“Be a part of the first Martian colony, striving to be the best contributor.”
Link: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/184267/on-mars
Playing Time: 90-150 minutes
Weight: Very Heavy
Genre: Worker Placement
Designer: Vital Lacerda
Players: 1-4
Compete with other players to build the best colony on Mars. This will require building habs, supplying them with water, power and oxygen, and then mining the crystals that make the endeavor worthwhile. Upgrading your colonists is vital. You must also manage your relationship with Earth. The trick is that you can only focus on one of these two things at a time, based on whether or not you’re on the surface of the planet or in the space station orbiting above.
Vital Lacerda is a brilliant designer who makes VERY heavy games. Everything you do in a Lacerda game likely has several secondary effects that trigger, that are easy to miss if you’re not paying attention. In general, my group doesn’t play stuff that heavy anymore, but the games that do tend to be the ones that have the most grounded themes. And On Mars is probably Lacerda’s best game.
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