
2023 · Science Fiction
Terraforming Mars: Ares Expedition – Crisis
Players act as corporations on Mars, selecting phases and playing project cards to advance terraforming as in the base game. The group faces a sequence of Crisis cards triggered each round that impose objectives to remove specific disasters from the planet. If a Crisis card is not fully resolved, one or more terraforming metrics decline, creating pressure to prioritize and coordinate actions. Crises continue until a final card enables a collective victory after Mars has been restored to habitable conditions.
- Players
- 1–4 best 1
- Playing time
- 60 min
- Age
- 14+
- Complexity
- 2.6 / 5
About the game
- Art
- Publishers
Expansion for
See them in LudoyaWhere to buy it
Shop prices and second-hand copies, checked every day.
On Ludoya's tables
Full stats in Ludoya- 6
- Plays logged
- 7
- Players
- 1h 45m
- Average play
- 56
- In collections
- 5
- On wishlists
Rules questions
Answered from the rulebook by Ludoya's rules assistant.
When do we resolve a new Crisis card’s ongoing effect?
During the Crisis step, resolve persistent effects of Crises already in play, then draw a new Crisis card and resolve its immediate effect. The new card’s persistent effect does not happen that turn (p. 5).
What happens when a terraforming metric is in the yellow or red zone—and what if it reaches purple?
At the start of each round, take and apply the matching detriment token for any metric in a yellow or red zone; temperature and oxygen effects affect all players for that round. If any metric is in the purple zone during this check, you lose (p. 4).
Can one card or action remove counters from more than one Crisis?
Yes. If it fulfills the goals of multiple Crisis cards, remove one counter from each qualifying card. But when a goal requires discarding resources, one player must pay the full cost; players cannot split it (p. 6).
How does the dummy phase card work with different player counts?
In a 2-player game, both players resolve the revealed phase, and choosing it themselves does not make it resolve twice. In a 3- or 4-player game, players cannot choose the revealed phase; solo players draw two solo cards and resolve one chosen phase from each (p. 6).
Do I have to spend heat and plants to raise terraforming metrics during the Action phase?
No. In Crisis Mode, spending heat and plants to increase metrics during the Action phase is optional (p. 7).
How do VP tokens help with Crises, and do I get them for raising TR?
VP tokens go into the VP Bank when you gain forest VP or score VP from cards, but not when you gain TR. During the End step, you may spend two banked VP tokens to remove one Crisis counter (pp. 7–8).
Free, on web, Android and iOS
Play Terraforming Mars: Ares Expedition – Crisis with Ludoya
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Game facts (players, playing time, age, credits) from BoardGameGeek.
