The Terraforming Mars Advanced Tips and Tricks guide will help experienced players with tips to win more consistently and crush other corporations under their economic might. In Terraforming Mars, you play as a corporation trying to maximize profits while terraforming Mars for human habitation and growth. Follow these tips to become an expert faster.
If you’re looking to learn how to play, check out our article for resources.
If you’re looking for beginner tips, check out our Terraforming Mars Survival Guide.
Actions
You and your corporation are allowed to take one or two actions each turn. By taking only one action in a turn, you’re able to get more information before acting. These also allows for more easy seizure of milestones, awards, and terraforming bonus when you are the only non passed player. Action cards can help take actions that do not invest resources.
Note: It is just as often better to move faster and take two actions at a time. Skill in this game is measured by knowing when to do each.
Resource Equivalency Ratios
Have a way you value cards that match your playstyle. Below are my ratios. These will create a baseline from which you can estimate the value of any particular card, adjusted by your tableau.
- 2 Power = 2 Heat = 1M = 1 plant
- 1 Titanium = 3M
- 1 Steel = 2M
- Card Draw = 3M
- Production = the above conversions * (14- current generation). You can adjust this based on how fast your game is going. 14 represents the typical generation count for end-game conditions.
There are many cards that adjust these scales. Abuse them as much as possible to accelerate your engine. Standard projects cost slightly more than the value they give even after factoring in the card draw cost.
City Layouts
Cities require at least one non-city tile between them. Cities are most closely packed by forming a triangle around a single hex. They’re least efficiently packed by placing gaps two wide between cities. If you’re not able to capitalize on maximizing the number of placed cities, ruin your opponents by forcing least optimal city placement.
Note, with careful city placement, you can almost surround a single tile with cities.
Heat Production Increase
The heat production bonus from temperature increases is a trap. Take the increase if it doesn’t take you far out of your way, but do not take expensive actions just to pick it up. Do not use standard projects to get there as the payoff will never happen.
Power
Utilizing cards driven by power is an incredibly potent strategy. Power is used to collect raw points, build cities cheaply, draw extra cards, and fuel actions not available any other way. Building power supply increases your flexibility to capitalize on these cards. In the worst case scenario, this power supply simply fuels thermal energy production.
If you enjoyed mastering Terraforming Mars, check out their awesome expansions Prelude, Colonies, Turmoil, Hellus & Elysium, and Venus Next in the links below. This game also benefits heavily from broken token’s organizer.
If this guide helped you master Terraforming Mars, check out the YouTube version.
Other Resources
Fryxgames Terraforming Mars Homepage
