Continue the journey into Terraforming Mars with new content for the hit stand-alone game Ares Expedition!
Latest Updates from Our Project:
Final Hours + All Milestones Unlocked!
about 2 years ago
– Fri, Apr 08, 2022 at 08:54:26 PM
Welcome to the final hours of the project, pioneers!
It’s been a fantastic project and it is all thanks to YOU! We couldn’t continue to terraform and develop Mars without your support. The Discovery of what we can do, the Foundations you are building are key to the future of our red planet. And now, we have you to help us deal with any Crisis that might arise as well!
Let’s take a look at the last two new projects unlocked in milestones this week!
As a reminder, these will all be included in your Kickstarter rewards for no additional charge.
Evidence shows that aggregating bacteria are protected from environmental stresses or host responses. Aggregation is also often among the first steps in forming biofilms. These are important scientific needs here on Mars!
Take on this project to gain the following effects during the development, construction, and research phases: Play an Earth Tag (including this one), add a microbe to this card. When you draw cards during the research phase, draw an additional card for each microbe on this card.
Tourism is key to any budding and developing city! Help Mars with this project and instantly raise your Terraforming Rating by 1 for each milestone you have, and produce 2 MC during production.
One Last Heat Bump!
That's right! It's time for your thumbs to head to BGG and LIKE these images!!
We'll be back tomorrow with a recap of what to expect after the campaign ends! Thank you all so much for your amazing support throughout the project! We couldn't have made it here without YOU!
New Projects, New Corporation, + a look at more Upgraded Phase Card Goodness!
about 2 years ago
– Tue, Apr 05, 2022 at 10:19:57 PM
Welcome back, pioneers!
Once again, we’ve got some amazing new projects to showcase since our last update, and an entirely new Corporation!
As a reminder, these will all be included in your Kickstarter rewards for no additional charge.
They say you can’t fight city hall… you can, however, build City Council, and get them on your side. For 21 MC, it’s not cheap - but giving you an Action to draw one card, plus a bonus card for every Milestone you have, will make you glad you’ve got these politicians in your pocket!
Don’t like paying for resources turn to turn? For an initial investment of 18 MC, inducing Glacial Evaporation will provide you with 4 heat during every production phase, no strings attached!
Scientists always need funding, and for a mere 3 MC, you can supply yours with a Research Grant, letting you add up to three different tags to the card. Choose the ones that combine best with your other cards, and your future plans - all in the name of science!
The Austellar corporation is wealthy and flexible, and if you like to call your shots, this might be the corp for you! When playing as Austellar, you’ll mark one Milestone at the beginning of the game with one of your player cubes. Gaining that Milestone will gain you 3 TR - and to make it easier, you’ll also begin the game by adding the tag of your choice to Austellar. Of course, you’ll also be announcing to the other players what your strategic intentions are… but doesn’t that just mean more glory for you when you achieve them?
Raise the Heat!
That's right! It's time for your thumbs to head to BGG and LIKE these images!!
FAQ On Infrastructure + New Mars Expansions Compatibility Chart + Live Play TONIGHT!
about 2 years ago
– Fri, Apr 01, 2022 at 04:43:55 AM
Welcome back, pioneers!
We have had a great week here on Mars, and hope you have, too! In fact, we are so excited to announce the new Martian Studies Scholarship project!
Think you have what it takes? If so, then you may take on this project to instantly upgrade your construction (Phase 2 card) and take its bonus right away!
Our latest corporation Romirra is a part of the Foundations of the Ares Expedition! If you choose the same phase as another playerduring planning, you are rewarded with 1 MC!
NEW FAQ!
We wanted to take a moment to address a great question from the comments regarding Foundations expansion.
Q: Are you required to spend plants/heat to raise infrastructure?
A: You are not required to. The rule that the standard actions must be taken to raise the temperature (Heat) and oxygen (Plants) works because you have no other options for how to use those resources, other than a few blue cards. Making those actions required moves the game consistently forward. Having a similar requirement to advance infrastructure might prevent you from pursuing strategies that you’d like to pursue. And we all know that funding infrastructure can be politically challenging ;)
Also, what works with what?
Great Question! We have a chart that helps explain how the three expansions included here interact with each other:
Come on out and join the livestream TONIGHT as Board Game Spotlight focuses in on Awards, Milestones, and other new content from Ares Expedition Discovery! Mark your calendars, and click below to subscribe for a reminder!
It’s getting hotter!
Thank you to everyone who is heading over ot BGG to participate and keep us HOT! Here are the latest uploads for you to check out and, of course, LIKE!
A Great Foundational Mechanic! Also: Livestreams Wed & Thur!
about 2 years ago
– Wed, Mar 30, 2022 at 09:55:43 PM
Welcome back, pioneers!
We’ve got some FANTASTIC new projects to showcase since our last update, plus an entirely new Corporation!
As a reminder, these will all be included in your Kickstarter rewards for no additional charge.
For the low, low cost of 7 MC, you can provide your populace with Zoos! In addition to cute, fuzzy animals to entertain and educate your family with, this will award you with 1 VP for every animal on the card - and every time you gain a Milestone, you’ll add another one to your menagerie.
Cool your reactors, friend - using the atmosphere of Mars itself! With Gas-Cooled Reactors, you may spend 12 MC to raise the temperature, and for every upgraded phase card you have, the cost of this Action is reduced by 2.
Like to collect technology? Recognize your engineering achievements with the Innovative Technologies Award, which, in exchange for the investment of 18 MC, will raise your TR by 1 for each upgraded phase card you have.
Purchasing Community Afforestation will allow you to do a little urban landscaping as an Action, gaining a forest VP and raising the oxygen by 1 in exchange for 14 MC (with a discount of 4 MC for every Milestone you have).
It’s time for the next step in corporations! The Next Step Initiative may only be played in crisis mode, but they are resourceful under pressure. At the start of the Planning step, if at least one detriment token is in play, the player automatically gains 2 heat or 1 plant.
The Infrastructure Track
The Ares Expedition: Foundations expansion adds additional player boards, cubes, phase cards, and a larger scoring track to allow Ares Expedition to be played with a fifth and sixth player. But one of the most important and exciting things it adds is an entirely new terraforming metric: the infrastructure track.
As a standard action, players may now increase infrastructure for the cost of 15 MC *or* for the cost of 5 heat and 3 plants. The benefit: whenever you increase Infrastructure, you gain 1 TR and draw a card!
There are new project cards that can increase infrastructure, and it adds another endgame condition: for the game to end now, all oceans must be faceup, and the oxygen, temperature, *and* infrastructure tracks must all be maxed out.
Raise the Heat!
That's right! It's time for your thumbs to head to BGG and LIKE these images!!
Come on out and join the livestreams tomorrow and Thursday as Heavy Cardboard and The Boardgame Spotlight focus in on Awards, Milestones, and other new content from Ares Expedition Discovery! Mark your calendars, and click the links below to subscribe for reminders!
Wednesday at 2pm EST - Heavy Cardboard
Thursday at 9:30 pm - Boardgame Spotlight
MARS IS IN CRISIS! + Foundations Livestream TONIGHT!
about 2 years ago
– Mon, Mar 28, 2022 at 04:35:32 PM
Pioneers, we are bringing you urgent, breaking news...
People of Mars, I urge you not to panic. Our most powerful corporations have already begun to reconstruct the necessary infrastructure to keep this planet livable. Mars was a desolate wasteland when we found it, but we did not give up. We made a home where it was once considered impossible. We will not let it be taken from us now. We will do the impossible again.
In Ares Expedition: Crisis, players play as corporations, just as in the original Ares Expedition. You choose phases and play project cards as normal. The difference is players are working together to keep Mars habitable after a natural disaster has landed the planet in crisis.
In Crisis mode, every turn presents a new danger to the safety of Mars that the players must work together to fix before it's too late. Each Crisis card has an immediate effect that occurs when it comes into play. These can range from destructive and devastating (like dropping the temperature by two steps or even forcing players to choose between flipping oceans and destroying project cards in their tableau!) to lucky breaks (like giving players a chance to strategically trade cards from their hands).
Then, once in play, a Crisis card continues to wreak havoc with a persistent effect that decreases one or more of the three terraforming metrics. How do the players save their planet? Well, each Crisis card comes with a goal such as raising the temperature or playing cards with science tags, and once your team has fulfilled that goal a number of times equal to the Crisis counters on the card the Crisis is discarded. But every turn a new crisis emerges, piling on the danger and keeping the fate of Mars on a knife's edge. Players will have to keep a balance between playing cards that support their engines and focusing on fulfilling the goals of the Crisis cards or else the planet will de-terraform faster than you can fix it!
Get a look at how this plays solo with Mike from One Stop Co-Op Shop:
Check out Two-Player Crisis Mode with How it Plays:
Yesterday we revealed a new Orbital Outpost project up for grabs that will cost 16 MC and allow you to pay 3 MC less when you play a card with 1 or fewer tags.
Today, we are looking for people interested in Genetically Modified Vegetables. The project costs 26 MC to get started but will this produce 3 plants during the production phase.
Our next update will dive into the Foundations of Mars (5/6 Player Expansion) and so to help prepare you, Tantrum House will be showing us a higher player count game TONIGHT at 7pm EST! Click below to subscribe for a reminder.
Time to raise the temperature!
Don't forget to head to BGG and help us show up on the hotness by interacting with the images, videos, and forums! Here are some new images of Crisis added today just waiting for your thumbs!
