Terraforming Mars: Turmoil Game Rules

Welcome to the enticing world of Terraforming Mars! In this epic game, you have the opportunity to shape the future of the red planet. Before we get started, let’s explore the rules and mechanics of the game so you can dive right into the action.

1. Game Objective:

The ultimate goal is to raise three global parameters: Temperature, Oxygen, and Ocean to make Mars habitable for humanity. As you progress, you’ll increase these parameters by strategically playing cards and taking actions.

2. Player Roles:

Each player assumes the role of a corporation, and it’s up to you to lead your corporation to victory. Your corporation has unique abilities and starting resources, so choose wisely!

3. Card Types:

There are three types of cards in the game: Project Cards, Event Cards, and Global Parameter Cards. Project Cards allow you to deploy various projects to the Martian surface. Event Cards introduce unexpected events that can benefit or hinder players. Global Parameter Cards influence the overall state of Mars.

4. Turn Structure:

The game is played in turns, with each player taking specified actions during their turn. On your turn, you can play cards, take actions, and generate resources. Strategy is key, as you must carefully plan your actions to optimize your corporation’s growth.

5. Action Phase:

During the Action Phase, players can perform various actions such as placing tiles, claiming milestones and awards, and using action cards. These actions are essential for advancing your corporation’s goals and gaining victory points.

6. Global Events:

In the Turmoil expansion, global events play a significant role. These events are triggered at the beginning of each generation, introducing new challenges and opportunities. You must adapt to these events to mitigate their negative effects and leverage their positive impacts.

7. Influence:

Influence represents your corporation’s political power on Mars. The number of delegates you have determines your influence level. Higher influence allows you to participate in global decisions and potentially shape the game’s outcome.

8. Elections and Politics:

During each generation, players engage in elections to determine the dominant political party. The elected party gains control over important decisions, affecting the global state of Mars. Skilful negotiation and collaboration are crucial for maximizing your influence.

Now that the basics are covered, you’re ready to explore the thrilling depths of Terraforming Mars: Turmoil. Remember, the fate of Mars lies in your hands. Will you be the one to transform it into a flourishing new world? Let the journey begin!

In the face of dust storms and a tough climate, humanity is bravely establishing a civilization on Mars. At the heart of this endeavor lies the Terraforming Committee, where various corporations and interest groups vie for influence and power.

This era is marked by upheaval, as corporations must navigate through natural calamities, social uprisings, and the complexities of politics.

The Key Players

• 16 project cards
• 5 corporation cards
• 2 reference cards
• 31 Global Event cards
• 6 Policy tiles
• 35 delegates (7 in each color)
• 14 neutral delegates
• Terraformer milestone tile
• Terraforming Committee board
• Global Event board
• Rulebook

This expansion to Terraforming Mars brings in global events that affect all players. These events can be seen three generations in advance and have a big impact on the game. Additionally, players will place their delegates in the Terraforming Committee to gain influence and shape the future of the planet. The committee’s decisions will determine which party takes control in the next generation.

There are a total of 6 different political parties in this game, and each one offers a unique bonus and policy when they come into power. It’s pretty exciting to see what each party can bring to the table! In order to balance things out and make sure these bonuses are fair, the Terraforming Committee is constantly reviewing the Terraform Ratings. Unfortunately, this means that every generation, each player will lose 1 TR. It’s definitely a bummer, but it keeps things interesting!

Setting Up the Game

Here’s what you need to do to get the game started:

1. Boards: First, you’ll want to place the Terraforming Committee board and Global Event board next to the main game board. If you’re playing on the base game board (Tharsis), you’ll need to replace the Terraformer milestone with the new badge. This badge only requires a Terraform Rating (TR) of 26, so it’s a bit easier to achieve.

I take my seven delegate markers and put one in the Lobby of the Terraforming Committee board and the other six in the Delegate Reserve. I place a gray neutral delegate in the Chairman seat, and the remaining gray neutral delegates in the Neutral Reserve. These delegate markers stay on the Terraforming Committee board for the entire game.

We shuffle the Global Event cards and put the deck in the reserved space on the Global Event board. Then, we draw a card from the deck and place it face up on the space labeled “Coming Global Event”. A neutral delegate becomes the Party Leader for the party shown at the top left of the card. This party now holds dominance, so we place the Dominance marker in the area for delegates of that party.

I’m going to walk you through the process of setting up the game. Ready? Let’s begin!

First, I’m going to turn over the top card of the Global Event deck and reveal a Distant Global Event. Then, I’ll place a neutral delegate as the Party Leader to the party mentioned on the card. If that party is the same as the other neutral delegate, I’ll put it in the area for delegates.

Next, I’ll gather all six Policy tiles and stack them neatly on the Terraforming Committee board. Remember, the GREENS go on top since they start as the ruling party. This means their policy will be active during the upcoming action phase.

Finally, I’ll shuffle the 16 new Turmoil project cards into the main project card deck. This will add some exciting new elements to the game.

And that’s it! The game is set up and ready to go. Have fun playing!

The World of Terraforming Mars

In the fascinating world of Terraforming Mars, there are several key concepts that shape the game. Let’s take a closer look!

Lobbying: A New Action

In Terraforming Mars, lobbying is an exciting new action that you can take. Unlike standard projects, lobbying can be done multiple times within a generation. It allows you to move one of your delegates from the Delegate Reserve to the Delegate Area of your chosen party on the Terraforming Committee board.

Delegates: The Power Players

Delegates play a crucial role in Terraforming Mars. They represent your interests and help you gain influence in the decision-making process. With lobbying, you can strategically deploy your delegates to advance your agenda.

But how do you acquire delegates? Well, that’s where the Delegate Reserve and Lobby come into play. Placing a delegate costs 5 M€ from your reserves, but if you utilize the Lobby, you can move a delegate for free! It’s all about making the right moves to maximize your impact.

Unlocking the Potential of the Terraforming Committee

The Terraforming Committee board is where the real action happens. By positioning your delegates on this board, you can shape the future of Mars. Every decision counts, and every move can have a profound impact on the planet’s development.

From lobbying for new regulations to advocating for technological advancements, you hold the power to transform Mars into a thriving, habitable world. With careful planning and strategic thinking, you can influence the course of history.

Embrace the Challenge

Terraforming Mars is not only about scientific progress; it’s a game of politics, strategy, and decision-making. Each move you make brings you closer to your ultimate goal: to reshape the Red Planet into a new home for humanity.

Remember, your choices matter. Every decision you make can have a ripple effect, altering the path of civilization on Mars. So step into the world of Terraforming Mars, and let your imagination soar as you explore the endless possibilities that lie within.

This symbol represents a delegate, and you’ll see it displayed as a delegate marker in your player color. When you have 1 or more delegates in the Dominant party, you earn 1 influence. Additionally, a delegate can also be a Party Leader or Chairman, each of which grants 1 influence. Remember, all influence is still represented by this symbol on the cards.

Party Leader

The first delegate you place in a party automatically becomes the Party Leader. This means moving the marker to the Party Leader seat in that party.

If, at any point, a player (including the neutral “player”) happens to have more delegates in a party than the current Party Leader, they replace the Party Leader marker with one of their own from that party. The former Party Leader reverts back to being a normal delegate for that party.

Note: It’s important to remember that the Party Leader is also considered a delegate for their party. In the Dominant party, the Party Leader holds 1 influence and will become the Chairman during the Turmoil phase.

Chairman

Once the Dominant party takes control, the Party Leader automatically becomes the Chairman.

(The delegate marker is moved to the Chairman Seat) and the Chairman receives 1 TR. The Chairman doesn’t have any other responsibilities.

Dominant Party

The party with the most delegates is known as the Dominant party and can be recognized by the Dominance marker in their delegate area.

If any other party gains more delegates than the Dominant party, they take over as the new Dominant party and receive the Dominance marker.

When a party becomes dominant, it takes control and becomes the ruling party for the next generation. It’s a big deal because it means that the party’s delegates are in charge and the dominance marker moves to their party (Turmoil 3c).

If more than one party is tied for dominance, the dominance marker goes to the first one in clockwise order from the party that just became ruling.

The Ruling Party

The ruling party is the one that currently has control. You can see which party is ruling by looking at the active policy tile. When a party becomes ruling, it also gets a new chairman and a bonus (see below).

Becoming the Ruling Party

In step 3 of the turmoil part of the solar phase (New Government), the dominant party becomes ruling and replaces the old ruling party. The party’s policy tile is placed on top, and this policy will be in effect during the upcoming action phase (Turmoil 3a).

Now, here’s what happens. First off, the Ruling Bonus of the new ruling party is added to everyone’s score (Turmoil 3b). Then, we take the old Chairman and all the delegates in the ruling party and put them back in the reserves (Turmoil 3c). The Party Leader becomes the new Chairman – we move them to the Chairman seat – and they earn 1 TR (Turmoil 3d).

When the ruling party is emptied out, something interesting happens. The Dominance Marker shifts (Turmoil 3e, check out Dominant Party).

Lastly, we make sure the lobby is filled back up (see step 3f).

Let’s Talk About the Lobby

Listen up, everyone. At the beginning of each round, we all have 1 delegate chilling in the reserved area in the Lobby on the Terraforming Committee board. Now, here’s the fun part – we can take that delegate and use them to join a party for free! It’s called Lobbying, and it’s pretty cool (see Lobbying for more).

I have some interesting information about the Lobby, Delegate Reserve, and Neutral Delegates in the game. Let me share it with you.

In the Lobby, at the end of each generation, any used delegate is replaced with a brand new one from the Delegate Reserve. However, if a player has no more delegates in the reserve, they won’t be able to add a new delegate to the Lobby. That’s a bummer!

Now, let’s talk about the Neutral Delegate.

In the Terraforming Committee, during a Global Event, some neutral delegates join in the fun. These special gray delegate markers don’t belong to any player, but they count as a separate player. Isn’t that interesting? So, keep an eye on them because they can actually become the Party Leader and the Chairman. How cool is that?

Lastly, I want to mention the Project Card Requirements.

If you’re wondering about the requirements for a project card, don’t worry! The game has got you covered. All the requirements for specific cards are nicely explained in the text that comes with those cards. So, no confusion there!

If you see the icon of a party from the Terraforming Committee on a requirement, you can only play that card if that party is currently in power. You can also play it if you have at least 2 delegates in that party.

Influence and Maximum 5

Any Global Event that measures something like resources, production, cards, tiles, tags, or TR can only count up to a maximum of 5. This is mentioned in the card description, but not indicated with icons.

Hey there! Let me explain how you can modify the number of influence points you have in this game. It’s pretty cool!

So, you start with a maximum of 5 influence points. But here’s the kicker – you can actually change that number, either making it higher or lower. How? Well, that’s where your influence comes in!

Now, the amount of influence you have depends on a few things. Let me break it down for you:

1. If you own the Chairman, you automatically get 1 influence point. That’s pretty sweet, right?
2. If you own the leader of the Dominant party, you also get 1 influence point. So that’s another way to boost your influence!
3. And here’s the kicker – if you own one or more non-leader delegates in the Dominant party, you get an additional influence point. That means you can really make an impact!

Example 1: When you have Generous Funding, you get 2 M� for every 5 TR above 15. Let’s say you have a TR of 42, which means you have 5 sets of 5 TR above 15.

As a bonus, you have the Chairman and 2 non-leader delegates (at least 1 non-leader delegate) in the Dominant party. This gives you a total of 2 influence. So, you count 5+2, which equals 7. Now, you multiply 7 by 2 M�, resulting in a total of 14 M�.

Example 2: If there are Riots, you’ll lose 4 M� per city. Let’s say you have 7 cities and 3 non-leader delegates in the Dominant party, giving you 1 influence.

First, you count a maximum of 5 cities. Then, you have to reduce that number by 1 step, down to 4, because of your influence. Now, you have to pay the bank 4 times 4 M�, which equals 16 M�. Ouch!

TR Revision

So, when the Turmoil phase starts, right after we finish the production phase, we all lose 1 TR. It’s like the Terraforming Committee is taking a look at our progress and deciding that some of our old merits are no longer relevant. It’s a bit frustrating, but hey, that’s how it goes.

By the way, the Terraforming Committee does give out some nice bonuses, but unfortunately, they have to cut the budget somewhere, and that’s where we lose 1 TR.

A Global Event from Afar

When we see a Global event card for the first time, there will be a neutral delegate placed in the party mentioned on the top left of the card. We should take a moment to read the flavor text and the global event effect at the bottom. This particular global event is going to happen in 3 generations from now.

Upcoming Global Event

When a card moves from being an Upcoming Global Event to becoming the Current Global Event, a neutral delegate will be placed in the party mentioned in the middle right of the card.

Current Global Event

During the Turmoil phase at the end of the generation, we see the effects of the Current Global Event. It’s important to note that if the event allows the “first player” to do something, like placing an ocean tile, they won’t get any bonuses or TR for it.

Now, there are a couple of special cases we need to talk about. If a global parameter is already at its maximum, it won’t be affected again for the rest of the game. So keep that in mind when making your decisions.

If Volcanic Eruptions trigger the ocean bonus at 0°C, then the first player gets to decide where the ocean tile is placed, but they won’t actually receive any bonuses from it. It’s a bit of a bummer, but hey, them’s the rules!

And here’s an interesting twist: if Snow cover lowers the temperature below the 0°C mark, nothing happens immediately. But here’s the catch – the ocean bonus can now be triggered a second time once the temperature goes back up! Talk about a rollercoaster ride!

Now, let’s move on to the final scoring.

Hey there! After all the excitement and chaos of the game, there’s a step called the Turmoil step, but you don’t have to worry about that when the game ends. Instead, we move on to the scoring phase! This is where things get interesting. Every player, including the Party Leaders and the Chairman, gets 1 VP, which stands for victory points. It’s like a badge of honor for their hard work and effort in the game. So, even though the game is technically over, there’s still a chance to earn some recognition for your accomplishments. Pretty cool, right?

Solo With Turmoil

Just like in the regular game, you can play solo using the Turmoil expansion. It’s a bit tricky, but don’t worry, I’ll explain how it works.

First, make sure you understand the rules for playing solo in the regular game. If you’re not familiar with them, check out the rulebook or watch a tutorial video online.

Once you have a good grasp of the solo rules, you can incorporate the Turmoil expansion into your game. This expansion adds new cards and events that can make the solo experience even more challenging.

When playing solo with Turmoil, you’ll still follow all the normal rules for the main game and expansions. The only difference is that you’ll also have to consider the effects of the new Turmoil cards and events.

These Turmoil cards and events can introduce added complications and difficulties into your game. They might change the way certain actions work, or they might add new rules that you have to follow.

For example, there might be a Turmoil event that increases the cost of certain actions, making it more expensive for you to complete certain tasks. Or, there might be a Turmoil card that prevents you from taking certain actions altogether.

It’s important to carefully read and understand the text on each Turmoil card or event. Take the time to think about how it will impact your game and what strategies you can use to overcome these challenges.

Remember that playing solo with the Turmoil expansion is meant to be a challenge. It’s not supposed to be easy, but that’s part of the fun. Embrace the chaos and test your skills against the added obstacles.

So, if you’re up for a real challenge, give solo with Turmoil a try. It’s a great way to test your strategic thinking and see how well you can adapt to the unpredictable twists and turns of the game.

The Solar Phase: A Closer Look

After each generation’s production phase, the game moves on to the Solar Phase. Let’s dive in and see what happens:

Step 1: Checking the Game End

Before anything else, it’s time to check if the game has come to an end. We do this by looking at the temperature, oxygen, and oceans. If all three are at their maximum levels, then the game is over, and it’s time for final scoring. This is when we convert plants into points. If the game doesn’t end here, we move on to the next step in the Solar Phase.

Step 2: World Government Terraforming

(This step only applies if we’re playing with the Venus Next expansion.)

Here’s where things get interesting. The first player gets to make a move before the turn order shifts. They have the power to choose a global parameter that isn’t at its maximum level and increase it by one step. Alternatively, they can place an ocean tile on the board. It’s worth noting that the first player won’t receive any TR or other bonuses for this move. However, it may trigger the effects of certain cards like Arctic Algae or the Venus corporation’s Aphrodite. If you want a longer game, you have the option to skip this step altogether.

Step 3: Colony Production

(This step only applies if we’re playing with the Colonies expansion.)

To return all Trade Fleets from the Colony Tiles to the Trade Fleets Tile, I simply move the white marker one step up the Colony track on each Colony Tile.

Step 4: Turmoil

TR Revision

Global Event

New Government

1. The current ruling party now becomes the dominant one. I need to change the policy tile.
2. I must resolve the Ruling Bonus, and this will have an impact on all players.
3. All non-leader delegates and the former Chairman from the dominant party must be returned to the reserve.
4. The Party Leader from the dominant party becomes the new Chairman, and they earn 1 TR.
5. The dominance marker goes to the new Dominant party, or clockwise if there is a tie.
6. I need to fill the lobby from the reserve so that every player has 1 delegate there.

Changing Times

1. First, put the Coming Global Event card on the top of the Current Global Event card. Make sure to include the neutral delegate shown in the middle right of the card.
2. Next, move the Distant Global Event card into the space for the Coming Global Event.
3. Then, turn over the top card of the Global Event deck. Add the neutral delegate from the top left of the card and read the interesting description.