The Martian War of Independence
Humanity has finally started to build permanent settlements on Mars. The people of Mars live in colonies owned by China, the US, or private corporations. You play the Martians, and you do not like being ordered around by Earthers. However, your colonists still rely on shipments of food from earth. At a minimum, Mars needs to find a way to become self-sufficient in food and manufactured goods. The nations and corporations that think they own Mars will also try to reclaim their investments. Of course, you would love it if Mars had a breathable atmosphere one day. To that end, you will need to build colonies of your own on the moons of Jupiter and Saturn to collect the gases needed to bulk of Mars’ thin atmosphere. While you are figuring out how to accomplish all of this, you will need to keep the food supplies flowing from Earth. This means engaging in earth politics, and playing one power against another. Maintaining the support of all your colonies will also be a challenge. Once a lava tube full of Martians has achieved self-sufficiency, it really does not have to listen to you. Good luck!
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Is there a way to edit this so that cards that no longer have any use - like, building a lava tube when all lava tubes have been built - get pulled from the deck?
Hi Summercat:
We tried that...but in most cases, it was not as much fun! Most of the time, the squares are contested. Also, the fact that the cards you are going to need are scarce forces you to plan ahead a bit. The game would be less challenging as turns progressed if you are only dealt cards that you can use. I like to use the analogy of tanks and infantry in WWII. At the start of the war, everyone had plenty of infantry, but tanks were in short supply. By 1944, everyone (Germany, the Soviets, the Western Allies) were desperately short of infantry, and had more tanks than they needed. A hand in a game like that would have all tanks...and you would be furiously discarding to find an infantry unit.
Thanks for playing.