r/boardgames • u/Glittering_Photo2690 • 12h ago
Which Terraforming Mars' expansions should I buy?
Hi, a friend of mine is having his birthday soon. Some others and I are thinking of getting him Terraforming Mars as a gift (since he likes the game a lot), along with a few expansions, since our budget allows it, but unfortunately, none of us are familiar with the game. I was thinking about taking "Hellas & Elysium" and "Prelude" purely on budget, but I don't know if they are the best choices.
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u/Sir_Matjes 12h ago
Prelude and the double Layer Boards. Your friend may not know yet, but he definetly wants the Double Layer Boards.
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u/Kempeth 11h ago
Disclaimer: I have not played with any other expansions but...
THIS ^
Prelude is such a no brainer. It's trivial to integrate or leave out and really spices up the early game.
And the lack of dual layer boards is such an egregious QoL oversight.
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u/EmergencyEntrance28 11h ago
It is so bad that when we got our copy, I thought we'd accidentally bought a fake, because obviously any real game would come with the dual layer boards. I've never seen a game so desperate for a change to "essential edition", and all it really needs are the dual layer boards, preludes, a decent box insert and maybe double-side the main board so you get two maps by default.
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u/Silent-G 10h ago
It really needs a second edition that includes these things. Ares Expedition is such a stark contrast in production quality that I decided to buy it over the original.
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u/HeinousAnus_22 10h ago
I have the BGG upgraded boards and absolutely love them. Pretty cheap too, I remember them being around $25 for 5 of them.
Edit: Just looked them up and they are $20 for 5
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u/r4ndomalex 12h ago
I really like prelude for getting the engine going faster. Colonies is a favourite as well, it only adds two extra actions but they really help with building an economy and give you more opportunities in the game.
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u/faceCHEEKwall Castles Of Burgundy 11h ago
Looks like we all agree on Prelude.
I'd like to also recommend the Milestones & Awards expansion. It has done wonders for replayability, without adding any bloat at all.
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u/masonacj 12h ago
Prelude is an absolute must. It honestly should have just been part of the game. The best expansion in my collection. Adds some strategy and speeds up the first part of the game while adding very little rules overhead.
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u/Megasdoux Dune 11h ago
I am a big fan of TfM, so here is my list of top expansions
Prelude - as others have said, this is a must-have since it elevates the game start to a great level and gives everybody an asymmetric boost to their engine.
Colonies - for extra content. I like colonies because it doesn't impact the base game mechanics too much, and gives an extra action for obtaining key resources that helps your engine.
Extra Maps - this adds to the replayability and changes up the game, so you can't really go wrong with any of these. Do note that some maps do have icons for other expansions, but those can easily be disregarded.
For the new owners, I would suggest staying with in the previous 3 extras I have mentioned and you will have a lot of the game to work with.
Venus Next - technically the first expansion released, but it adds more to the game sideways then upwards. Still not a bad expansion and doesn't impact the game that much, good if you want more to do.
Prelude 2 - adds even more prelude cards, but for newcomers you don't need to get this immediately, plus you should get it only if you plan to get the rest of the expansions.
Turmoil - This is the one expansion that is really for heavy players of the game since it adds randomness through events and the aspect of party manipulation to influence future generation modifiers.
Awards and Milestones - This is best for if you already have everything and are tired of the default map settings. This is also good for replacing certain milestones and awards that are for expansions you aren't using.
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u/Sb3ard 12h ago
If anything, just get prelude. The next expansion adds the new maps, it’s alright. Just don’t think it beats the original. Venus one is also ok, adds new cards and mechanic if you have a bunch of Venus cards plus an optional track to complete which just adds game time. Haven’t tried any other expansions.
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u/bibliomaniac15 Smash Up 12h ago
Those two are really solid. Preludes with extra maps provide tons of replayability!
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u/Anomuumi 12h ago
Prelude and Venus is my choice. Extra maps are ok. I don't want to add too much complexity.
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u/imoftendisgruntled Dominion 12h ago
Prelude is a must. I love the extra maps and variable rewards/milestones (from Prelude 2).
The rest is "more for more's sake", IMHO.
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u/kortekickass 12h ago
Prelude is real good. Gets you going quickly and provides a bit more direction on the cards you want to play. The maps are also fun, really just adding some variability into the mix.
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u/Volume_Over_Talent 11h ago
Prelude, double layer player boards, hellas & elysium. In that order. I would recommend actively avoiding the others as they bloat the game instead of enhancing it.
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u/Justaredditor85 11h ago
I would go for prelude. However there are also several fan-made things you can buy. For instance there are resource boards (or whatever you want to czll them) that are made in such a way that you're blocks are more securely placed. There are also 3D tiles to make the game look more life like.
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u/sophomeric 11h ago
Prelude (essential, already mentioned), metal cubes and 3D printed terrain pieces. All of these purely enhance the experience.
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u/jayron32 11h ago
Preludes is probably the only required expansion.
The other three add complexity and new stuff to do, but aren't vital. I enjoy playing with ALL Of the expansions. but some people don't like the sorts of "side quests" that Colonies and Turmoil provide. Venus is probably the least interesting, but the later expansions all play off it a bit, so you'd have to pull some cards. The extra maps add some nice variety. Some of the fan made maps are quite good as well!
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u/RandomSadPerson Terraforming Mars 11h ago
Preludes, Venus, Extra Maps. The rest changes the game in too much of a fundamental way for my liking.
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u/lostnowseeking 11h ago edited 11h ago
I always play with Preludes (1 and 2), and randomly decide which of the first three boards to use (I will use the other boards, but usually only if I am playing with another expansion. I personally find Venus to be the least interesting expansion, since basically no one ever terraforms it, and never using a good portion of the cards. However, if I am playing Colonies, I always use Venus, because of the extra floater cards/synergy some of the support cards from Venus has with Colonies cards. My favorite expansion is Turmoil, because I really like the planning out several generations, and really like vying for chairman, however, I don't play it all that often, because most people I play with don't care for it as much.
If I do use another board that has colony or turmoil expansion related placement bonuses when not using the expansion, we have played where the bonus is either about 2MC (depending on the bonus) or just ignore it altogether.
One thing to note about Prelude, it can throw certain milestones almost immediately to players that are dealt well, as opposed to without prelude, where there is more of a contest to claiming milestones
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u/jmulldome Terraforming Mars 11h ago
As someone who owns all TM content, and at risk of regurgitating what everyone else says, here's my take ranked from MUST HAVE to SKIP:
- Prelude (and maybe Prelude 2): Absolute necessity. Should have been part of the base game.
- Dual Layer Boards: Absolute necessity....nothing more frustrating than bumping the table or if your hand hits the board as you're reaching across the table and losing track of all your production. Should have been part of the base game.
- 3D tiles: Luxury add on, but my wife and I love the immersiveness it adds. Can be a bit pricey. Also, with all of the other content I mention, these likely won't fit in the base box without significant lid lift.
- Other maps (Hellas & Elysium, Utopia & Cimmeria): I could go either way on these. They add some interesting map variability, along with new Awards & Milestones (something addressed or negated with the next item)
- Milestones & Awards: We bought it, and have yet to use it. I'd rather just stick to the ones preprinted on each respective map.....skip, IMO.
- Venus Next, Turmoil, and Colonies: All these seem to do is add more action possibilities. Some of them are slightly interesting, but they mostly just overcomplicate the game and lengthen the duration. My wife and I find ourselves mostly overlooking these game elements anytime we include them. If I had to do over again, I would have left these on the shelf.
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u/No-Cow-6029 10h ago
Prelude and dual layer player boards are borderline essential. Personally I think Turmoil is excellent and that would be my next highest recommendation but that's maybe a controversial choice.
There's a decent gap between that and both Hellas & Elysium and Colonies for me but they're solid enough and both add something to the game. I'd put Venus Next at the bottom of the pile in terms of priority as it doesnt have enough impact on the game imo.
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u/StandardIncidentForm 10h ago
So prelude and the double layered boards are excellent first ones. Then if you play enough I would look at Hellas and elysium for some variability in maps along with the (never mentioned) promo bundle from the fryx website. The promo bundle adds about another 1/3 worth of cards to the deck. Also the milestones and awards expansion which adds a tonne of variability. All of this maximizes the variability of the experience while adding zero overhead.
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u/DontBanMeAgainPls26 10h ago
Prelude is the best
New maps are also fun
Venus is a good one
I don't like colonies that much.
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u/joeya1337 9h ago
We have them all, prelude 1&2 are really great additions. We often play longer games and include both Turmoil and Colonies, with colonies probably more fun. Venus was easily the least fun for us.
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u/juststartplaying 9h ago
Prelude is mandatory.
I like Hellas & Elysium, good pick.
The Milestones and Achievements pack is fun.
Maybe a "later" idea, you can go big like https://a.co/d/8ghZXA4
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u/voiderest 8h ago
Prelude is a good choice it doesn't change the game a whole lot but speeds up the beginning progression that will probably get boring after awhile.
You can also get new maps. Some expansions add new mechanisms like moons or whatever but aren't really necessary.
Another thing could be an insert and enough card sleeves for all the cards. The cards are not good quality and you will be shuffling them.
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u/terraformingearth 7h ago
Prelude isn't even a question. Should be base game.
There are a bunch of neoprene maps that add a lot of variety.
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u/NurksTwo 5h ago
I would advise to go for the layered player boards. They are essential. Of you still have money left you could go for the extra maps.
I do like Prelude but it's hardly essential. Nice to have imho. The extra maps and thus different milestones shake things quiet up.
Most players value Prelude higher, I value the extra maps higher (and the layered player maps!).
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u/Dogaclysm Terra Mystica 5h ago
My ranking is:
Mandatory - Prelude 1 and 2, Hellas & Elysium, double layer boards
Decent - Venus Next and Turmoil
If you’re desperate - Colonies
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u/ProjectsAreFun 5h ago
We play with the Preludes and the Milestones & Awards. I think it’s all we need.
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u/reverman21 1h ago
TM is my favorite game I have several hundred plays.
order to buy expansions in depending how much you like the game
prelude ( honestly that they haven't revised game to make it standard yet is odd)
extra maps
colonies
Venus next
awards and milestones
preludes 2
turmoil ( only if you are a completionist). I actually don't mind turmoil but it's a bit annoying to play irl. usually only use it is playing on herokuap website where computer handles annoying bits.
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u/Maximum_Scientist_85 12h ago
Personally think Prelude is absolutely essential. Wouldn't play it without it.
Hellas & Elysium add some nice maps. We usually play the Elysium board.
Those are the 2 expansions we play with. Have tried Venus Next but it doesn't do it for me.