A DFW Gaming Village player aid

Terraforming Mars

Setup & Reference Utility

Choose the sets on the table, the map, the mode and the player count — for exact setup steps, a full rules reference with every expansion folded in, a teaching script and a searchable index of every rulebook. The World Government is paying for results. Whose corporation will make Mars livable?

Mission Briefing

Select the sets on the table, the way to play, the player count, the map and any variants. Every step, ruling and script below adapts to your choices.

Sets in play (the map boxes unlock their maps; Prelude 2 needs Prelude)
Way to play
Players (2–5 in the standard game; 1 in solo and against MarsBot)
Map — the board you play on
Options & variants — optional rules the rulebooks define

Setup

Follow the steps in order. Each cites its official source pages; where a newer book changes an older one, the newer rule is shown.

Rules Reference

Tap a heading to open it. Contents adapt to your sets, map, mode and player count.

Search the Rulebooks

Answers from this page come first, then every matching page of the base rulebook, plus the rulebooks and map-box texts for the sets selected above (the MarsBot books need the MarsBot set).