Terraforming Mars is a board game where players take on the role of corporations working together to transform the Red Planet into a habitable environment for humanity. The goal is to earn the most victory points by strategically managing resources, improving infrastructure, and terraforming the planet. Each player has a player board representing their corporation and a deck of project cards that can be used to take actions, such as building cities and forests, raising the temperature, and creating oceans. The game is played over several generations, with each generation representing one year on Mars.

Players take turns performing actions and can also buy project cards from a communal deck. The game ends when the Mars terraforming rating reaches maximum or when the temperature, oxygen, and ocean levels are within the required range. The player with the most victory points wins. Overall, Terraforming Mars offers a deep and engaging strategy game experience set on the Red Planet.