The economy of Mars
Everything in this game is bought with megacredits, and megacredits come from exactly two places: MC production and your terraforming rating (you’re paid TR + MC production every generation). Every other resource is a specialized currency that’s only worth something if you can spend it.
The resources, in plain terms
Section titled “The resources, in plain terms”| Resource | What it’s for | Rough feel |
|---|---|---|
| MC | Everything | The real currency |
| Steel | Building-tag cards only, 2 MC each | Great if your hand has buildings |
| Titanium | Space-tag cards only, 3 MC each | Great if your hand has space cards |
| Plants | 8 → a greenery (1 VP + oxygen + TR) | Points on a conveyor belt |
| Energy | Powers some cards; leftovers become heat | Buy it for a reason, not on spec |
| Heat | 8 → +1 temperature (+1 TR) | Slow, reliable TR |
The designers’ price list
Section titled “The designers’ price list”Here’s a piece of real community scholarship worth knowing: if you take every base-game card, add the 3 MC keep-cost to its price, the deck resolves into a consistent internal price list — what the designers actually charge for things. It’s your benchmark for every deal you’re offered:
| Thing | Its built-in price |
|---|---|
| 1 MC production | 5 MC |
| 1 VP | 5 MC |
| 1 heat production | 6 MC |
| 1 energy production | 7 MC |
| 1 steel production | 8 MC |
| 1 plant / titanium production | 10 MC |
| 1 temperature step / 1 TR | 10 MC |
| 1 ocean | 14 MC |
One-off resources are all roughly interchangeable: 1 plant = 1 steel = 1 titanium = 1 card = 2 heat = 2 MC.
The list is honest in a satisfying way: a TR at 10 MC is exactly a VP (5) plus an MC of income (5), because that’s literally what a TR is. A card offering things below these prices is a bargain; above them, it needs a reason.
And the standard projects all overpay by exactly 4 MC — a greenery from cards prices out at 19, the standard project charges 23. That 4 MC is a convenience fee, not a trap, and it means any side value worth 4 MC makes a standard project fully efficient: a placement bonus, two ocean adjacencies (2 MC each), a greenery beside your own city (+1 VP ≈ 5 MC), or a milestone it locks.
Two consequences people miss:
- Steel and titanium are only money if your cards can spend them. A pile of steel with no building cards in hand is a pile of nothing. Value them through your hand, not in the abstract.
- Plants and heat are never wasted — they always convert to TR and points eventually. That’s why plant and heat strategies are beginner-friendly: the conveyor belt runs by itself.
Production now beats production later
Section titled “Production now beats production later”A production step bought in generation 3 pays out every generation for the rest of the game — maybe ten more times. The same step bought in generation 10 pays twice. This is the whole argument for the early-game economy focus:
A production card must pay back its cost before the game ends. Estimate generations remaining, multiply by the production gained, and compare to what the card cost you (price + 3 MC for buying it). If it doesn’t clearly pay back, it’s not an economy card — it’s a luxury.
Late in the game this flips completely: from around the last three generations, stop buying production at all. Money in hand converts to points (greeneries, temperature, cities); production bought now never returns its cost.
The hidden cost of buying cards
Section titled “The hidden cost of buying cards”Every card you keep at a research phase costs 3 MC before you’ve played it. Keeping four cards a generation is a 12 MC habit — that’s a standard project asteroid every two generations, silently gone.
Buy fewer cards than feels natural. Strong players regularly keep one or two per research phase, and sometimes zero. A card you keep but never play was a small donation to the bank.
Events vs. permanents
Section titled “Events vs. permanents”Event cards (red) fire once and are done. Permanent effects and production (green/blue) keep working. Early on, favor the permanent thing; late on, favor the immediate thing. The same logic as production: duration is value, and duration shrinks as the game ages.