Comparison

E vs Terraforming Mars

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

Head to head
About

E

This companion app simplifies the board game "Acquire" by managing tile placements, company creations, merges, and cash-out calculations. It provides a digital reference chart and supports multiple game versions, offering crash resistance and recovery for a smoother experience.

Highlights
  • Tracks tile placements, company creations, and merges
  • Digital reference chart
  • Cash Out screen for end-of-game calculations
  • Crash resistance and recovery
  • Supports 3 popular game versions
Features
Read full description

Companion app to the board game "Acquire". Instead of tedious lookups on the reference chart, this app does it all for you! Features: - Tracks tile placements, company creations, merges, and dead tiles - Copy of the full reference chart for quick checks - Cash Out screen for quick end-of-the-game calculations - Includes crash resistance and recovery - Supports 3 popular versions of the board game Notice: THIS IS NOT A FULL VERSION OF THE GAME! This app is meant to be a companion to the board game and enforces the official rules of the game. This app uses the internet for anonymous tracking of feature usage.

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.

Screenshots

E4 screens
Terraforming Mars4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: E at Free against Terraforming Mars's $8.99. E also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 6) and iOS requirement (11.0 vs 13.0). Terraforming Mars's advantage is rating (4.5 vs 2.4) and review sentiment (45% vs 8%). On ads 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

E is free to download; Terraforming Mars costs $8.99 up front. Terraforming Mars sells 6 one-off in-app purchases. E asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Terraforming Mars holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 2.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Terraforming Mars has 7.6K ratings behind it against 9, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 8% of E's written reviews are positive against 45% of Terraforming Mars's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

E ships an update every 7 months, Terraforming Mars every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 8, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard9 real differences · 2 level
E versus Terraforming Mars: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterETerraforming Mars
PriceFree — better$8.99
Rating2.4 (9 ratings)4.5 (7.6K ratings) — better
Positive reviews7.7% of reviews45.1% of reviews — better
Number of ratings97.6K — better
Update frequencyEvery 7 monthsEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank—#29 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS11.0 — better13.0
Further details — not scored
Size15 MB353 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperMichael HoltTwin Sails Interactive

Customer experience

E

All ratings9 ratings
Positive33.3%
Neutral0.0%
Negative66.7%
Written reviews13 reviews
Positive7.7%
Neutral15.4%
Negative76.9%

Terraforming Mars

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

Bugs and requests

E

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or 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

In-app purchases

None

E

No 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

Questions

Is E free?
E is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Terraforming Mars free?
Terraforming Mars costs $8.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, E or Terraforming Mars?
Terraforming Mars is rated higher. E averages 2.4 out of 5 from 9 ratings, while Terraforming Mars averages 4.5 from 7.6K ratings.
Do E or Terraforming Mars have ads?
Neither E nor Terraforming Mars shows ads.
Which is updated more often, E or Terraforming Mars?
E ships an update every 7 months, and Terraforming Mars every 3 weeks. Most recently, E was updated on November 1, 2026 and Terraforming Mars on November 8, 2026.

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