Stronghold announces Big Box storage solution for Terraforming Mars
“In games there are rules, but in life the rules keep changing. You could put your bishop out there to mate the other guy’s king, and he could lean down and whisper in your bishop’s ear, and suddenly it’s playing for him, and moving like a rook.”
― Kim Stanley Robinson, Red Mars
And now, a very special announcement for fans of Terraforming Mars, and I know there are many. Terraforming Mars hit the gaming scene by storm when it was released in 2016. This card-driven board game for 1-5 players designed by Jacob Fryxelius hit all the right buttons, and now lives at the #4 position on BGG. Terraforming Mars has been well supported over the years and has 5 critically acclaimed expansions: Hellas and Elysium, Venus Next, Colonies, Prelude and last year’s Kickstarter hit, Turmoil.
Stephen Buonocore, president of Stronghold Games / Indie Boards & Cards was kind enough to share some of the future of Terraforming Mars. Stephen has stated in the past that “TURMOIL was the last expansion that would add new mechanics, and that’s still our view. However, this doesn't preclude more CONTENT coming in the form of an expansion, which utilizes the current mechanics of the game.” Along these lines, Stronghold Games plans a new Kickstarter Campaign for one of the most requested Terraforming Mars add-ons, a Big Box storage solution. Stephen went on to say that he refuses to sell an empty box, and true to form, this Kickstarter will be chock full of goodies. Firstly, the box will be big, about 300x300x200mm (11.8x11.8x7.8in) and will hold everything in the base game, the expansions, and promotional items. Even the “mars rover” first player marker will have its own space. Storage will be in form fit, nested plastic trays, beautifully displaying the contents, as well as organizing them with card dividers.
Secondly, the Big Box expansion will contain over 90 3-D plastic markers and tiles, including 24 City tiles (4 each of 6 different designs), 40 Forest tiles (8 each of 5 designs), 9 Ocean Tiles, and 14 Special Tiles. The special tiles include Capital City, Commercial District, Industrial Center, as well as all of the special locations in the game. These plastic tiles are made with up to 4 different colors, combining orange rock with vivid greenery, stark buildings and translucent lava flows into a vibrant landscape. For true connoisseurs of the game, you may notice that there are 14 special tiles listed, more than special locations in the game – the Big Box also comes with 3 new cards.
Look for the Kickstarter in about 2 weeks, and the price of the Big Box is rumored to be $99.
