Comparison

Terraforming Mars vs Root Board Game

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • 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
Features
Read 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.

About

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.

Highlights
  • Digital board game adaptation
  • Adventure and war gameplay
  • 2-4 player battles
  • Faction control mechanics
  • Wilderness exploration
Features
Read 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

Terraforming Mars4 screens
Root Board Game4 screens

Verdict

The call

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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

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.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

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.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

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.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
Terraforming Mars versus Root Board Game: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTerraforming MarsRoot Board Game
Price$8.99 — better$9.99
Rating4.5 (7.6K ratings)4.9 (5.9K ratings) — better
Positive reviews45.0% of reviews76.9% of reviews — better
Number of ratings7.6K — better5.9K
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 4 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#35#8 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS13.013.0
Further details — not scored
Size353 MB505 MB
Age rating12+9+
DeveloperTwin Sails InteractiveDire Wolf Digital

Customer experience

Terraforming Mars

All ratings7,460 ratings
Positive87.7%
Neutral3.9%
Negative8.4%
Written reviews902 reviews
Positive45.0%
Neutral15.9%
Negative39.1%

Root Board Game

All ratings5,424 ratings
Positive97.5%
Neutral1.1%
Negative1.3%
Written reviews399 reviews
Positive76.9%
Neutral8.5%
Negative14.5%

User reviews

Terraforming Mars

From 7.6K App Store ratings

What 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 ratings

What 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 more
  • Add more customization options for game setup

In-app purchases

6 purchases

Terraforming Mars

One-time6
  • Original Promo Pack$2.99
  • Terraforming Mars - Prelude$3.99
  • Hellas & Elysium$3.99
Show 3 more
  • Venus Next$3.99
  • Colonies$3.99
  • Big Box Promo Pack$4.99
6 purchases

Root Board Game

One-time6
  • The Clockwork Expansion$5.99
  • Exiles & Partisans & Vagabonds$7.99
  • The Riverfolk Expansion$9.99
Show 3 more
  • Root: The Underworld Expansion$9.99
  • Root: The Marauder Expansion$9.99
  • Hirelings & Landmarks$9.99

Questions

Is Terraforming Mars free?
Terraforming Mars costs $8.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is Root Board Game free?
Root Board Game costs $9.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Terraforming Mars or Root Board Game?
Root Board Game is rated higher. Terraforming Mars averages 4.5 out of 5 from 7.6K ratings, while Root Board Game averages 4.9 from 5.9K ratings.
Do Terraforming Mars or Root Board Game have ads?
Neither Terraforming Mars nor Root Board Game shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Terraforming Mars or Root Board Game?
Terraforming Mars ships an update every 3 weeks, and Root Board Game every 4 days. Most recently, Terraforming Mars was updated on November 1, 2026 and Root Board Game on October 30, 2026.
Which is more popular, Terraforming Mars or Root Board Game?
Terraforming Mars currently peaks at #35 in the App Store charts, and Root Board Game at #8. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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