“Take advantage of the passengers’ special abilities to colonize Mars.”
Link: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/18258/mission-red-planet
Playing Time: 60 Minutes
Weight: Medium
Genre: Territorial Control
Designer: Bruno Cathala, Bruno Faidutti
Players: 3-5
In an alternate reality, Steampunk technology has allowed humans to race to the stars in the 1800s, and you are one of several mining companies competing to stripmine the orb and turn Mars into a viable colony.
Over the course of ten turns, players will choose one agent, who will help them to move people to Mars, find the best minerals, and slow down your opponents. Agents have an initiative order that’s strictly followed, and can pilot ships of colonists to lucrative territory, convert enemy soldiers to their cause, or even blow up a shuttle on the launch pad. Corporate espionage ain’t beanbag.
Mission Red Planet works for a lot of reasons. The simultaneous action selection goes fast and is easy to teach, and resolution of the effects plays out similar to Citadels. The territorial control game is brutal, but still somehow light and breezy, probably helped significantly with the campy steampunk aesthetic.
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