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Hi. I've recently bought TM,, and I'm looking for what expansion to buy. I see Hellas and Elysium, Venus Next and Prelude. Which one must I buy? Or the base game is fairly enough?
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Darth Ed
United States
Maryland
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I would recommend that you play the core game about 5-10 times first. And then get Hellas and Elysium and play each of the two sides of the board there about 5 times each. Then get Venus Next and play with that a bunch of times. By then, Prelude will be released. It's not out yet, and it remains to be seen how good it will be!
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Erik H
United States
Kentucky
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I think you can get a ton of gameplay out of just the base game. Neither of the currently released expansions are necessary for having a great time, IMO. That said, if you are enjoying the game, I think both of the expansions offer you a lot more variety. I love the new board layouts and milestones/awards with Hellas and Elysium, and the new corps and Venus cards in Venus Next are also a lot of fun.
TL;DR - Play the game as-is, and if you are enjoying it and expect to play it a lot more, get the expansions.
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Tancredo76 wrote: Hi. I've recently bought TM,, and I'm looking for what expansion to buy. I see Hellas and Elysium, Venus Next and Prelude. Which one must I buy? Or the base game is fairly enough?
The base game is enough. None of the expansions out right now are "necessary".
Play the base game a bunch, and if you like it, then consider buying more.
Prelude isn't available, so no decision there. It comes out this August or so. With the new prelude cards I think this might be the closest thing to a MUST OWN expansion that Terraforming Mars will have, my opinion/prediction.
Start with Hellas and Elysium. They are just different maps with different milestone and awards. They provide some easy variability to the sames with help make replayability stay refresh. Easy.
If you find you still really like TM, and want more, then get Venus Next. Adds Venus board and a bunch of venus specific cards. I don't think this is really necessary unless you are a hardcore fan, but it spices things up for those that have played the base game a tonne. So if you want to skip one, I'd skip this one. Then again, I have it and I love it.
Hope that helps.
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Jason DuVall
Compton
California
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Having played with all of the variations currently available, I'd say: Neither of the expansions are a MUST at this point.
Hellas & Elysium gives some variation on the game that provokes (and requires) rethinking of old strategies. Venus Next adds a new, non-essential sub-goal. Of those two, Venus Next seems to be the weaker of the two, but that's ONLY because it changes the game (introducing a large amount of new Project cards) without making itself a vital part of those changes. Therefore, most people just ignore the Venus objective completely unless they get a solid selection of Venus cards in their starting 10 that synergize well.
I believe that Prelude is going to quickly become a staple for many players, as having some free resources that hopefully form the anchor of a production engine is highly anticipated.
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Don Smith
Canada
Calgary
Alberta
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Tancredo76 wrote: Hi. I've recently bought TM,, and I'm looking for what expansion to buy. I see Hellas and Elysium, Venus Next and Prelude. Which one must I buy? Or the base game is fairly enough?
Play the base game a few times.
If you like it buy H&E.
Venus Next isn't worth it.
Optimistic about Prelude but not really able to comment.
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E Thomas
United States
Gresham
Oregon
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This isn’t Fantasy Flight. No need for multiple core sets or expansions to make the game worth investing in.
Regards,
Sucker Duped By Past LCG Hype
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Matt Hoffman
United States
Minnesota
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Highly recommend the Hellas & Elysium expansion to add variety. Otherwise, the base game with corporate era is pretty solid.
I am lukewarm on Venus Next, though looking forward to Prelude.
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I agree that for the price, H&E is an excellent addition. The different maps prevent routine map expansion. The different milestones and awards allow for different strategies. WRT Venus, I love the new cards and corps. For many players, the game is too long. Venus provides a way to shorten the game. We choose to ignore this mechanic as we like a good long game with bigger engines. Games still are only about 13-15 gen long, depending on player number.
Summary: if you like the game, get H&E; if you find you love it, get all the expansions and the promo cards. I’m looking forward to Prelude.
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Kirk Monsen
United States
Seattle
Washington
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Tancredo76 wrote: Hi. I've recently bought TM,, and I'm looking for what expansion to buy. I see Hellas and Elysium, Venus Next and Prelude. Which one must I buy? Or the base game is fairly enough?
The base game is enough. I felt very underwhelmed by the expansions.
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Florian Bunzel
Germany
Düsseldorf
North-Rhine-Westphalia
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Tancredo76 wrote: Hi. I've recently bought TM,, and I'm looking for what expansion to buy. I see Hellas and Elysium, Venus Next and Prelude. Which one must I buy? Or the base game is fairly enough?
I played 40 Games only with the base game and than went on to the Hellas/Elysium Board, which is fantastic. I still havent played Venus, although i have it in my shelf 
All in all i have 85 Games, and still playing Hellas. (all Games Solo)
With the base game you have a ton of replayability, just try it out
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Ben Bosmans
Belgium
Mechelen
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I have huge fun with the basic game.
It keeps its solo challenge even after many plays. Compared to basic Viticulture or Pandemic Chtulhu the solo challenge stays up even after repeated play.
So I don’t think expansions will bring much more in MY sessions played.
Many games even become dull when adding expansions. Others do need expansions.
I don’t think this game needs expansions per sé.
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Robert Schraut
Germany
Karlsruhe
Germany
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Until you have reached three digits of games, you don't need any expansions. After that you know enough to look through the official, as well as the unofficial expansions here on BGG, to decide what to use next.
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Michael Lowrey
United States
Charlotte
North Carolina
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You can play the base game a lot without it feeling samey.
If you really like Terraforming Mars and play it a lot, I can recommend Hellas and Elysium. Having two different maps to play on with different milestones and awards provides a new challenge.
If you’re shopping at BGG store anyways, maybe pick up some on the promo cards.
Venus Next is very meh. I like some of the cards and corporation but the Venus board is pretty much a sideshow and adds little to the overall game play.
I can’t comment on Prelude but do plan on getting it when it comes out.
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Jakub Kořistka
Czech Republic
Olomouc
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Buy all 4 promo cards from BGG store and the first expansion... after 50 games go and buy second expansion or the third one (will be out in mid summer).
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Start with Hellas & Elysium. It totally changes the directions you can take.
Venus Next is a great expansion and I don't get how people think it's not worth it. It adds a lot of new cards, a few corporation and the Venus board. While it is not as groundbreaking as new maps, it increases replayability a lot after you've already played it 50-100 times.
Looking forward to Prelude!
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Marco Teti
United States
Arizona
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I was going to ask the same thing. Unless the expansion adds new things, I'm likely not to buy it. Hella doesn't seem to add anything other than a board with different milestones and city/ocean hexes.
Venus Next seems to be the one I might add because it adds more cards and new corporations. So that will likely be on my wish list.
I'm quite interested in Prelude because of the prelude cards, more corporations and more cards. anther on my wish list.
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Jakub Kořistka
Czech Republic
Olomouc
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I dont think so... it is not just a new board (map), it is a whole new game. Moreover it is really quite cheap, so why not to buy and try
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Jason DuVall
Compton
California
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As Jakub and others say, Hellas & Elysium is more than "just a board" (two boards, to be specific). The different Milestones and Awards result in different strategies, as do the different layouts on the map.
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The Elysium and Hellas boards are great. They add so much variation to the game. Corporations feel different. The relevance and importance of almost all of the cards changes in some way.
Not tried Venus Next yet but I am sure it will add more variety.
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