Terraforming Mars: Ares Expedition (Collector's Edition)

Good game in it's own right, but I did feel like I wish I would have just played Terraforming Mars instead.

Distills what made its bigger brother so great (project cards) and simplifies or removes the other parts that enhanced but not what defined Terraforming Mars (the board itself is much simpler.) It's still a medium-weight game but is faster to play and easier to set up. If those issues were the problems that stopped you from playing TM more then this is a great upgrade, otherwise, I'd stick to the original TM because it's much crunchier in choices.

I think it is a great game for what it is but it took me some time to appreciate it because of wrong expectations that Terraforming Mars set for me. In my first game, I was really excited to start with 50 MC and a hand full of inexpensive cards which would have made for a fantastic first generation in Terraforming Mars. Here, however, you can only play one or two cards per round ... if you pick the right phase. This felt very restrictive at first but was entirely my fault because of expectations I formed based on another game. After the first game, I was able to appreciate Ares Expedition for the game it was designed to be, and I really enjoy it now! Definitely recommended, just go into your first game with an open mind if you played Terraforming Mars or Race for the Galaxy before.

I've only played solo mode. I'm 3 games in, on Novice Mode, and it is tough getting a win. I'm having a great time playing. It is hard to get your engine moving but when I'm able to gain resources, flip tiles, and move up tracks, it is very satisfying. The game doesn't take up too much space and setup is very quick. The components are of high quality.

This game is an engine builder card and resource management game. The cards are of good quality and the double layer boards are nice, though they bow a little. Lots to pay attention during game play and simultaneous actions help the game move faster. Look forward to getting this to the table again.

This game is fun. It's got solo-mode, but is no push over either just because it's a smaller version of Terraforming Mars. This is definitely enjoyable, packs a punch, has some depth, but isn't going to take half a day to play like Terraforming Mars. I think I prefer this over the original game. Plus I love the double layer boards included.

This is a super fun game. I really enjoy the Race for The Galaxy style phase selection, and the way you can build a nice robust engine to fire off in the production phase. It takes everything I like about the original game and streamlines it, while eliminating the things that IMO made TM a game that even though I liked it, I didn't want to play it that often. For some, this will not replace the original, and I get that. But for me, I will take this any day. My only complaint is the ridiculously small scoring/terraforming track, hence the 4 instead of 5. But that seems to be a Stronghold Games issue for some reason. But that is a small nit pick for an otherwise great game.

I'm a Terraforming Mars fanatic. I was expecting a lot out of this game, and it delivers. This is a great alternative version of the original, with enough differences to make it enjoyable without taking away my desire to play the older game. I enjoy the shorter playtime as well.

Everything you wanted . Plays smoothly.

This is a super solid marriage of Terraforming Mars and Race for the Galaxy. There’s overlap to both games, but it still feels like it’s own thing.