Terraforming Mars vs Root Board Game
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Terraforming Mars
Lead a corporation to terraform Mars by building cities, forests, and oceans. Manage resources, complete objectives, and increase your Terraform Rating to make the planet habitable. Compete against rivals and lead humanity into a new era.
- Official board game adaptation
- Play against AI or up to 5 players
- Online and offline multiplayer
- Corporate Era variant
- Solo challenge mode
- Expansions available for new content
Read full descriptionHide full description
CREATE LIFE ON MARS Lead a corporation and launch ambitious Mars terraforming projects. Direct massive construction works, manage and use your resources, create cities, forests and oceans, and set rewards and objectives to win the game! In Terraforming Mars, place your cards on the board and use them wisely: - Achieve a high Terraform Rating, by increasing the temperature and oxygen level or creating oceans... Make the planet habitable for future generations! - Get Victory Points by building cities, infrastructure and other ambitious projects. - But watch out! Rival corporations will try to slow you down... That's a nice forest you planted there... It'd be a shame if an asteroid crashed right on it. Will you be able to lead humanity into a new era? The terraforming race begins now! Features: • The official adaptation of Jacob Fryxelius' famous board game. • Mars for all: Play against the computer or challenge up to 5 players in multiplayer mode, online or offline. • Game variant: Try the rules of the Corporate Era for a more complex game. With the addition of new cards, including 2 new corporations, focused on economy and technology, you will discover one of the most strategic variants of the game! • Solo Challenge: Finish terraforming Mars before the end of generation 14. Try new rules and features in the most challenging Solo mode on the (red) planet. DLCs: • Speed up your game with the Prelude expansion, adding a new phase at the start of the game to specialize your corporation and boost your early game. It also introduces new cards, corporations and a new solo challenge. • Explore a new side of Mars with the Hellas & Elysium maps, each bringing a new set of twists, awards and milestones. From the Southern Wilds to the Other Face of Mars, the taming of the Red Planet continues. • Add the Venus board to your game, with a new Solar phase to hasten your games. Shake up Terraforming Mars with the Morning Star expansion, featuring new cards, corporations, and resources! • Spice up the game with 7 new cards from the Original Promo Pack: Includes everything from the microbe-oriented corporation Splice to the game-changing Self-Replication Robot project. * Try the Big Box Promo Pack and its 23 cards to raise the level even higher. Play as the expert-only Pharmacy Union or enjoy the more relaxed Astrodrill corporation with this DLC! * Establish outposts and trade with them in Colonies! Featuring 49 project cards, 5 corporations, and a whole new game system, Colonies is the most content-packed DLC to date! Languages available: French, English, German, Spanish, Italian, Swedish Having an issue? Looking for support? Please contact us: https://asmodee.helpshift.com/ Find all the latest news for Terraforming Mars on Facebook, Twitter and Youtube! Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TwinSailsInt Twitter: https://twitter.com/TwinSailsInt YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/twinsailsinteractive © Twin Sails Interactive 2019. © FryxGames 2016. Terraforming Mars™ is a trademark of FryxGames. Developed by Artefact Studio.
Root Board Game
Experience a digital adaptation of a popular tabletop board game. Engage in strategic woodland warfare as 2 to 4 players vie for control of a vast wilderness, leading diverse factions to victory.
- Digital board game adaptation
- Adventure and war gameplay
- 2-4 player battles
- Faction control mechanics
- Wilderness exploration
Read full descriptionHide full description
Play the digital adaptation of the beloved tabletop board game. Root is a game of adventure and war where 2 to 4 players battle for control of a vast wilderness. The nefarious Marquise de Cat has seized the great woodland, intent on harvesting its riches. Under her rule, the many creatures of the forest have banded together. This Alliance will seek to strengthen its resources and subvert the rule of Cats. In this effort, the Alliance may enlist the help of the wandering Vagabonds who are able to move through the more dangerous woodland paths. Though some may sympathize with the Alliance’s hopes and dreams, these wanderers are old enough to remember the great birds of prey who once controlled the woods. Meanwhile, at the edge of the region, the proud, squabbling Eyrie have found a new commander who they hope will lead their faction to resume their ancient birthright. The stage is set for a contest that will decide the fate of the great woodland. It is up to the players to decide which group will ultimately take root.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Root Board Game at 77% against Terraforming Mars's 45%. Root Board Game also leads on rating (4.9 vs 4.5) and update cadence (every 4 days vs every 3 weeks). Terraforming Mars's advantage is price ($8.99 vs $9.99). On ratings volume, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Terraforming Mars costs $8.99 and Root Board Game $9.99 up front. Terraforming Mars sells 6 one-off in-app purchases and Root Board Game sells 6 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Root Board Game holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 7.6K and 5.9K respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 45% of Terraforming Mars's written reviews are positive against 77% of Root Board Game's.
Terraforming Mars ships an update every 3 weeks, Root Board Game every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and October 30, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Terraforming Mars | Root Board Game |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $8.99 — better | $9.99 |
| Rating | 4.5 (7.6K ratings) | 4.9 (5.9K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 45.0% of reviews | 76.9% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 7.6K — better | 5.9K |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | Every 4 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | #34 | #8 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 | 13.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 353 MB | 505 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 9+ |
| Developer | Twin Sails Interactive | Dire Wolf Digital |
Customer experience
Terraforming Mars
Root Board Game
User reviews
Terraforming Mars
From 7.6K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Faithful adaptation of board game
- 👍 Great UI and animations
- 🕹️ Smooth solo gameplay
- 💰 Good value for money
Room to improve
- 🐛 Frequent crashes and bugs
- 🕹️ Unreliable multiplayer experience
- 🕰️ Long load times to resume games
- 🤯 Confusing multiplayer features
- 🤖 Weak AI opponents
Root Board Game
From 5.9K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Faithful adaptation of the board game
- 🎨 Charming visuals and animations
- 🕹️ Smooth gameplay
- 🧠 Helpful tutorials for learning the game
- 🕹️ Great way to practice and learn the game
Room to improve
- 🐛 Occasional crashes and bugs
- 🕹️ AI could be improved, makes questionable decisions
- 🕹️ Lack of undo button frustrating
- 🕹️ Replaying opponent moves can be tedious
- 🕹️ Animations can be slow, need option to speed up
Bugs and requests
Terraforming Mars
Reported bugs
4 issues- Science tags not counted properly
- Power infrastructure card not functioning
- Inability to place tiles in some cases
- Saved games not loading properly
Requested features
5 requests- Undo button for actions
- Ability to see final game metrics
- Notifications for turn updates
- Ability to track win/loss records
- More expansion content
Root Board Game
Reported bugs
3 issues- Crashes and freezes during gameplay
- Issues with async game notifications and state
- Bugs with specific faction mechanics (e.g. Vagabond)
Requested features
6 requests- Add undo button
- Implement option to skip/speed up opponent moves
- Include expansion factions and maps
- Add match history and player stats tracking
- Improve async game notifications and stability
Show 1 moreShow fewer
- Add more customization options for game setup
In-app purchases
Terraforming Mars
- Original Promo Pack$2.99
- Terraforming Mars - Prelude$3.99
- Hellas & Elysium$3.99
Show 3 moreShow fewer
- Venus Next$3.99
- Colonies$3.99
- Big Box Promo Pack$4.99
Root Board Game
- The Clockwork Expansion$5.99
- Exiles & Partisans & Vagabonds$7.99
- The Riverfolk Expansion$9.99
Show 3 moreShow fewer
- Root: The Underworld Expansion$9.99
- Root: The Marauder Expansion$9.99
- Hirelings & Landmarks$9.99
Questions
Is Terraforming Mars free?
Is Root Board Game free?
Which has better reviews, Terraforming Mars or Root Board Game?
Do Terraforming Mars or Root Board Game have ads?
Which is updated more often, Terraforming Mars or Root Board Game?
Which is more popular, Terraforming Mars or Root Board Game?
Other comparisons















