Space-themed board game Terraforming Mars and its expansion sets are now on sale for Black Friday

Terraforming Mars Board Game
(Image credit: Amazon)

Snag up a popular spacefaring game and five of its expansion boards now on sale and get savings as high as 33% this week ahead of Black Friday. 

The objective of Terraforming Mars is written in the game's name. One to five players can compete with one another to gain the most points towards raising the habitability of the Red Planet for future human visitors. Players gain points by raising Mars' temperature, the planet's oxygen level and by creating and expanding oceans. 

The game features several card categories that allow the players some control about their play level of difficulty. Project cards stimulate the imagination by tasking players to do things like introduce plant life and build cities, and there are more than 200 different projects to complete. 

The Terraforming Mars Board Game is now on sale at Amazon for $49.85, which is 29% off its usual retail price. 

Terraforming Mars
was $69.95 now $49.85 at amazon.com

Terraforming Mars: $69.95 $49.85 at Amazon

This popular board game allows up to five players to compete by gaining terraforming points. The quest to make Mars a human-friendly place features more than 200 different cards and colorful pieces, and it is now 29% discounted. For ages 12 and up. 

Terraforming Mars is an upgradable game, too. One of the unique characteristics of Terraforming Mars are its tiles, which players can place across the board illustration of the Red Planet. One available upgrade lets players add a higher visual element to their game. 

Terraforming Mars: Big Box

Terraforming Mars: Big Box: $149.99$121.61 at Amazon
was £149.99 now £120.95 at Amazon US

Terraforming Mars: Big Box: $149.99 $121.61 at Amazon

Store all your Terraforming Mars expansion kits and add some extra flair to your gameplay with new tiles with this Big Box upgrade of the classic space game. 

Known as the Big Box, this upgrade comes with 90 special tiles to dress up the game, including a set of 3D terrain tiles. Big Box also serves as a storage solution for the main game and its expansions (which are also on sale this week). 

Terraforming Mars: Big Box is now available for $121.30 at Amazon, which is a 19% savings off its retail price of $149.99.  

Terraforming Mars: Prelude

Terraforming Mars: Prelude Expansion Kit:$44.37$30.46 at Walmart
was £44.37 now £29.78 at walmart.com

Terraforming Mars: Prelude Expansion Kit:
$44.37 $30.46 at Walmart

Terraforming Mars: Prelude is now on sale at Walmart for 33% off its retail price.  

Once you are ready for an expansion kit, there are many to choose from. 

One option is Prelude, which allows players to move through the backstory of the corporations that terraform Mars. This kit offers about 90 to 120 minutes of average playtime, according to the manufacturer Stronghold Games. And just like the original game, it is intended for ages 12 and older. 

Terraforming Hellas & Elysium

Terraforming Hellas & Elysium:$42.02$36.67 at Walmart
was £42.02 now £29.18 at walmart.com

Terraforming Hellas & Elysium: $42.02 $36.67 at Walmart

Get a double-sided expansion kit of the popular Terraforming Mars game. Players can expand their game to new regions of the Red Planet. 

Another expansion board option takes players to the other side of the Red Planet. The Terraforming Hellas & Elysium: The Other Side of Mars Expansion Board consists of a double-sided game board. Each side represents two new areas of Mars for gameplay: they include the opposite side of Mars' equator and the south polar region of the planet. This expansion kit is now 30% off its retail price, selling for $29.18 at Walmart. 

Terraforming Mars: Turmoil

Terraforming Mars Turmoil:$34.95$29.54 at Amazon
was £34.95 now £29.54 at Amazon US

Terraforming Mars Turmoil: $34.95 $29.54 at Amazon

This expansion is ideal for advanced players of the original game, and it is one of the best-rated extensions of Terraforming Mars. 

Terraforming Mars Turmoil is one of the highest-rated expansions. This set is suitable for experts of the original game. It comes with a new card type called global events, which features things like dust storms and riots, plus new project cards too. You can now save 15% on this expansion, available for $29.54 at Amazon. 

Terraforming Mars: Venus Next

Terraforming Mars: Venus Next: $29.06 at Walmart
was £29.95 now £24.95 at walmart.com

Terraforming Mars: Venus Next:  $29.06 at Walmart

Take the classic spacefaring board game and expand gameplay to Earth's other solar system neighbor. This was briefly reduced by $5, but that deal has now expired.

The Venus Next expansion kit takes the game to Earth's other celestial neighbor. Players can work to build flying cities, reduce Venus' greenhouse effect, or introduce life to the planet. Like the original game, this expansion is recommended for ages 12 and up and offers about 90- to 120-minute play. Terraforming Mars: Venus Next is now 17% off on Walmart, available now for $24.95. 

Terraforming Mars: Ares Expedition

Terraforming Mars Ares Expedition Collector's Edition: $49.99 $39.99 at Walmart

Terraforming Mars Ares Expedition Collector's Edition: $49.99 $39.99 at Walmart

This standalone game based on Terraforming Mars is $10 off for Black Friday.


One extension of the Terraforming Mars is Ares Expedition, a standalone game inspired by the original that features faster gameplay. Ares Expedition is also on sale for Black Friday, now $39.99 on Walmart (originally $49.99).  

Be sure to check out Space.com's Black Friday space deals, or our guide to the best Black Friday space board game deals.

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Doris Elin Urrutia
Contributing Writer

Doris is a science journalist and Space.com contributor. She received a B.A. in Sociology and Communications at Fordham University in New York City. Her first work was published in collaboration with London Mining Network, where her love of science writing was born. Her passion for astronomy started as a kid when she helped her sister build a model solar system in the Bronx. She got her first shot at astronomy writing as a Space.com editorial intern and continues to write about all things cosmic for the website. Doris has also written about microscopic plant life for Scientific American’s website and about whale calls for their print magazine. She has also written about ancient humans for Inverse, with stories ranging from how to recreate Pompeii’s cuisine to how to map the Polynesian expansion through genomics. She currently shares her home with two rabbits. Follow her on twitter at @salazar_elin.