Prelude and the drafting mode are such huge improvements of the "base" game. Drafting, as you've recommended, does a lot in improving not only the amount of cards you get to look at and choose from, but also player interaction. Who doesn't enjoy picking cards that another player really wants just to spite them and then immediately throw them away? And Prelude lets you skip the early turns of the game where you have lots of things you want to do but no resources so that you have just as many things you want to do but now also the resources to let you do those things. 100% agree about the components. If just the player board was thicker and had slots for cubes, it would be so much better already. The main Mars board comes second.
Best board game series ever. Buying great games that are not just the cult of the new. Nice to get a review after years of other board game competitors have been published. But the format of describing game, pros and cons, and overall review is brilliant. Plus the energy is fantastic! Many thanks!! Ps. Love the dog crap joke!
Our group loves TM. During any miserable lockdowns, we meet often to play this. Our games take from 3 to 4 hours usually. The Prelude is an absolute requirement to speed up the game and give direction to the players. We also have some of the different maps and we have one planet expansion (Venus) which expanded the card deck for more variation and another objective. We have added the UN/Government expansion too and find that this also decreases the game time and gives a much more balanced and level game. We always use card drafting, this is a fun part of the game. It would not be the same without drafting. The components of this game are some of the worst we have ever seen but the game is really awesome. One of our favorites for sure. The game will never repeat, it is a very nice simulation.
Remember, the red outline means *optional* Also, playing with the Prelude Expansion really helps make the Corporations stand out more. They very much help with making the first few rounds much more productive and help steer each player in a certain direction. Also, the new Player Boards that come in the Big Box (I bought them from someone on eBay) are SO MUCH BETTER. They are thicker and have layered separations so the cubes stay where they belong. I've played this game in Solo Mode many times over the last week, and I love it
Thanks for the review. Agree with pretty much everything. Would have been good to mention the solo mode, which as solo modes in board games go, this one is fantastic. Also, at 15:59, I think you misunderstood how resource cubes are used. The "money ones" (copper, silver and gold) should be used for all resources, including titanium, plants, heat, animals etc. There are plenty of them and there is no shortage. The colored player cubes are intended to be used only for marking hexes on the map, the production values, score and the action cards usage.
Yea I’m aware of the money/resource thing but as I mentioned I’m petrified of knocking the mats and having cash as resource cubes would only complicate an already complicated mess.
Great review once again! It is really is a shame that the components are a drag, but the game seems to be once the best in this genre. I am curious, would you compare this to Earth at all? Also, does the expansion help the component issues?
Our group plays TM every couple of months; one guy went “completist” and even got all the fan expansions he could find. It gets a bit unwieldy... but you may be starting with 300-400 M€! He also got neoprene maps, and trays that hold all the cubes in place, because yeah, the components are not great. Another great review, Thanks! Steve
TM is an amazing game, we own all the expansions and it just get requested by our group again and again when they ask what we should play.. :) (and yes, I have a large collection to chose games from).
@@BoardGameBollocks Predule is the most essential expansion (albeit the smallest one). It kickstarts your game by allowing you to take two prelude cards to go alongside your corporation and start project cards. These can give for example free cards, titanium production, plants etc. It skips the first few generations that are very boring, when people are struggling to get their engines going in the direction they want. The only downside is that with these preludes, you may see people taking milestones within the first two gens, so it's important to draft these. After that, I recommend Turmoil. The events and politics it adds is a lot of fun. You have to take into account the events coming (positive or negative), to position yourself by taking as much influence politically, as possible. The politics provide another source for TR, carious bonuses and policies that are active throughout the whole generation (for example gain 4 MC when you build a tree tile). It extends the game time by a fair bit. Colonies at the end. The colonies are nice, they provide some extra options to use your power cubes on, where you can gather all sorts of resources, though I'd buy this last.
Nice review. I prefer to play the game without drafting and with Prelude expansion and one or no other expansions added. Component quality is like any standard euro game but there are upgrades available for people that like pimped games. For me I have no problems playing with the standard components. Regarding the price I have seen it sold for about 35 euros but you should easy find it for about 50 euro, so I don't think its more expensive than your average euro.
Interested to know if u backed the Big Box earlier this year that finally addressed shoddy components? Not cheap by a long-shot, but looks it will make the whole experience a lot more enjoyable!! Looking forward to receiving my copy as didn’t personally own a copy of TM beforehand and looked like a great way to get everything
We didn’t back the big box for a number of reasons. Firstly we don’t use KS out of principle. We don’t believe that the buyer should take the entire financial burden for a product that may not be manufactured. Second, it was way over priced and third we already own the game so there’s little reason to pay for it again.
@@BoardGameBollocks A wise choice - great game though. The big box does not even come with the base game, just some cheap looking plastic tiles and more plastic storage. All for £150. Now that is Bollocks
You need just some player boards to fix the only real usability issue with the components. The official Dual Layer ones from Fryx Games are very good and not too expensive (20 for the set of 5).
@@BoardGameBollocks BTW love the channel... can’t tell you how many of relatives that carry your exact accent! Many me remember the brief time I lived in the UK when I was 5! I still have an intense passion for cricket. I remember when I met Brian Clough I was a huge Not. Forrest fan when I was 5-7 in the 1970’s.
@@BoardGameBollocks Karen's care, so much that they will force you to be safe, or at least force you to be profitable to them and their overlords agenda.
