![]() It’s harder to learn and harder to master (and, of course, harder to teach). Where Terra Mystica had 9 “spells”, Gaia Project has 17.Īll of which inarguably makes Gaia Project the more complicated game. Where before developing your terraforming and your ability to reach new hexes couldn’t be simpler, now “research” is a giant board depicting a brawl of iconography. Where before there was one map, now there’s a broad jumble of randomised hexes. Where Gaia Project differs from Terra Mystica is that there’s just… more of it. ![]() Likewise, being the only person learning the secret of transforming the wibbly purple “Transdim planets” into habitable worlds is excellent, but less so if everyone’s learning it. From turn to turn, the question’s always the same: Do you push out and take the territory you want now, or do you have time to turn your economy inward and unlock some tremendous new power? Sitting back and researching technology is great, unless your friends are snatching up all the planets around you like tasty Skittles, erasing your plans for future expansion. Set-up of the game is randomised (much moreso in Gaia Project), your race demands a special playstyle, and your friends will always get in the way of your plans. There’s hardly an area of the design that hasn’t been tweaked, but the experience of playing is the same- Gaia Project is a rewarding test of how best to invest and re-invest your resources into growing your holdings but with all sorts of pesky variables to consider. Oh, and don’t forget to build clusters of buildings close together so that you can link them into federations for bonus victory points!įor a more detailed explanation of how Gaia Project works you can literally watch our old video on Terra Mystica. Whenever you upgrade a building you put the old miniature back on your player board, so you no longer get the income from it. There’s also the option of upgrading a marketplace into an expensive “planetary institute”, thereby unlocking your race’s superpower! But will the benefits outweigh the setback to your economy? Because here’s the twist in Terra Mys– I mean, Gaia Project. You can also upgrade mineshafts into research bases (costing more ore and money), which gives you knowledge, which you can use to advance up the multifaceted research tracks seen below, unlocking fabulous rewards and discounts that would make building your empire so much easier if you could just find the time to do it. The problem is that constructing mineshafts and terraforming planets costs ore (which comes from mineshafts) and money (which comes when you upgrade your mineshafts into markets). In Gaia Project each player picks a different species, each one with their own rule-breaking power, and tries to spread their property across the galaxy like so much interstellar nutella. It’s like eurogames meet the Mandela Effect. The good news is, Terra Mystica is still a ton of fun! The bad news is, while Gaia Project is a perfectly fine game, I can’t see a single reason why I’d buy it over the original.Ībout 90% of the Terra Mystica’s rules make it over to the sequel intact, so an explanation of how Gaia Project works sounds a bit like I’m describing an alternate reality. All set up, you’re looking at an asteroid belt of iconography.Īfter playing Gaia Project we actually went back and played Terra Mystica as part of this review. As well as swapping Terra Mystica’s musty fantasy for a sci-fi backdrop, it’s more expensive, more complicated and demands significantly more table space. This week we’re looking at the sequel, Gaia Project, which is a big deal in more ways than one. ![]() But there you have it! It’s just that enjoyable. That’s shockingly high considering just how complicated and odd Terra Mystica is, with its challenging puzzle squished in between ugly mermaids and magic bowls. Today 28,000 people have rated it on BoardGameGeek, awarding it in an average of 8.3 out of 10. We reviewed fantasy town-building game Terra Mystica back in 2013 and found ourselves submerged in strategic nirvana. Quinns: Everybody, stand up from your chairs! Pull up your pants. Gaia Project, Terra Mystica, Conflict-Free Games, Heavy Games ![]()
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