Terraforming Mars Ares Expedition Review & Strategy Tips

Play Time: 60 Min / Players: 1-4 / Complexity: Medium / Age: 14+ / Publisher: Fryx Games and Stronghold Games / Designer: Sydney Engelstein, Jacob Fryxelius and Nick Little

What You Will Find in Our Terraforming Mars Ares Expedition Review

• How to Play
• Gameplay Experience
• Solo Experience
• Components
• Theme
• Final Thoughts
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Strategy Tips

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Ok let’s get this out the way, I love sci fi themed games, love them. Especially if the story is interesting and well implemented. Now I don’t think I will ever get to set foot on Mars in my lifetime, but the idea of running a corporation terraforming the red planet driven by corporate greed is enough to get me interested. That is the setting for the original Terraforming Mars released in 2016 by Fryx Games. I just love the story here, the only downside is that a game of Terraforming Mars can be well over 2 hours long. As much as I really enjoy this game, I am lucky to get that much time to play a game and finding others willing to invest that kind of time is even more challenging. I would say a lot of dads can relate, by the time dinner is done and jobs are out the way usually I can’t manage to fit in a game that long. Luckily designers Sydney Engelstein, Jacob Fryxelius and Nick Little have managed to condense this amazing game into a more streamlined package that fits nicely into as little as an hour. To top it all off they have tweaked the gameplay to include more simultaneous play which means I won’t be twiddling my thumbs as much waiting for someone across the table to finish their turn. Does it do the original game justice? Well, quite frankly, it’s stellar, in fact as much as I liked the original, I think I prefer Ares Expedition and for that reason it has made it to our list of the best engine building games.

How to Play Terraforming Mars Ares Expedition

Objective

Take the helm of your corporation and do your bit to terraform Mars. Your goal isn’t just about securing humanities future, you will have to keep your shareholders happy too. The corporation that earns the most points wins.

Set Up 

If you happen to have the collector’s edition set up is a breeze. Most tokens fit nicely into game trays that you simply put out on the table. For me the collector’s edition is the way to go for this reason alone.

Aside from the tokens, it’s a case of putting the small board out, adding the terraforming trackers, and deck of project cards in the middle of the table. Each player will get their own player board, coloured cubes, two corporation cards of which they will pick one and a starting hand of 8 project cards. That’s all there is to it.

Gameplay

At a high-level players will generate resources, build out their tableau of project cards and progressively terraform the red planet so it is hospitable to humanity. What that means is increasing oxygen, heat and water levels to their habitable levels, which will end the game. Engine building is a key part of this game and as players build out their tableau of projects their ability to generate resources and generally terraform the planet will improve.

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Just like its older sibling, Terraforming Mars Ares Expedition has multiple corporations to choose from which each have unique advantages to exploit in the name of corporate ambition. Some begin the game with more wealth, others are able to heat the planet more effectively and some will be more efficient at completing certain projects. They are all quite varied and with 12 corporations on offer there is a lot to explore.

Your ability to influence this dusty red planet will seem very modest at first, but as you construct space heaters, introduce microbes and wildlife or even fleece colonists by introducing a toll station you will find your impact on the environment will improve in remarkable ways. There are so many juicy and interesting projects you might see in a game, that each game will present varied opportunities and pathways to stamp your mark on humanities efforts to tame Mars. One project I find quite amusing is simply titled CEO’s Favorite Project, anyone experience one of these at work maybe? The really satisfying part about this game is exploring different card synergies and watching the snowball effect as they incrementally improve your abilities.

The big difference in Ares Expedition however is the introduction of phase selection to the game. This is similar to Race for the Galaxy, in that players will begin each turn by simultaneously selecting a phase to play. There are 5 phases to choose from:

• Development which allows you to build green project cards
• Construction which allows players to build blue or red cards
• Action which allows players to terraform the planet and trigger blue card abilities
• Production which generates resources
• Research which allows players to draw more project cards.

Players will be allowed to follow actions selected by other players but will get a bonus for the phase they selected making them more valuable. The same phase can’t be picked twice in a row, so you need to plan carefully.

Once players have selected their preferred phase, they reveal the relevant phase card simultaneously and players will then resolve each phase in order. The important difference here is that players will complete each phase at the same time, this leads to less waiting and down time than in the original Terraforming Mars. It also adds a nice additional layer to the game, ideally you don’t want to duplicate phase selection. There is a strategy here around reviewing other players needs and trying to figure out what they might play and ensuring you don’t duplicate. It’s also important to try to benefit from just about any phase others might play. This can be challenging early game when you have fewer options and resources but is more viable as the game progresses.

The game will end once heat, oxygen and water levels reach their target habitable state. The player with the most points wins.

Solo Variant

The solo variant is exactly the same as the multiplayer game but you have a time limit of 25 turns and there is randomised action selection from an AI opponent. Your goal is to terraform the planet to the desired level before your turns are up. There are three varying levels of difficulty.

Coop Variant

The coop mode can be played by 2 players and requires your team of 2 to terraform the planet within 15 rounds. There is limited communication here about specific project cards in hand but other than that you can plan jointly in your efforts to terraform the red planet before time is up.

Terraforming Mars Ares Expedition Gameplay Experience  

I was interested in Ares Expedition mainly because Terraforming Mars was such an enjoyable experience, and I just loved the theme. But once I tried Ares Expedition, I felt like I had somehow found a galactic life hack, I still get an amazing engine building experience with an exceptionally well implemented theme, but I get it in around half the play time. Playing this doesn’t feel like I am settling for the poor cousin to Terraforming Mars. It’s not like a trade down I have to endure to get a whiff of the Terraforming Mars experience, it feels like a satisfying main event in its own right.

The parts that have been stripped away from the original mainly relate to the board and bonus objectives, which as it turns out I don’t really miss that much. Evidently the part I loved the most about Terraforming Mars was exploring the galaxy of opportunities available to my greedy corporation in that hefty deck of project cards.

Every game seems like a new uncharted set of pathways presents itself to me as I try to make the most of my corporation’s advantages and progressively work through the project cards that make their way into my hand. I don’t feel like I have settled into any repeated patterns because games tend to unfold in unique ways depending on the card draw.

I have had games where my corporation ability has synergised well with my project cards and equally, I have had games where I have had to change tack completely and adapt. Oh, the satisfaction when your projects begin to synergise well. For example, when your newly introduced insects provide you with an extra plant production for each card with a plant symbol…and you have loads of them. All of a sudden you are covering the red planet with an abundance of plants and consequently improving your terraform rating in the process which in turn earns you more income, see how this all starts to snowball?

These cool synergies are more of a focus in Terraforming Mars Ares Expedition because a lot of the board-based elements of the original game have been stripped out. It is essentially a card game now. What you have is simpler and more streamlined. Pick a phase, resolve phases, and discard down to 10 cards if needed, that’s it. The whole game just flows so well. I think part of this ironically is due to something that has been added not removed. The phase selection mechanic introduced in this version is similar to the way actions are selected in Race for the Galaxy. It’s such a clever design choice because players can now resolve phases simultaneously, reducing down time.

I simply love Terraforming Mars Ares Expedition and for me this is my preferred version of the game. But I don’t think everyone will feel the same way. Some fans of Terraforming Mars might miss the board elements that have been stripped out. You won’t be able to place cities strategically and surround them with lush forests to maximise points. Likewise, there are no milestone bonuses or awards to target here. If these are things you loved about Terraforming Mars you are likely to miss them in this game. If you do want a fuller comparison between the two games, you can check out my Terraforming Mars vs Terraforming Mars Ares Expedition vs Race for the Galaxy article where I compare both games and the excellent sci-fi engine builder Race for the Galaxy.

My son enjoys this game but has some issues with it. For starters he isn’t a huge fan of the phase selection, he feels like the early game picks tend to be similar causing double ups at times. Namely the development and construction phases tend to get picked a lot early game as you are building up your engine. I see his perspective, but I think there are ways to mitigate it. For a start you can’t choose the same action twice in a row. The other aspect is being more aware of what your opponents are likely to pick and then adjusting accordingly.

One thing that is common across both games is that the start can feel a bit slow until you get a few project cards built out in your tableau. For me this isn’t a big deal but can be an issue for some people who want the action to get going quickly. If this sounds like you and you want to cut to the chase quicker, It’s a Wonderful World is an excellent quick engine builder that does just that.

Thoughts on Terraforming Mars Ares Expedition Solo Experience

The solo experience in Ares Expedition works extremely well. In fact, I enjoy it so much it made it to our list of the best solo board games. You are essentially competing against the clock to terraform the planet. A very simple and low maintenance AI deck simulates an opponent’s phase selection to give you some extra considerations during phase selection.

I can normally finish a solo game in under an hour. I still get most of the chunky and satisfying decisions in the multiplayer game so it’s a great solo option for when I want something more involved.

There are three levels of difficulty. It is challenging at easy mode but achievable. So, I think the difficulty is pitched well. Each solo game I have played has felt really tight and come down to the wire, and each win feels really satisfying.  So far, I have managed wins on easy and medium difficulty but not hard difficulty yet.

Components

For the purposes of this review, I will be referring to the collector’s edition which includes storage trays.  In my view this is the edition to get as it makes set up and clean up so easy.

In short, the components here are amazing with one minor gripe. The cards in particular are of exceptional quality and seem very durable, I don’t feel the need to sleeve these at all. I also prefer the artwork here far more than the original Terraforming Mars. The other thing I love is how well the cards are laid out. All the symbols are conveniently located on the left so you can layer them nicely and still see important information. There is also text to support the symbols, so you don’t need to reference the rule book to clarify the symbols. I love it.

My only gripe when it comes to components is that the board space for water tiles is really snug and there isn’t any space between them. It means it can be very fiddly flipping water tiles when you terraform. My fix for this is fairly simple, I just don’t lay them out during set up face down, I leave them in the tray and place them when I need them on the board face up and that solves it.

Theme

You may have picked up already that I love the implementation of the theme in this game. The card art is so well done and each project seems cool and interesting. Some are tied to certain levels of oxygen or heat, which is also a nice touch. For example, to introduce livestock you need to have a certain amount of oxygen available in the atmosphere.

There is one thing that isn’t as thematic as the original game. In Terraforming Mars, you could see the red planet transform over the course of the game in a large board. Oceans would begin to cover the surface, forests would expand and the planet would generally begin to look visually more hospitable. You don’t really get that in Ares Expedition.  However, for the reduced play time and down time it’s a trade-off I am happy to make.

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Final Thoughts on Terraforming Mars Ares Expedition

I simply love this game, it gives me the great gameplay, depth and theme of the original but in a far shorter and more streamlined package. In short, this is my preferred way to Terraform Mars. My son enjoys this game but isn’t as big a fan as I am, he isn’t as enthused about the phase selection mechanic. So, what does that mean for you?

If you are already a fan of the original game but find it hard to carve out the time, this is a great option which will give you a fantastic Terraforming Mars experience in a shorter timeframe. Especially if your favourite aspect is the engine building through card combos.

If time is not an issue for you and you want something that has more table presence in the form of a planet terraforming before your eyes, then the original game may be more appealing to you. In saying that, I just think Ares Expedition is so good it’s worth a try regardless.

Is Terraforming Mars Ares Expedition easy to learn?  There is a bit to get your head around here, this is not a light game. But the symbols are very clear, and the cards do a good job of explaining effects. If you have played the original this will be a breeze.

What will Terraforming Mars Ares Expedition teach my teen?  So many things, finding card synergies, sparking an interest in science, being aware of opponent’s intentions through phase selection and also adapting to opportunities as they present themselves through the card draw.

What age is appropriate for Terraforming Mars Ares Expedition?  The box says 14+ and I think this is safe, but I think if you have kids who play board games regularly and enjoy a sci-fi theme you could try a couple of years younger.

Does Terraforming Mars Ares Expedition have good replay value?  Absolutely! With 12 corporations to choose from and a large deck of over 200 project cards, there is plenty to keep you interested in the box for many plays.

We hope you enjoyed our Terraforming Mars Ares Expedition review. If you have any more questions or just want to share your thoughts on this game please leave a comment below, or get in touch through our contact page.

About the Authors

We are parents who love board gaming. We have three children and have been enjoying board games as a family ever since we had our first child. We share our real unbiased experiences and opinions on board games so you can decide if they are right for your family. We also write guides and articles to help you get the most out of your family game time. If you enjoy our content and want to support us you can do that through our Ko-fi page by clicking on the button below.

Frequently Asked Questions

What happens when one of the oxygen, heat or water targets are met and players still want to terraform a parameter?

The rules state that during a phase in which a global parameter reaches its maximum, players can continue to increase that parameter and gain all the benefits until that phase has finished. In the case of the final ocean tile being flipped any subsequent ocean parameter will receive the benefits on the final ocean tile that was flipped.

How many players can play coop mode?

Coop mode is designed for two players only.

If multiple players choose to flip ocean tiles in the action phase, is there a set player order for selecting and flipping tiles?

We can’t see any required order mentioned in the rules and so order is not defined. The tiles are randomised anyway so the order doesn’t necessarily matter.

Do cards that give a benefit per defined symbol continue to increase with subsequent symbols played?

Yes, if for example you play a project which gives you additional income for every power symbol on a card the benefit will increase as you complete additional project cards with this symbol.

When performing the research phase can you discard from existing cards in your hand?

No, it must be from the cards drawn during that phase.

Can you play standard actions more than one time during the action phase?

Yes, you can perform standard actions as many times as you want during the action phase, provided you can meet their cost. Actions on blue cards can only be performed once unless you chose the action phase and utilise the bonus which allows you to trigger one action card a second time.

Are the resources shown on ocean tiles permanent production increases or one-off benefits?

The resources shown on ocean tiles do not permanently increase your resource production but simply provide you with a one-off benefit of receiving those resources.

Strategy Tips

• Where possible take advantage of your corporation’s ability – This one is clear but if you have a benefit by way of your corporation card, take advantage of it, it’s unique to you so don’t waste it.
• Improving card production is important – Card production is probably one of the most important resources in the game to prioritise. A card provides the potential for a valuable project that will synergise with your strategy or can be sacrificed for 3 mega credits. 1 card production therefore is at least as valuable as improving mega credit production by 3, but importantly provides the added benefit of a potentially valuable project to build. If you can boost card production more than your opponents it also means you will see more of the deck of project cards than they do in a game, improving your odds of getting cards that align well with your strategy.
• Action cards are important – Having a few good action cards built as quickly as you can means you have options to take better advantage of the action phase when someone selects it.
• Scrap all cards for mega credits on your last turn – When you arrive at the last round of the game scrap all of your cards for mega credits and terraform as much as you can. There is no point in hanging on to those cards.
• Keep an eye on your opponents and try to predict which phase they will likely pick – Being able to avoid doubling up phase selection will mean you can get a lot more done in a round, especially if you pick a phase your opponent may not need.
• Aim to be able to utilise any phase – If possible hold on to at least one green card and one blue or red card you can afford to build if the development or construction phases are picked.
• Keep a close eye on terraform parameters if they are close to being met – If someone raises one of the terraform parameters to its final target then this is the final round you can benefit from raising that parameter. Spend what you can to make the most of it, because you won’t get another crack at it.
• Maximise symbol synergies – There are certain cards that magnify benefits for a given symbol in your tableau of project cards. If you can focus on these, they can scale majorly. Some provide more income for example for each symbol of a type. That means when you play a card with that symbol, you not only get its printed benefits but the additional income production for having that symbol.