10 Broken Card Combos in Terraforming Mars

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- Game Description -
In the 2400s, mankind begins to terraform the planet Mars. Giant corporations, sponsored by the World Government on Earth, initiate huge projects to raise the temperature, the oxygen level, and the ocean coverage until the environment is habitable. In Terraforming Mars, you play one of those corporations and work together in the terraforming process, but compete for getting victory points that are awarded not only for your contribution to the terraforming, but also for advancing human infrastructure throughout the solar system, and doing other commendable things.

The players acquire unique project cards (from over two hundred different ones) by buying them to their hand. The cards can give you immediate bonuses, as well as increasing your production of different resources. Many cards also have requirements and they become playable when the temperature, oxygen, or ocean coverage increases enough. Buying cards is costly, so there is a balance between buying cards and actually playing them. Standard Projects are always available to complement your cards. Your basic income, as well as your basic score, is based on your Terraform Rating. However, your income is complemented with your production, and you also get VPs from many other sources.

Each player keeps track of their production and resources on their player boards, and the game uses six types of resources: MegaCredits, Steel, Titanium, Plants, Energy, and Heat. On the game board, you compete for the best places for your city tiles, ocean tiles, and greenery tiles. You also compete for different Milestones and Awards worth many VPs. Each round is called a generation and consists of the following phases:

1) Player order shifts clockwise.
2) Research phase: All players buy cards from four privately drawn.
3) Action phase: Players take turns doing 1-2 actions from these options: Playing a card, claiming a Milestone, funding an Award, using a Standard project, converting plant into greenery tiles (and raising oxygen), converting heat into a temperature raise, and using the action of a card in play. The turn continues around the table (sometimes several laps) until all players have passed.
4) Production phase: Players get resources according to their terraform rating and production parameters.

When the three global parameters (temperature, oxygen, ocean) have all reached their goal, the terraforming is complete, and the game ends after that generation. Count your Terraform Rating and other VPs to determine the winning corporation!

#Boardgames #Quackalope #terraformingmars

[DennisLHubbard]

Having kids that enjoys playing games like this is the cheat code to getting to 100 plays! Time to reverse my vasectomy!!! I’ll check back in 11 years and 9 months from now!

[Gtomer]

Finished watching the video and this is a really great one.
I don't play Terraforming Mars but those combo looks really rewarding and fun.

It would be great to make something like every once in a while for other games as well.

[samirjafri]

Tom Vasel LOVES Terraforming Mars. It was one of his favorite games of all time, but I believe that Ark Nova has taken its spot in his ratings.

[dotsmada]

Wife killed me in TM last night with the combo of the microbes card that converts to 3 ME each and the card that gives you 2 microbes per turn. It also didn't help that we had the microbe colony out there as well. She was getting at least 20 extra ME it seemed each generation. I was still somewhat competitive but I couldn't overcome all the money she was able to accumulate.

[rudolfvandijk]

Olympus converence + mars university.... Broken combo nr 1 for me.. Quack!

[dawidjanik]

mass converter + physics complex is the best science combo I love it

[Indypaintballer]

Quick add for the combo of credicor and standard technologies it isnt a cost reduction you still have to the the money to pay for it you just get money back

[thehoogard]

Both heat and energy production will cost you more on average than M€-production. Helon's 'strength' thus doesn't relly lie in somehow getting more "gold" to spend, but in it's flexibility to get some extra cash now and then when really beneficial, and allows you to commit to high production without having to fear it being completely useless in the end game. However, in general you're better off spending your heat to just raise temperature.

[ThrehaneMiniatures]

Those terracotta pinch bowls are the best! I have a couple sets myself.

[JDGartandmusic]

Great video! Hope you can do more videos like this!

[poderosomor]

You could do the same but with all the expansions. There are soooo many more to mention, specially with Jovian tags and stuff

[Gtomer]

I just want to comment on that hilarious Cage Fight shirt. Quack!

[judment]

Some of these are not good combos, like the space mirrors one.

[dotsmada]

I've steamrolled my wife with the heat/energy strategy as well with helium (or whatever that corp is called). Even overkilled it a bit with the energy into ME card so I could get even more money during the same turn. That was a fun game for me, not so much for her.

[STEENLABIRINTO]

I just assume you play with no good people man, because despite having some sense, a lot of this combo are not that great in a lot of scenarios... Like copying the MC prod every two building tag .. I mean clearly best option is instead copying area mohole at the start... Your combo could get a lot of MC prod but when? At the mid end game, not that strong at all, just for winning banker maybe. Also founding banker just cuz you have immigrant city and tharsis republic is no sense, good players don't place a lot of cities with no sense as noobies tend to do

Ecolije + that prelude that gives no parameter, best option are card with 3 plant prod (trees, kelp farming) not 2, not score points, not MC prod. They could also be ok some animals (not birds)

And I could keep going on a lot of inaccuracies... Like predators? Why? If your competitors don't already have pets on game, you won't rely too much on it, but of course is a picking card for large convey, but things need to be consider first...

When you consider the cost of a card... You need to add 3mc just to having kept it in draft

You often compafe thing with 14mc asteroid, which is the dumbest way of scoring points, only reason to ever do that is winning the 0degrees ocean bump, or ending the game one gen before if you need game to shorten

Physics comples + 6 dnergy production "and you're ready to go".. really? They are good i mean, but how long will it take you to get 5science tag before? Of course, phisics complex could be on of those but... The other 4?
In 2 players it's easier and game last longer (more gen too) so it could be easier, but if you have no enough on nearly science tag in game or hand, value with consideration...

Martian rails is straight a horrendous card, unless indeed an incredible amount of cities are in play, but dtill at which point? You play this with noobs, if you exceed some steel, but that's all, it'a nieche scenario in good players games. Also with the other maps... Cities are just placed less

Yoh use the term "rounds" as "generation" which idk, isn't it confusing as turns? English is not my native language so...

[simon-pierreharvey]

My question is : Do you keep the first combo card solely in the hope of getting the second one?

[milospetrovic]

Science recourse from Physics complex cannot be used as a Science tag, so it is not really a combo, you still require to get 5tags to play Mass converter..

[sebs]

Possibly one of the best videos I’ve seen you make, so much fun, thank you!

Any chance of doing something similar for Everdell?

[markjohansen]

I can't make it to a game night in cleveland. How about a game night in Cebu in the philippines? :-)

[MrAerodynamite]

Lmao some combo are just obvious, some are just barely ok but 3 of them are pure garbage combot and show that guys don't understand the deep point of this game...
I'm in the top 50 just for know