2018 · Industry / Manufacturing
Terraforming Mars: Prelude
Players take the role of mega-corporations preparing to begin the terraforming of a planet, choosing early strategic directions that shape their future development. The box adds Prelude cards that players draft at setup to jumpstart terraforming or strengthen their production engines, plus five new corporations and seven project cards that fit the early-stage theme and can be used separately. A new solo objective challenges the player to reach a target Terraform Rating within a time limit rather than by completing global parameters. The content is designed to integrate with the base game and other expansions, focusing on initial setup and engine-building choices.
- Players
- 1–5 best 3
- Playing time
- 90–120 min
- Age
- 12+
- Complexity
- 2.6 / 5
About the game
- Design
- Publishers
Expansion for
See them in Ludoya
Expansions
See them in Ludoya
Terraforming Mars: Merger Promo Card2022
Terraforming Mars: Corporate Archives Promo Card2022
Terraforming Mars: New Partner Promo Card2022
Terraforming Mars: Double Down Promo Card2022
Terraforming Mars: Head Start Promo Card2023
Terraforming Mars: Established Methods Promo Card2024
Terraforming Mars: Anti-Desertification Techniques Promo Card2024
Terraforming Mars: Strategic Base Planning Promo Card2024
Terraforming Mars: Giant Solar Collector Promo Card2024Photos from Ludoya tables
All photos in Ludoya
Where to buy it
Shop prices and second-hand copies, checked every day.
On Ludoya's tables
Full stats in Ludoya- 318
- Plays logged
- 275
- Players
- 2h 31m
- Average play
- 395
- In collections
- 14
- On wishlists
8.4/10
from 93 Ludoya reviews
Mohasz9.0 Very good expansion, although I feel like it's a bit too expensive for what it is, it could easily be included in the base game. It adds an additional layer to the choice at the beginning of the game, and helps speed up the first couple of Generations by the initial boosts. Choosing the your starting set (Corporation, Prelude and Project cards) is always exciting.
Jan Solo9.0 (EXPANSIÓN) Imprescindible para ahorrar los primero turnos e ir directos a lo divertido del juego.
Carlos9.2 Add some new interesting cards and saves a good amount of time in the earlier turns of the game.
Rules questions
Answered from the rulebook by Ludoya's rules assistant.
When do I play the Prelude cards—before the first generation or during it?
After paying for corporations and project cards in setup there is an extra setup round where each player plays the two Prelude cards they kept in player order; the remaining Prelude cards are discarded, and the whole setup counts as generation 1 (page 2).
Do Prelude cards cost anything or stay in play like regular project cards?
Prelude cards do not cost anything to keep and “work like green cards,” staying in play with their tags visible (page 2).
If a Prelude card has a wild tag, does that trigger on-play effects or count for end-game scoring?
A wild tag does not trigger effects when put into play and does not count during end-game scoring, but after it’s played you may treat it as a tag of your choice when you perform an action (for example to help claim a milestone) (page 3).
How are Prelude corporations handled—can I be dealt one and do they replace normal corporations?
The five Prelude corporations are shuffled into the corporation deck (you may be dealt one like any other corporation); as a variant you can deal each player one Prelude corporation and one regular corporation if you wish (page 2).
Does using Prelude change solo-game length or the TR solo variant?
When using Prelude in solo you have 12 generations to complete terraforming (mark generation 12 with a gold cube); the TR solo variant’s goal is TR 63 in 14 generations (or 12 generations if playing with Prelude), and introduces the BUFFER GAS standard project (page 3).
Free, on web, Android and iOS
Play Terraforming Mars: Prelude with Ludoya
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Game facts (players, playing time, age, credits) from BoardGameGeek.