Terraforming Mars The Colonies
Our world has widened before us. Corporations expand their operations to all corners of the solar system in pursuit of minerals and resources. Most places are not suited for terraforming, but building colonies may greatly improve your income and your possibilities in achieving that higher goal - the terraforming of Mars. Send your trade fleet to distant moons! Colonize the clouds of Jupiter! And let your Earth assets propel you to success! Colonies lets you visit the outer solar system. It features colony tiles where you can build colonies and send your trade fleet. It also includes new cards and corporations.This is an expansion to Terraforming Mars. Colonies is played together with the main game and may be combined with any other expansion and variant.
Our world has widened before us. Corporations expand their operations to all corners of the solar system in pursuit of minerals and resources. Most places are not suited for terraforming, but building colonies may greatly improve your income and your possibilities in achieving that higher goal - the terraforming of Mars. Send your trade fleet to distant moons! Colonize the clouds of Jupiter! And let your Earth assets propel you to success! Colonies lets you visit the outer solar system. It features colony tiles where you can build colonies and send your trade fleet. It also includes new cards and corporations.This is an expansion to Terraforming Mars. Colonies is played together with the main game and may be combined with any other expansion and variant.
Our world has widened before us. Corporations expand their operations to all corners of the solar system in pursuit of minerals and resources. Most places are not suited for terraforming, but building colonies may greatly improve your income and your possibilities in achieving that higher goal - the terraforming of Mars. Send your trade fleet to distant moons! Colonize the clouds of Jupiter! And let your Earth assets propel you to success! Colonies lets you visit the outer solar system. It features colony tiles where you can build colonies and send your trade fleet. It also includes new cards and corporations.This is an expansion to Terraforming Mars. Colonies is played together with the main game and may be combined with any other expansion and variant.
Our world has widened before us. Corporations expand their operations to all corners of the solar system in pursuit of minerals and resources. Most places are not suited for terraforming, but building colonies may greatly improve your income and your possibilities in achieving that higher goal - the terraforming of Mars. Send your trade fleet to distant moons! Colonize the clouds of Jupiter! And let your Earth assets propel you to success! Colonies lets you visit the outer solar system. It features colony tiles where you can build colonies and send your trade fleet. It also includes new cards and corporations.This is an expansion to Terraforming Mars. Colonies is played together with the main game and may be combined with any other expansion and variant.
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The lowest price for Terraforming Mars The Colonies right now is $39.79 at Fishpond.com.au, compared across 43 retailers.
The all-time low was $28.95 on 13 Apr 2025 — today's price is 37% above the lowest ever. It has been notably cheaper before — worth setting a price alert.
Prices last updated 2 Nov 2026.
Last updated at 02/11/2026 05:16:20
Terraforming Mars: The Colonies
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Terraforming Mars: Colonies Expansion Board Game (Stronghold Games) | Stronghold Games | Games & Puzzles
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Terraforming Mars: Colonies Expansion
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Terraforming Mars: Colonies exp.
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originally posted on mightyape.com.au
While this expansion can be used with just the base game it does a good job of bringing together other elements across all expansions so far.Most similar to Venus Next in that it expands the play area beyond the game board it differs in that it keeps the focus on the core gameplay of terraforming Mars. Capitalising on the colonies becomes a core part of gameplay, unlike other expansions that may seem to just add another play area.Definitely recommended.
originally posted on homeessentialsdirect.com
Another great expansion. Adds a new dimension without many rules. Felt that the new project cards helped balance the game. We love playing with all expansions together without the world government. We are up to 10 plays with the expansion and 100+ overall. Fantastic entertainment bargain.
originally posted on homeessentialsdirect.com
I got this as a gift for my husband's birthday and at least I was super excited to try out this expansion for Terraforming Mars. The instructions have room for improvement. We followed most of it...but forgot to "unlock" some of the planets which were supposed to be unlocked if we play certain cards. With all the things you have to keep track of, I don't know...there should be something like a reminder token to remind you about unlocking the colonies. Maybe if we play with it 5 more times we might appreciate this expansion more. It wasn't like Prelude where you could feel the changes right away. Colonies just gives you another thing you can do on your turn. I wasn't super impressed by it and played most of the game without using them.
| Recommended Age | 12+ |
| Language | English |
| Count | 1.0 Count |
| Material | Cardboard |
| Maximum Players | 5 |
Terraforming Mars: The Colonies
Free delivery
Affiliate Disclosure: We may receive a small commission for purchases made through this link at no extra cost to you. This helps support our site. Thank you!
Terraforming Mars: Colonies Expansion Board Game (Stronghold Games) | Stronghold Games | Games & Puzzles
Delivery $8.95
Terraforming Mars Colonies
Delivery between 9–12 Nov $11
Terraforming Mars: Colonies Expansion
Delivery $26.21
Terraforming Mars: The Colonies
Delivery between 7–12 Nov $20.28
While this expansion can be used with just the base game it does a good job of bringing together other elements across all expansions so far.Most similar to Venus Next in that it expands the play area beyond the game board it differs in that it keeps the focus on the core gameplay of terraforming Mars. Capitalising on the colonies becomes a core part of gameplay, unlike other expansions that may seem to just add another play area.Definitely recommended.
Another great expansion. Adds a new dimension without many rules. Felt that the new project cards helped balance the game. We love playing with all expansions together without the world government. We are up to 10 plays with the expansion and 100+ overall. Fantastic entertainment bargain.
I got this as a gift for my husband's birthday and at least I was super excited to try out this expansion for Terraforming Mars. The instructions have room for improvement. We followed most of it...but forgot to "unlock" some of the planets which were supposed to be unlocked if we play certain cards. With all the things you have to keep track of, I don't know...there should be something like a reminder token to remind you about unlocking the colonies. Maybe if we play with it 5 more times we might appreciate this expansion more. It wasn't like Prelude where you could feel the changes right away. Colonies just gives you another thing you can do on your turn. I wasn't super impressed by it and played most of the game without using them.
If you're buying TM expacs, you're going to pick this one up, but my primary complaint is that building a colony on one of the tiles *permanently* bumps the track up by one, making it easy for someone to farm the same resource every turn. It also makes energy production way more valuable, and maybe even introduces too many Jovian tags. Pairing colonies with certain Prelude cards (ones that give energy production) can feel especially busted. But overall still worth playing. Plus all this is just my opinion!
Great expansion. Colonies seem to be a factor in every game, unlike the Venus expansion where it sometime has no effect on the game. Definitely adds some more to think about and in a 2 player game at least, it definitely pays to lean into colonies.
Adds another spin on Terraforming Mars. A great expansion to shake the game up for those experienced with the base game.Isn't necessary and no need for new players to jump in and start using it.
The best thing this expansion does is add more uses for the energy resource. If you open the game right (especially with Prelude), you can be sending fleets every turn and grab a lot of loot without spending money or titanium. It feels satisfying to place a bunch of colonies (especially with the cards that give you extra fleets or double colonies) and then reap rewards. The new resource - floaters - increases the number of moving axes in the game. Floaters are much more mobile than animals or microbes, so you will spend a lot of time producing them on one card, then pushing them to another one etc. All in all, it can add more head-scratching to Terraforming Mars if you have the base game figured out. Conversely, if you still enjoy the game as-is, better get Prelude ... MoreThe best thing this expansion does is add more uses for the energy resource. If you open the game right (especially with Prelude), you can be sending fleets every turn and grab a lot of loot without spending money or titanium. It feels satisfying to place a bunch of colonies (especially with the cards that give you extra fleets or double colonies) and then reap rewards. The new resource - floaters - increases the number of moving axes in the game. Floaters are much more mobile than animals or microbes, so you will spend a lot of time producing them on one card, then pushing them to another one etc. All in all, it can add more head-scratching to Terraforming Mars if you have the base game figured out. Conversely, if you still enjoy the game as-is, better get Prelude or Hellas & Elysium for more variety without making the game longer or more complicated.
Another T.M. expansion you want, with 5 new corporations, 49 projects, a "new" resource called floaters (also found in TM: Venus Next), and finally some new mechanics! Here's the gist:In Colonies, there are now 11 areas where players can build (placing a marker, no tile placement unfortunately) and trade, some of which aren't immediately accessible, all of which benefit local residents (the other players who built there) when traded with. Each colony tile steadily gains trading benefits over the generations until someone visits, at which point it drops to minimum value. The trading benefit is independent of what residents get when the trade happens.As you might guess, that brings resource abundance & a fair amount of complexity. Or maybe a mad scramble with no ... MoreAnother T.M. expansion you want, with 5 new corporations, 49 projects, a "new" resource called floaters (also found in TM: Venus Next), and finally some new mechanics! Here's the gist:In Colonies, there are now 11 areas where players can build (placing a marker, no tile placement unfortunately) and trade, some of which aren't immediately accessible, all of which benefit local residents (the other players who built there) when traded with. Each colony tile steadily gains trading benefits over the generations until someone visits, at which point it drops to minimum value. The trading benefit is independent of what residents get when the trade happens.As you might guess, that brings resource abundance & a fair amount of complexity. Or maybe a mad scramble with no forethought whatsoever, depending on your game night...The group effect is a nice change of pace, and honestly there should be more of it spread throughout T.M.- Martian quake? Of course everyone's affected! Trade embargoes? Yes please! Venusian sun worshippers? Well, I don't know what they'd do, but more global effects are great. Strangely, there are only four cards that play into that in Colonies.There are a small amount of high-impact projects, maybe ten. The set does add 7 Jovian-tagged cards, which helps a lot with that particular approach. The floater resource will stack up with some of the TM: Venus Next interactions, making it a dangerous combo for those who'd rather avoid blow-out games.The high and low ends of the new corporations are Arklight and Aridor; Arklight with 45 mc, +2 mc production, and 1 VP per 2 animals on the corp card, which itself gains an animal for every plant or animal tag you play. The right mix of draws for starting hand could mean double-digit VP for them! Aridor gets 40 mc, and their first (forced) action is to place an extra colony tile, which has literally no significant benefit. They also get +1 mc production per new tag they put into play, which doesn't work well with their tile placement, and is dependent on buying a hodge-podge of cards that may have little synergy.The colony tiles are picked at random, and to represent the trading fleets are the saddest excuse for a ship I've ever seen- a generic white plastic arrow with a divot for a player marker. They look like they came out of a garbage factory at $1 per 100 units. I have no clue why this manufacturing choice was made in an era where almost every popular game is relying on proprietary miniatures to sell their theme. Big oof, Fryx. Only one of these abominations can trade with a colony at a time, which means timing and brinksmanship are going to be big factors for experienced players here. Also, the colony trade tracks go from 1-7, but always start on 2- A weird design choice considering the lack of trade-bombing cards.Other than the "ships", my quibbles are:No card tray, again, forever. In the words of Jack Slater, "Big mistake."There is only 1 card in the box that negatively impacts trade. 1 card. Why? What?Players can only have one colony per colony tile, with very, very few special exceptions.Should have been packaged with TM: Venus NextWhat's the bottom line? You get new mechanics, a bunch of new cards, a new resource, and complexity, which is something every veteran player craves out of a time-worn classic. No amount of quibbles should stop you from picking this up. It, along with Venus Next, should be your first picks for playable content expansions in Terraforming Mars.
This expansion is good for the "completionist" who likes to have all the elements of the game. I only break it out when playing 4 or 5 player games, as less than that and they rarely get used. There are some Projects and Corporations that don't depend on the tiles being out, so even if you decide the expansion is your style, these projects add breadth to the game.
This is a good addition to the game. We have found that this expansion affects the game more than any of the other expansions did, especially in that if one person uses the colonies better than the others, then that person usually wins. With the venus expansion it added a new aspect to the game but one did not have to be involved with venus to win. With this expansion they make it cheap to participate (only 3 energy to trade) and the benefit to participating pretty significant, so you must participate to be competitive in the game. Because of this, getting a card that helps you trade is a pretty big advantage, so if one person gets it and another doesn't then they have an edge. All that being said, it is very fun to play and is definitely worth getting if you like ... MoreThis is a good addition to the game. We have found that this expansion affects the game more than any of the other expansions did, especially in that if one person uses the colonies better than the others, then that person usually wins. With the venus expansion it added a new aspect to the game but one did not have to be involved with venus to win. With this expansion they make it cheap to participate (only 3 energy to trade) and the benefit to participating pretty significant, so you must participate to be competitive in the game. Because of this, getting a card that helps you trade is a pretty big advantage, so if one person gets it and another doesn't then they have an edge. All that being said, it is very fun to play and is definitely worth getting if you like terraforming mars. Just know that it is a significant addition.
| Recommended Age | 12+ |
| Language | English |
| Count | 1.0 Count |
| Material | Cardboard |
| Maximum Players | 5 |
