Tips & Strategy

How to teach Terraforming Mars, what to do in a first game, pacing, milestones and awards, buying cards, and player counts.

How to teach it

Read Teach the Game aloud, then set up with first game ticked on Setup: Beginner Corporations, standard game, no draft.
Teach the icon grammar with two cards on the table: a brown box is production, a red border can hit anyone, a red arrow is an action.
Play the first generation openly, so everyone sees how TR turns into income.

Build income first. In the first three generations, cards that raise M€, steel or titanium production, or draw cards, pay off for the rest of the game. A production card should pay itself back within about five generations. (World Series of Board Gaming; Legendary Tactics)
Terraforming is the simple path. Raising temperature, oxygen and oceans gives TR, which is both income and points: a direct plan for new players. (Board Game Hangover)
Spread your production. Pairs such as plants with titanium, or heat with M€, give you more than one way to act each generation. (The Cardboard Herald)
Spend your money. Unspent M€ does nothing unless you are saving for a specific card. (Board Game Hangover)

Know who wants the game to end. A player with a big engine wants it long and holds back parameter raises; a player rushing TR wants it short. (Board Game Hangover; Mars Expert; Legendary Tactics)
Taking a single action can force an opponent to raise a parameter for you, or let you wait until plants are safe from asteroids. (all five videos)
Around the last two or three generations, switch from production to points: VP cards, greeneries next to cities, and a late City standard project beside your greeneries. (Board Game Hangover; World Series of Board Gaming; Mars Expert)
Greeneries are strong points: TR, 1 VP each and 1 VP to each adjacent city. Cluster them around your cities. (Mars Expert; Legendary Tactics)

A milestone is 5 VP for 8 M€ — far cheaper than most points — and denies those points to everyone else. Pick your starting hand with the milestones in mind. (World Series of Board Gaming; Mars Expert)
Don’t overpay to win a race: a 25 M€ City project just to claim Mayor is rarely worth it. (Mars Expert)
Fund an award when your lead is safe. Later awards cost 14 and 20 M€, and second place still gives someone 2 VP. (World Series of Board Gaming; Legendary Tactics)

Every card costs 3 M€ to keep, and a card still in your hand at the end is wasted money. Buy what you can play. (Board Game Hangover; Mars Expert)
Don’t hold expensive cards with hard requirements for half the game while better plays go by. (World Series of Board Gaming)
Cards that draw more cards are worth a lot: more choice, better combinations. (Board Game Hangover; Legendary Tactics)
With the Draft variant, sometimes take a card to keep it from the next player. (Board Game Hangover; World Series of Board Gaming; Mars Expert)

4–5 players: the parameters fill fast, often in 6–9 generations. Engines have little time to pay off: terraform, place tiles and claim milestones early. (World Series of Board Gaming; Legendary Tactics)
2 players: games run 10 generations or more. Income, card draw, science and VP-per-tag cards matter more than a TR rush. (World Series of Board Gaming; Legendary Tactics)

The rulebook wins. Things to watch for in strategy videos:

Some videos mention milestones, corporations and cards from the expansions and later maps, such as the Rim Settler milestone. The base game has only Terraformer, Mayor, Gardener, Builder and Planner.
A greenery raises oxygen, not energy production, and the base game’s City standard project needs no energy.
An award gives the leader 5 VP and second place 2 VP; “a 3-point award” in a video means the gap between the two.

YouTube:

BGG: rulings are linked by thread in the FAQ. Rulebook: FryxGames.