Terraforming Mars: Automa Board Game Expansion

About this product

Face MarsBot and turn Terraforming Mars into a new head-to-head solo challenge.

An official solo expansion for Terraforming Mars that introduces an automated MarsBot opponent, adjustable difficulty and support for additional expansions.

Outthink MarsBot, terraform the Red Planet and beat your automated rival's score in a new solo Terraforming Mars experience.

Product Description

Take on Mars without taking it on alone.

Terraforming Mars: Automa transforms solo play by introducing MarsBot, an automated opponent that competes against you for terraforming supremacy.

Instead of simply racing against the clock, you now face a simulated rival corporation driven by its own boards, tracks, project cards, bonus cards and automated actions. MarsBot functions as a second player, expanding its presence on Mars, pursuing milestones and awards, placing tiles and building its score while you continue playing Terraforming Mars through its familiar systems. Your objective is simple: finish terraforming Mars and beat MarsBot's final score.

MarsBot responds to the tags on project cards by advancing along specialised tracks. Reaching different spaces can trigger actions such as raising the temperature, placing oceans, building cities and greenery, gaining Terraform Rating, claiming milestones or funding awards. This creates an opponent that develops throughout the game without requiring another person to manage it.

Once you are comfortable with the standard MarsBot experience, you can add dedicated MarsBot Corporation Cards to give your automated rival its own corporation abilities and behaviour. Difficulty settings let you adjust the challenge further.

Automa is also designed to work with additional Terraforming Mars content. A dedicated expansion-integration rulebook explains the setup and rule changes needed when combining MarsBot with other expansions and maps, letting you build the solo challenge around the Terraforming Mars collection you enjoy.

Why You’ll Love It

• Gives Terraforming Mars players a dedicated automated opponent for solo games.
• Replaces a simple race against time with a rival whose score you must beat.
• MarsBot behaves like a second player through specialised tracks, project cards and bonus cards.
• Watch MarsBot terraform, place tiles, pursue milestones and fund awards during play.
• 46 MarsBot Corporation Cards can give your automated rival different capabilities and behaviours.
• Multiple difficulty options allow you to tailor the challenge.
• Supports both drafting and non-drafting approaches.
• Includes dedicated components for integrating MarsBot with additional Terraforming Mars content.
• Designed specifically for players who enjoy Terraforming Mars but want a more opponent-driven solo experience.
• Created by Nick Shaw and Dávid Turczi.

Quick Details

• Publisher / Brand: FryxGames / Stronghold Games
• Designers: Nick Shaw and Dávid Turczi
• Year released: 2024
• Product type: Solo board game expansion
• Players: 1 player
• Recommended age: 14 years and older
• Game mode: Solo
• Automated opponent: MarsBot
• Objective: Terraform Mars and finish with a higher score than MarsBot
• Difficulty: Adjustable
• Base game required: Terraforming Mars
• Expansion support: Includes rules and components for incorporating additional Terraforming Mars content

Good to Know

• Base game required: Terraforming Mars is required to play Terraforming Mars: Automa.
• Made specifically for solo play: MarsBot provides an automated opponent rather than adding another human player.
• Different from the original solo challenge: The original Terraforming Mars solo variant revolves around completing the terraforming requirements within its generation limit, while Automa introduces a competing MarsBot whose score you must beat.
• Start simple: MarsBot can initially be played without a Corporation Card for a slightly simpler introduction to the system.
• Add MarsBot corporations: Once you're familiar with the system, MarsBot Corporation Cards add new abilities and can increase the challenge.
• Expansion integration: Dedicated rules explain how to incorporate supported Terraforming Mars expansions and additional maps into the MarsBot system.
• Adjust the challenge: The Automa rules include different difficulty options so the MarsBot experience can be tuned as you become more familiar with it.

Rules

• View the Terraforming Mars: Automa Rulebook (PDF)
• View the Terraforming Mars: Automa – Adding Corporations Rules (PDF)
• View the Terraforming Mars: Automa – Adding Expansions Rules (PDF)

Components

• 46 MarsBot Corporation Cards
• 31 MarsBot Bonus Cards
• 6 Board Reference Cards
• 1 Player Aid
• 20 Plastic Cubes
• 6 Automa Boards
• 1 Triple-Layered Tracker
• 1 Neural Instance Tile
• 1 Colonies Board
• 1 Venus Next Track
• 1 Rulebook
• 1 Final Scoring Reference Card