Terraforming Mars: Ares Expedition – Crisis
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The FroGames Card
You are two rounds away from victory when a solar storm wipes out the atmosphere. Someone screams 'oxygen,' someone searches for cards in the deck. And in the end, you realize that you can't save a planet alone.
WHAT IT'S ABOUT
When terraforming goes wrong
Sydney Engelstein, Jacob Fryxelius, and Nick Little take the Ares Expedition engine and turn it upside down. You no longer build a planet: you save it as it collapses. Crisis is an expansion that transforms the race for terraforming into a fight against time, where every round a new environmental crisis lowers Mars' vital parameters. Art by Nio Mendoza, consistent with the Fryxelius universe.
You choose phases, play corporation cards as always, but this time you do it together. Each turn, you draw a Crisis card: solar storm, geological collapse, heat loss. If you don't complete the indicated objective, temperature, oxygen, or oceans drop. If even one of the three parameters reaches zero, Mars becomes uninhabitable and you all lose.
What they're saying abroad
"In Terraforming Mars Ares Expedition: Crisis, players will play as corporations, just as in the original Ares Expedition."
— FryxGames
The cooperative game that Terraforming Mars was missing. Every crisis is an impossible decision, and every round you wonder if you'll make it.
— FroGames
Terraforming Mars: Ares Expedition – Crisis
The game officially supports solo play: you play against crises exactly as in multiplayer, choosing phases and managing all corporations. The experience is complete, but you lose the negotiation over which phase to choose and have to plan everything yourself, which makes crises even deadlier.
FrogScore · FroGames editorial rating · based on rules, international reviews and play sessionsWhat you have to save Mars
Four tools against collapse
Crisis Cards
Every round a new one appears: solar storm, geothermal failure, water contamination. Each has an objective to complete (e.g., "Place 3 oceans") and a penalty if you fail (temperature -2). They are the game's timer.
Corporations
The same as the base Ares Expedition plus new cooperative variants. Each has unique powers: some regenerate oceans, some pump atmosphere, some sacrifice resources to avert crises. You must combine them well or you won't make it.
Project Cards
The Ares Expedition deck, with thematic additions for emergencies: thermal shields, anti-radiation barriers, backup systems. They serve to mitigate crises while you try to raise planetary parameters.
Terraforming Tracks
Temperature, oxygen, oceans: the three parameters that keep Mars alive. Every unresolved crisis lowers them. If even one reaches zero, the game ends. You must keep all three up simultaneously.
Recommended Sleeves 103 cards in 1 size ▼
If you play often, we recommend protecting your cards with clear sleeves to make them last longer.
| Size | Quantity |
|---|---|
| 63.5 × 89 mm | 103 |
| Total cards | 103 |
🎲How to PlayThe rules in four steps▼
How to Play
The Flow of Each Round
Ares Expedition Crisis uses the base game's simultaneous phase selection structure, but adds the Crisis phase which dictates the pace.
Flip over the top card of the Crisis deck. Read the objective (e.g., "Build 3 cities") and the penalty (e.g., "Oxygen -3"). That crisis remains active until you resolve it or until it lowers the parameters.
Each player secretly chooses a phase (Development, Construction, Action, Production, Research). All chosen phases activate for everyone, but the player who chose it gets a bonus. You must coordinate to cover what the crisis needs.
Resolve the chosen phases in a fixed order. Play cards, build projects, generate resources, boost terraforming parameters. Every action can help complete the crisis objective or prepare for the next round.
Check if you have completed the crisis objective. If yes, discard the card. If no, apply the penalty: lower the indicated parameter (temperature, oxygen, or oceans). If any one of them reaches zero, the game ends and you lose.
⏱️Your First GameThe timeline, moment by moment▼
A game in five moments
What happens at the table
Not the rules. The experience.
Corporations assigned, first crisis read
The Crisis deck is face down. You flip one over: "Dust Storm – reduce temperature by 2 if you don't place 2 forests this round." You look at your hands, do mental math. Someone says "we can do it." Someone else is silent.
First phase, first cracks
You choose phases simultaneously. Someone aims for Development, someone else Action. You realize that no one chose Production and resources aren't enough. The crisis isn't resolved. Temperature drops. You understand you need to coordinate better.
Mid-game, three active crises
Now there are two open crises because a previous one was left pending. Each round you must resolve at least one or the parameters collapse. Tension rises: everyone knows what they need to do, but the cards in hand are never enough. Someone asks "do you have oceans?" and the answer is "no, I had to spend them."
The final crisis comes out of the deck
You flip a Crisis card with a different back: "Bring all three parameters back to a safe level to win." It's the end of the game. Look at the tracks: temperature 3, oxygen 4, oceans 2. Calculate the remaining turns. It's possible, but everything needs to be perfect.
Resolution
Last round. You choose all phases that boost parameters. Place every available resource. The tracks rise: 5, 6, 5. Mars is saved by a whisker. Or not: oxygen stops at 4 and the planet collapses. In both cases, someone immediately says "another game."
🐸Good to Know FirstThree honest things, from friends▼
Good to Know First
Three things you need to know
Ares Expedition base game required
Crisis is an expansion, not standalone. You need the base game for project cards, original corporations, tracks, and components. If you don't have it, you can't play. The base game costs about as much as this expansion.
Not for all groups
If your group doesn't communicate or someone plays for themselves, you'll crash in 3 rounds. Crises are merciless and require real coordination: you need to tell each other what you have in hand, negotiate phases, and accept sacrificing your own corporation for the common good. It's not enough to play well: you have to play together.
Crisis drawing can be cruel
Crisis cards are drawn in random order. Sometimes two consecutive ones come out that ask for similar resources and choke you. Other times the final one comes out early and you have more time. There's an element of luck in the draw that can make one game impossible and another easy, with the same choices.
🏆Victory and DefeatWhat the ending rewards▼
How it ends
How to win and how to lose
Crisis has explicit victory and defeat conditions, both related to Mars' parameters.
Victory
- Draw the final Crisis card (it has a different back) and complete its objective: bring all three parameters (temperature, oxygen, oceans) above the indicated safe threshold.
- The final card comes out randomly from the deck during the game: it can happen early (giving you more time) or late (a frantic final rush).
- It's not enough to resolve all crises: you actually have to win the final challenge to save Mars.
Defeat
- If any one of the three planetary parameters (temperature, oxygen, oceans) drops to zero, Mars becomes uninhabitable and you lose immediately.
- Unresolved crises lower parameters each round: a string of bad luck or a poorly chosen phase can lead to collapse.
- There's no "almost-won" mode: you either save the planet or it disappears. The game is unforgiving.
Crisis is the first true cooperative game in the Terraforming Mars series, and it works because it doesn't make you build: it makes you fight not to lose what you have.
💬Frequently Asked QuestionsQuick answers before checkout▼
Frequently Asked Questions
FAQ about Terraforming Mars: Ares Expedition – Crisis
Can I play Crisis without the Ares Expedition base game?
No. Crisis is an expansion that requires the Terraforming Mars: Ares Expedition base game. You need the project deck, the original corporations, the terraforming tracks, and all base components. Without them, you cannot play.
Does it work well solo?
Yes, the game officially supports solo play, and the experience is complete. You play against the crises exactly as in multiplayer, managing all phases yourself. The problem is that you don't have other players to cover the phases you don't choose, so you have to plan everything yourself, and crises become even more lethal. If you enjoy Ares Expedition solo, Crisis works.
What mechanics does Terraforming Mars: Ares Expedition – Crisis use?
It uses simultaneous action selection like the base game, hand management for project cards, cooperative game with shared objectives against crises, variable player powers of corporations, and income/production (resource generation). The core is coordination: everyone chooses a phase and all chosen phases activate for everyone.
Is it harder or easier than the base game?
Harder, definitely. The base Ares Expedition is a competitive race: here you are constantly on defense against crises. Parameters drop faster than they rise, and if you mess up a phase or draw poorly from the project deck, the situation spirals. Experience with the base game is needed to handle Crisis's intense pace.
Is this edition in Italian?
No, this is the English edition published by Stronghold Games. Cards, rulebook, and components are in English. There is currently no official Italian edition of Crisis. A good knowledge of English is required to play, as project cards have a lot of text.
The people behind the game
Who invented it, who designed it, who publishes it — and what else they've done.
Terraforming Mars: Ares Expedition – Crisis is a cooperative expansion for 1-4 players, 60 minutes, ages 14+, designed by Sydney Engelstein, Jacob Fryxelius, and Nick Little. It flips the competitive formula of Ares Expedition: you no longer build a planet, you save it as it collapses under environmental crises. Each round a new Crisis card imposes objectives to complete (build cities, place oceans, boost atmosphere) or the planetary parameters drop. If temperature, oxygen, or oceans hit zero, Mars becomes uninhabitable and you lose. It uses simultaneous phase selection, hand management, and asymmetrical corporation powers, but requires true coordination: you need to communicate, negotiate phases, and agree to sacrifice your own strategy for the common good. It works for 1 to 4 players with the same tension. Published by Stronghold Games, it requires the Ares Expedition base game to play. Available at FroGames.it.
Frequently Asked Questions
The answers you're looking for, no beating around the bush.
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