Terraforming Mars

Card-luck engine, pasted-on solitaire

BGG: boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/167791

Terraforming Mars is a medium-heavy game (weight 6/10). It offers a substantial decision tree (7/10) — enough to reward repeated study. Decisions come at a steady pace (5/10) — engaged without being exhausting. Interaction is light (3/10); it leans toward parallel play. Direct attacks are minimal (3/10) — the friction comes from contention, not aggression.

Solo7/10
Fiddly6/10
Players
1P2P3P4P5+P

The 12-axis profile

Every score is on a 0–10 scale. The rubric and methodology behind these numbers is documented in the README.

Thinking

how much brainwork?
Weight
6
Depth
7
Density
5

Terraforming Mars is a medium-heavy game (weight 6/10). It offers a substantial decision tree (7/10) — enough to reward repeated study. Decisions come at a steady pace (5/10) — engaged without being exhausting.

Interaction

how multiplayer is the multiplayer?
Interaction
3
Conflict
3
Negotiation
1

Interaction is light (3/10); it leans toward parallel play. Direct attacks are minimal (3/10) — the friction comes from contention, not aggression.

Luck

where does luck live?
Input
9
Output
2
Catch-up
4

Most variance is input randomness (9/10): luck arrives before your decision and you plan around it. Catch-up is moderate (4/10).

Experience

how does it feel?
Theme
6
Engine
9
Narrative
5

The theme provides flavor (6/10) but the experience is mostly mechanical. The engine-building arc is strong (engine 9/10) — early-game investments pay off in explosive late-game turns. There's some narrative flavor (narrative 5/10).

Most variance is input randomness (9/10): luck arrives before your decision and you plan around it. Catch-up is moderate (4/10).

The theme provides flavor (6/10) but the experience is mostly mechanical. The engine-building arc is strong (engine 9/10) — early-game investments pay off in explosive late-game turns. There's some narrative flavor (narrative 5/10).

Games like Terraforming Mars

Ranked by weighted Euclidean distance across the 12-axis profile, using the default research-weighted lens. Click any game to see its full profile.

Want to overlay Terraforming Mars against a candidate game and see exactly where they diverge? Open it in the comparator →