibility provided by Inventrix is certainly not flashy, but it is extremely powerful.
One game I played with Inventrix included drawing cards such as Nuclear Zone, Permafrost Extraction, and Optimal Aerobraking. All of these cards contain parameter requirements that normally limit when you can play them. However, since Inventrix allows you to play Optimal Aerobraking immediately, even though I had no heat production, I could utilize Nuclear Zone’s temperature requirement as soon as someone raised it even slightly, and I could drop Permafrost Extraction much earlier than normal. The tempo difference was massive.
When compared to Thorgate, which looks fantastic on paper – two MC discounts on all power cards, plus some initial production – you would naturally believe that Thorgate is obviously good, correct? And it is, when you have the proper opening hand. However, I have watched numerous players select Thorgate simply due to the fact that they had 2-3 power cards in their hand, without realising that those cards provided any type of strategic progression. You save 6 MC on immediate uses but you are not creating any form of cohesive engine.
This is the reason why I believe most players are misled when selecting their corporation – they are more concerned with the immediate benefit of the corporation versus the strategic direction that the corporation provides. Your corporation should magnify a consistent strategy – not merely offer general advantages. The best corporation for your hand of cards is the one that creates a unified strategy with your collection of cards.
Let me illustrate this point with a game I recently played with some of the parents from Max’s soccer team. I had managed to convince them to try “something more interesting than Monopoly” for our monthly gathering. One of the dads, Tom, drew an opening hand with 4 different power cards and immediately selected Thorgate. Seemed logical. Meanwhile, I had 2 cards with Earth tags and several cards that generated MC. I selected Teractor.
Tom used his power cards for a discount during the first few rounds of play and felt confident in saving MC. However, the power cards he played did not contribute to a larger strategy – only discrete tactical moves. Meanwhile, every card I played with Earth tags cost 3 MC less to play and many of the cards generated additional MC or card draw. By mid-rounds, my economic engine was dominating Tom’s.
The amusing part of this story is that Tom had drawn a hand of cards that were clearly better on average than mine. However, my corporation choice created synergies that amplified the worth of my lesser cards, whereas Tom’s corporation only provided a one-time discount on the plays that did not progress toward a strategic goal.
That game taught me to consider my corporation choices based upon the potential for amplification, not merely immediate gain. The question to ask yourself is not “which corporation provides me with the greatest amount of value immediately?” but rather “which corporation converts my specific cards into a cohesive engine?”
This perspective greatly altered the way I viewed what I believed to be the weaker corporations in the game. For example, Polyphemos is commonly overlooked as being weak because titanium production is perceived as being too narrow; however, if you have drawn cards like Ganymede Colony or Immigration Shuttles, that discount on titanium production can be the difference maker in the game. Valley Trust may appear to be unimpressive until you realise that their bonus works with every single titanium card you play throughout the game, not just the space project-related cards.
I remember a particularly memorable game with Valley Trust where I drew a hand of cards that was heavily weighted towards titanium cards but contained virtually none of the typical space project cards. At first glance, you would believe that this does not work, but Valley Trust made every single titanium card cost 1 less MC to play while generating Earth tags for future synergies. A game-ending advantage was created from what was initially perceived as a disadvantageous hand.
Timing is also essential in understanding how your corporation interacts with the rest of the game. Some corporations encourage aggressive play early on – Tharsis Republic wants you building cities immediately in order to maximise the bonus it provides throughout the duration of the game. Other corporations encourage patient play – Saturn Systems becomes stronger as you collect science tags throughout the game. Understanding your corporation’s timing requirements can prevent you from making strategic errors.
A prime example of this occurred in a game with Dave and Lily recently. Dave selected Tharsis Republic with several city cards in his hand, but elected to delay building cities in order to “build his economy first.” Meanwhile, Lily selected Credicor with a subpar opening hand and immediately began building cities aggressively to capitalize on the bonuses that Tharsis Republic rewarded. By the time Dave began building cities, Lily had collected the majority of the placement bonuses that would have been Dave’s strategic advantage.
Terraforming Mars’ expansions added yet another level of complexity that can make my head spin sometimes. Preludes like Vitor are extremely powerful, but only function properly if you have the exact combination of cards required to access their full potential. Colony-focused corporations only perform well if the colony tiles required to generate those synergies are present. Venus corporations rely on other players producing sufficient development of Venus to allow the Venus-based strategies to have viability.
I learned this lesson the hard way with Morning Star Inc., which seemed ideal for my opening hand that was heavily weighted towards Venus cards. Unfortunately, I was the only player at the table with any Venus cards, therefore the Venus track never developed, and my anticipated synergies were never achieved. Sometimes the best corporation for your cards is still the worst choice for the table’s overall strategy.
As such, this has become part of my evaluation criteria – not only “do my cards work well with this corporation?” but also “are the synergies created by this corporation viable in the table context?” If all of the other players are focused on temperature and no one is attempting to develop oxygen, perhaps that Ecoline greenery strategy is not as effective as it seemed.
The meta-game aspect of Terraforming Mars is something that I never envisioned would have an impact on what I originally believed to be a purely optimization puzzle. However, after playing this game for many hours, I began to realise that the interaction among the players is evident, even when it is not apparent. Choosing the right corporation is typically the primary method of interaction.
What ultimately solidified this realization for me was a game where I chose Robinson Industries, thinking their MC production would provide me with flexible options. Good plan, except every other player at the table chose corporations that indicated they were focused on rapid terraforming – Helion, Ecoline, Tharsis Republic. By round 4, the game was essentially over and my long-term economic strategy never had an opportunity to have any relevance. I had optimized for the wrong game length.
Currently, I attempt to gauge the table dynamics during the corporation selection phase. Are the other players selecting corporations that indicate a focus on rapid terraforming? Or slow engine development? Do they have a particular parameter emphasis? This table context influences the viability of which corporations are truly viable regardless of how well your cards match your chosen corporation.
After three years of playing this game exponentially more than any rational family-friendly player should, I have come to appreciate that selecting the proper corporation is simultaneously the most critical decision and the least predictable. You are committing to a strategic path using incomplete data and even a thorough analysis can fail to account for poor card draws or the unexpected decisions of the opposing players.
Yet, it is precisely that unpredictability that has me continuing to return to this game. Each game presents a unique puzzle of pairing corporate capabilities with card synergies with the table context, and the solutions rarely replicate themselves. Occasionally I will successfully identify the opportunities and create a cohesive engine. Occasionally I will utterly miss the mark and struggle to remain competitive. Either outcome teaches me more about this intriguing and endlessly complex system.
Dave has also improved at this, although he still will periodically freeze up with indecision during the corporation selection phase. “Just pick one!” Lily will say after he has stared at his options for 5 minutes. I understand this phenomenon – when you comprehend the significance of the corporation selection decision, the pressure to make the “correct” choice can be crushing.
Ironically, Terraforming Mars has helped me to become a more proficient family game selector as well. It has instilled in me the concept of synergy – not merely identifying individual elements that are desirable, but determining how those elements combine to create a more powerful entity. This perspective is helpful in reviewing new games for our collection, as I seek out designs that feature entities that enhance one another as opposed to existing independently of each other.
While we do not play Terraforming Mars every Friday night – it is too lengthy and complicated to fit within our standard family rotation – it has become one of our favorite ways to spend Sunday afternoon gaming. Even Max appreciates the game, although he continues to prefer games that do not require as much mathematical optimization.
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