best strategy game of 2016. Similarly, Popular Mechanics named Terraforming Mars as one of its 50 best games of the year. Vulture called it "the best high strategy game of 2016." In an article for The Guardian, Dan Jolin said that the projects "synergise in many different and rewarding ways", and stated that "isn't just a great science game, it's a great game full stop". The game was nominated for the 2017 Kennerspiel des Jahres award for Best Strategy Game of the Year. It won Best Family/Adult Game at the 2017 Deutscher Spiele Preis. From 2019 to 2020, Terraforming Mars peaked as the 3rd ranked board game on BoardGameGeek. The expansions to the game were also received positively. Hellas and Elysium and Venus Next were the two runners-up for the Golden Geek award for the best expansion to a game in 2017. Prelude has been received very well by critics for speeding up the beginning phase by giving each player extra abilities at the start of the game. Terraforming Mars: Ares Expedition was also reviewed by Charlie Hall from Polygon (website), who described the game's multiple phases as interesting, but critiqued that it was "a smaller, mostly card-based game leaves behind a few vestigial remnants from the original" that still contained "redundant icons and concepts". Hall additionally criticised the components and rulebook. Reviewing from Ars Technica, Aaron Zimmerman stated that the game was a combination of Race for the Galaxy and the original title, and complimented the engagement and engine-building mechanics. Zimmerman considered that the game's player interaction was "arguably more" than the base game, and considered its components as superior. In Popular Culture In the 2022 movie Moonshot, a family is seen playing Terraforming Mars while on Mars. Media tie-ins In 2021, a tie-in novel based on the game by author Jane Killick called In the Shadow of Deimos was published by Aconyte Books. In 2022, a second novel titled Edge of Catastrophe is also set to be released by Jane Killick. References Further reading BoardGameGeek page for Terraforming Mars. BoardGameGeek. Board games introduced in 2016 Play-by-email video games Science fiction board games