Comparison

Terraforming Mars vs TMHelper

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

TMHelper

A companion app for Terraforming Mars and its Ares Expedition expansion. It allows players to easily track global parameters, manage player boards, and keep score for up to five players. Designed for quick, touch-friendly adjustments.

Highlights
  • Track global parameters (oxygen, temperature, oceans)
  • Manage player boards with production/resource controls
  • Keep Terraforming Rating and player scores
  • Dedicated Ares Expedition mode
  • Smart, touch-first controls
Features
Read full description

TMHelper is a fast, table‑friendly companion for Terraforming Mars and Terraforming Mars: Ares Expedition. Features: - Track global parameters (oxygen, temperature, oceans) at a glance - Manage player boards with quick production + resource controls - Keep Terraforming Rating and player scores for up to 5 players, color‑coded - Switch between Terraforming Mars and Ares Expedition with a dedicated Ares mode - Use smart, touch‑first controls designed for fast, mistake‑free adjustments

Screenshots

Terraforming Mars4 screens
TMHelper3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: TMHelper at Free against Terraforming Mars's $8.99. TMHelper also leads on review sentiment (67% vs 45%). Terraforming Mars's advantage is update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 10 months) and ratings volume (7.6K vs 2). On rating, ads, in-app purchases and device support 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

TMHelper is free to download; Terraforming Mars costs $8.99 up front. Terraforming Mars sells 6 one-off in-app purchases and TMHelper 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

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.5 for Terraforming Mars against 4.5 for TMHelper. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Terraforming Mars has 7.6K ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 45% of Terraforming Mars's written reviews are positive against 67% of TMHelper's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Terraforming Mars ships an update every 3 weeks, TMHelper every 10 months. The most recent releases landed on November 10, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
Terraforming Mars versus TMHelper: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTerraforming MarsTMHelper
Price$8.99Free — better
Rating4.5 (7.6K ratings) — better4.5 (2 ratings)
Positive reviews45.1% of reviews66.7% of reviews — better
Number of ratings7.6K — better2
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeks — betterEvery 10 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
Best chart rank#35 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS13.0 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size353 MB6 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperTwin Sails InteractiveMike Mailyan

Customer experience

Terraforming Mars

All ratings7,460 ratings
Positive87.7%
Neutral3.9%
Negative8.4%
Written reviews907 reviews
Positive45.1%
Neutral15.9%
Negative39.0%

TMHelper

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive66.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative33.3%

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

TMHelper

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

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

TMHelper

One-time6
  • TMHelper 7-day Free TrialFree
  • Mars$0.99
  • Earth$1.99
Show 3 more
  • Saturn$2.99
  • Jupiter$3.99
  • TMHelper Lifetime$9.99

Questions

Is Terraforming Mars free?
Terraforming Mars costs $8.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is TMHelper free?
TMHelper is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Terraforming Mars or TMHelper?
Terraforming Mars is rated higher. Terraforming Mars averages 4.5 out of 5 from 7.6K ratings, while TMHelper averages 4.5 from 2 ratings.
Do Terraforming Mars or TMHelper have ads?
Neither Terraforming Mars nor TMHelper shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Terraforming Mars or TMHelper?
Terraforming Mars ships an update every 3 weeks, and TMHelper every 10 months. Most recently, Terraforming Mars was updated on November 10, 2026 and TMHelper on November 3, 2026.

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