Pathfinders

2019--10-01
Rules version 2019
 Pathfinders
a fan expansion for TERRAFORMING MARS

Introduction
I bought Terraforming Mars in March 2017 as a birthday
gift for myself because I loved the theme (physicist and
architect here - building on mars? HELL YEAH!).
Since then, this game became a weekly play for my friends
and I. At this point we have played more than eighty games as
a group. At some point we acquired Hellas and Elysium, but
we wanted more. We found new corporations online, and
created some of our own based on our experience. Later we
speculated about what kind of projects or cards would be fun
and thematic (we are all science fiction fans, just geeky nerds).
Our thoughts materialised in our own custom expansion.
While playing the Pathfinders I would advise against using
the world government terraforming rule from Venus Next .
The expansion does not change any of the existing
mechanics of the game. I know that cards look a little different
to originals, but they were recreated entirely in graphic design
software. Some of descriptions are made clearer for my
newbie friends. I think the cards are similar enough.
The expansion focuses on the theme of expansion of
humanity in the solar system. Building new societies and
culture. Focusing on some extra projects on Mars connected
with information and culture.
- Jakub

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WHAT'S NEW
• 75 new Project cards,
cards including 5 mega-structures
(cards with 4 tags);
• 2 5 new Corporation
C orporation cards
cards;
• 16 new Prelude cards;
• 6 new Global Event cards;
• 3 new special (brown) tiles: Crash Site, New Venice,
Red City, and Wetlands;
• 2 new Colony tiles: Iapetus & Leavitt Station;
• Solar system mini board;
board;
• New Map B oard
oard:
rd Arabia Terra;
• New resource: ;
• New tags
tags:
MARS;
PLANET OF CHOICE
(see later for additional rules).

Expansion Compatibility
The Pathfinders expansion is designed to combine material
from the various official Terraforming Mars expansions.,
including Venus Next, Prelude, Colonies, & Turmoil.
If you have and play with all four you can simply mix
everything in with no problems.
Should you not be playing with some of these expansions,
some cards with be obviously absent of their type entirely.
Meanwhile others will prove useless as they reference
mechanics you are not using. Either remove these before play,
or discard and redraw if they are drawn.

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RULES & GAME PLAY

Planet of Choice (TAG)

This tag allows you to choose which planet it
represents when you play it (Venus /Earth /Mars
/Jupiter) and it stays as the chosen planet for the rest of
the game. When the planet is chosen place one of your
player markers next the track of selected planet on the
new solar system mini-board to indicate this. These
markers count as that planet’s tags which count as
would tags on your cards

Data (RESOURCE)
RESOURCE )
Pathfinders also introduces a new resource: Data!
Data represents information that may be of value in
the development of the solar system. Data is
collected on cards and work in the same way as
microbes and animals.

Solar S ystem Mini B oard

The Solar System board represent the societal
development of terraformers and space settlers.
Additional city areas: The Solar System board
also features five new areas for specific cities placed
by project cards in the expansion, similar to Phobos
Space Haven and Ganymede Colony on the main
game board. Venera Base is an entire city dropped

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 Pathfinders Fan Expansion
from orbit, and designed to resist the corrosive
atmosphere of Venus. The rest represent ‘‘mega-
projects’’, vast edifices of scientific and engineering
achievement, who’s crews are so vast that they
count as full-on cities. Dyson Screens collect energy
direct from Sol, transmitting it efficiently
throughout the solar system. The Lunar Embassy
provides a neutral meeting place and system
parliament for the many factions that now reside
across the system. The Martian Transhipment
Station allows the rapid delivery of items to and
from mars the closest truly habitable planet to
Earth. Ceres Spaceport provides a mid-point
between the inner and outer planets with gigagrams
of cargo and thousands of souls passing through
here every week.
Setup: During setup, the Solar System board is
placed next to the game board, with a white or
copper marker on zero at the start of each planetary
influence track.
Planetary Influence Tracks: These tracks
represent the cultural impact of each planet upon
the nascent Solar civilization. They are NOT Global
Parameters, although they can be increased in a
similar fashion.
Instead of cards or Standard Projects increasing
planetary influence tracks, each time ANY player

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Pathfinders Fan Expansion
plays a card with any planetary tag(s) (Venus, Earth,
Mars, Jupiter), that player immediately increases
the matching planetary influence track on the solar
system mini-board by one space for each suck tag
on that card.
Whenever a card with any planetary tag (Venus,
Earth, Mars, Jupiter) is put into play, that player
immediately increases the matching planetary track
on the solar system mini-board by one space.
EXAMPLE: When you play the Rare-Earth
Elements card which has an Earth and a Mars tag
you increase both the Earth and Mars tracks by one
each.
Bonus steps: This way the society that gains
more attention and progress gives something back
to the corporations. Every few steps every player
receives a small reward. Rewards are connected
thematically to the planet. Everyone receives the
reward so everyone has an incentive to work on
increasing the planetary tracks. Since everyone has
a reason to contribute, some new strategies arise.
Rewards become better the higher the tracks go.
Additionally, in most cases, the player who
increased the track to that level gains an additional
reward.
The steps on the track when you receive the
reward are marked by white ellipse on the track.

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 Pathfinders Fan Expansion
You receive the rewards that are shown the closest
to that step (also listed below).
Track symbols as follows:
^ - the player who increased the track to that step
gains this reward;
* - every player gets this reward, including the
player who increased the track (in addition to the
‘‘^’’ reward);
! - the player with the most of that planetary tag
gains the reward (always the last space of the track
for the biggest contributor).
Do not expect to reach the highest level each game
but every maximum level is achievable. Make your
own story of the exploration and which planet
progressed the furthest.

This board has several features. In addition to the

planetary influence tracks (explained later), there
are reserved spaces for one City and four ‘‘mega-
structure’’ projects (also using City tiles).

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Pathfinders Fan Expansion

Planetary Influence Track

T rack Levels and Rewards
VENUS ^ - the player who * - every ! - the player with
increased the track player the most of that
planetary tag
3 1 heat, and 1 floater 1 heat
to any card
5 1 heat production 1 plant
8 rise Venus scale by draw a
1 card
11 1 floater to any 1 floater
card, 1 Delegate to to any
any Party card
14 6 M€ draw a
card
1 Rise TR rating by 1 2 victory points

EARTH ^ - the player who * - every ! - the player with

increased the track player the most of that
planetary tag
3 1 plant 1 plant
6 3 M€
9 Any 1 resource Any 1
resource
12 1 Delegate to any draw a
Party card
16 1 plant production draw a
card
19 3 M€, 1 Delegate to 3 M€
any Party
22 Place a greenery tile 2 victory points

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 Pathfinders Fan Expansion

MARS ^ - the player who * - every ! - the player with

increased the player the most of that
track planetary tag
2 1 steel
5 1 steel production 1 steel
8 1 energy 1 energy
production
11 1 Delegate to any draw a
Party card
14 Rise TR rating by draw a
1 card
1 Place a city tile 2 victory points

JUPITER ^ - the player who * - every ! - the player with

increased the player the most of that
track planetary tag
2 1 titanium
5 1 floater to any draw a
card, 1 Delegate to card
any Party
8 1 titanium 1
production titanium
11 Place an ocean tile 3 M€
14 Rise TR rating by 1 victory point
1

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CARD FAQ
CRASHLANDING
This special tile provides additional bonuses
around it --- place it carefully.

CREW TRAINING
When playing the card, place your player colour marker
next to the planetary track of the chosen planet to
remember the choice.

PLANET PR
Cards with two of the same tags counts as playing two in
a row. You receive the bonus every two tags if you play
more than two in a row.

LUXURY ESTATE
You gain one titanium for every city and every
greenery tile you own (each tile, not each pair of
those tiles), the idea of the card is to use your steel
and gain titanium instead.

MARTIAN TRANSHIPMENT STATION

You may use resources on this card while placing
greenery tiles after the last production phase.

NEW
NEW VENICE
When playing the card, place the New Venice special tile
on top of already placed ocean. The New Venice tile counts
as both a special tile and city tile at the same time. Placing
this tile counts as placing a City tile, and the special tile at

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 Pathfinders Fan Expansion
the same time for the purposes of triggering cards such
PETS or ROVER CONSTRUCTION.

RARE-
RARE-EARTH ELEMENTS
The card triggers with the Capital, Wetlands, and New
Venice tiles. This card may be played even if you do not
own any special tiles.

SOLAR STORM and SMALL SMALL COMET

BOTANICAL EXPERIENCE and PROTECTED
HABITATS reduce the negative plant removing effect of
those cards when played on oneself.

SURVEY MISSION
The card is intended to work along with the effect of the
ARCADIAN COMMUNITIES corporation. When playing
ARCADIAN COMMUNITIES you receive the 3M€ bonus
from building on the reserved areas from the SURVEY
MISSION.

WETLANDS
Wetlands tile counts as a special tile and greenery tile at
the same time. Placing this tile counts as placing a greenery
tile, and the special tile at the same time for the purposes of
triggering cards such BOTANICAL EXPERIENCE,
ARCTIC ALGAE or STEELARIS corp. Rising the oxygen
(and the ensuing TR) for the greenery, and the TR for the
ocean are represented on the cards effect, and you only
receive these.
Wetlands tile gives victory points when next to the
Capital tile for being an ocean and when next to Cities for
being a greenery tile.

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Pathfinders Fan Expansion

COLONIES IN PATHFINDER

The two Colony Tiles are mixed in with, and used

like the other colonies when playing with
Pathfinders only. Iapetus is to scale with other
moons. Station is not for obvious reasons!

Iapetus
Iapetus is the third-largest natural satellite of
Saturn, eleventh-largest in the Solar System, and the
largest body in the Solar System known not to be in
hydrostatic equilibrium. Iapetus is best known for
its dramatic "two-tone" coloration. Discoveries by
the Cassini mission in 2007 revealed several other
unusual features, such as a massive equatorial ridge
running three-quarters of the way around the moon.
Iapetus gives Data.
Iapetus starts with its white marker on the moon
picture itself, and the marker is placed on the
highlighted second step of the track immediately
when there is any card in play that may collect Data.
You can not place a colony there, or trade there,
until this happens. Like with other colonies that do
not give standard resources, this may not be used
until a player has the ability to store that resource.

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Leavitt Station
Since terrestrial observatories must overcome the
effects of gravity and atmosphere, scientists have
long sought to place observational apparatuses into
orbit. However, scientific advancements allow the
building of a large structure in solar orbit, free of
planetary microgravity, for the most clear and
accurate observational data, not just of the solar
system, but beyond!
Leavitt Station gives a ‘‘PLANET OF CHOICE’’
tag as a placement bonus (see page 3), along with
two science tags which count as would tags on your
cards.
The trade bonus allows the trading player to
increase the lowest Planetary Track by X spaces. If
there are multiple tied tracks, the player chooses
between them.

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Pathfinders Fan Expansion

ARABIA TERA MAP

Arabia Terra is a large upland region in the north of

Mars that lies mostly in the Arabia quadrangle, but a
small part is in the Mare Acidalium quadrangle. It is
densely cratered and heavily eroded. This battered
topography indicates great age, and Arabia Terra is
presumed to be one of the oldest terrains on the planet.
It covers as much as 4,500 km at its longest extent, with
its eastern and southern regions rising 4 km above the
north-west. Alongside its many craters, canyons wind
through the Arabia Terra, many emptying into the large
northern lowlands of the planet, which borders Arabia
Terra to the north.
This new game boards can be used instead of the
ordinary game board. It depicts a new region of Mars,
with new placement bonuses, ocean areas, and brand
new sets of milestones and awards.
Several spaces with larger resource bonuses represent
probe landing sites. Tiles with blue triangles count as
reserved for oceans for the purposes of placing oceans
only. For the placing of other tiles, they do not count as
reserved. Overall, you may place any tile there with
normal rules.
The Arabia Terra map lacks the Noctis region, so the
tile from the card Noctis City loses it's placement
restriction and may be placed on any non-ocean area.
It does, however, have four volcanic sites where the
Lava Flows tile can be placed: Charybdis, Flaugergues,
Ladon, & Tikhonarov.

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 Pathfinders Fan Expansion

MILESTONES
ECONOMISER requires that you have five heat
production.
PIONEER requires that you have three colonies in play.
LAND SPECIALIST requires that you have three
special (brown) tiles in play.
RESEARCHER requires that you have four Science tags
in play.
BUSINESSMAN requires that you have six earth tags.

AWARDS
COSMIC SETTLER rewards the most city tiles NOT on
Mars.
BOTANIST rewards the most plant production.
COORDINATOR rewards the most event cards played.
ZOOLOGIST rewards the most animal recourses on
cards.
CONTRACTOR rewards the most active (blue) cards in
play.

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 Rules version 2019-
2019-10-
10-01

MEGACREDITS
Terraforming Mars by Jacon Fryxellius
Terraforming Mars Expansions by the Fryxellius
Brothers
Pathfinders design and Art by Jakub Wiechec
Pathfinders rules
rules editing & layout in this
document by Slev

Disclaimer: There is no intent to infringe on any

copyrights or trademarks with respect to pictures or
game ideas. This is a fan project for entertainment
only and not a commercial product. Files are
provided per personal use only and are not to be
distributed or produced for profit. Please do not use
in any way that would infringe upon FRYXGAMES
rights to the TERRAFORMING MARS product or
revenue.

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