Engine Building games are games where you start off with almost nothing and use the little you have to build up slowly. By the end of the game, you will have built a system that generates whatever it is you need to win the game. Engine building games are characterized by players buying or building up resources that allow them to gain even more currency or resources.
Terraforming Mars takes is one of my top engine-building board game due to its mechanics. Each player takes on the role of a corporation tasked with – surpise! terraforming Mars. Each player’s corporation is represented by their own player board and as the game progresses, they’ll build up the infrastructure necessary to change the Red Planet into a much more livable green and blue one. Are you going to collect microbes and animals? Or perhaps work on generating the most plants and foresting the planet? Or is it all about getting the Terraforming Ratings up as quick as possible so you can build those big point cards with ease later in the game? The player with the highest Terraform Rating and the most victory points at the end of the game wins!
This is a highly strategic type of game since choices made early in the game have a snowball effect over the rest of the game. So if you are looking for a teaching point about strategic planning, systems thinking, analytical skills and even decision making abilities, these would be highly ideal. Which are your favorite type of engine building games?
#enginebuilding #tableaubuilding #experientiallearning #learnbydoing #skillsfuture #ssg #strategicgames #systemsthining #analyticalskills #decisionmaking #gamebasedlearning @JJFSThinkLab
Let’s terraform Mars and learn how to think more strategically!