Terraforming Mars

To set up, place the game board in the center of the table. Stack the nine ocean tiles on their designated space. Place a large white cube on the '1' space of the terraforming rating (TR) track and another white marker on the '0%' oxygen level. A third white marker goes on the '-30°C' temperature track. Separate the double-sided greenery/city tiles and special tiles into stacks beside the board. Keep the three types of resource cubes (bronze for 1, silver for 5, gold for 10) in a general supply. Each player chooses a player mat and matching colored cubes. Place one of your colored cubes on the '1' space of each production track (mega credits, steel, titanium, plants, energy, heat) on your player mat. Place another colored cube on the '20' space of the TR track. The player who last won Terraforming Mars (or chosen randomly) takes the first player token. Players new to the game take a 'Beginner Corporation' card, starting with 42 credits and drawing 10 project cards for free. Experienced players draw two 'Standard Corporation' cards, choose one to keep (returning the other to the box), and draw 10 project cards. They then pay 3 credits for each project card they keep in their hand.

The objective of Terraforming Mars is to contribute to the terraforming process of Mars by raising its temperature, increasing its oxygen levels, and adding water (oceans). Players represent corporations vying for dominance in this endeavor. Throughout the game, you will earn victory points (VP) for your contributions to terraforming, as well as for claimed milestones, funded awards, greenery tiles you own, cities you establish, and points indicated on your played project cards. The player with the most victory points at the end of the game is declared the winner.

The game is played over a series of generations (rounds), each consisting of four phases: Turn Order, Research, Action, and Production. For the first generation, players skip directly to the Action Phase. In subsequent generations, the first player token is passed clockwise, and the generation marker is advanced. During the Action Phase, players take turns performing either one or two actions, or choosing to pass. Once a player passes, they cannot take any more actions in that generation. Actions include: playing a project card from your hand (paying its cost and meeting requirements), using a standard project (e.g., selling patents, building a power plant, asteroid, aquifer, greenery, or city), or activating an action on a blue card you have played. The number of actions per generation is unlimited, but you can only take 1 or 2 actions before the turn moves to the next player.

Final scoring occurs after the game ends. Your base score is your current terraforming rating (TR). To this, you add 5 points for each milestone you claimed. For each funded award, the player who best met its criteria receives 5 points, and the second-best receives 2 points (in a two-player game, only the first-place points are awarded). Each greenery tile you own is worth 1 point. Each city tile you own scores 1 point for every adjacent greenery tile, regardless of who owns the greenery. Finally, count any victory points printed on your played project cards (including any face-down event cards). The player with the highest total score wins. In case of a tie, the tied player with the most credits wins. If there's still a tie, all tied players share the victory.

The game continues until all three global parameters for Mars' habitability are met: the temperature reaches +8°C, the oxygen level reaches 14%, and all nine ocean tiles have been placed on the board. The round in which these conditions are met is completed, including its Production Phase. After this, players in the current turn order can convert any remaining 8 plant resources they possess into new greenery tiles (following placement rules). Once all such conversions are made, the game proceeds to final scoring.