Terraforming Mars: Hellas & Elysium

Hellas & Elysium stays in constant rotation because it sidesteps expansion bloat and delivers immediate tactical variety. The double-sided board is the entire package—no new cards, no extra tokens, just a fresh map with region-specific placement bonuses and a new set of milestones and awards. For groups that have internalized the base game’s geography, these maps force a pivot in engine-building and tile placement from the first turn. Veteran players appreciate how the familiar ruleset is preserved, but the strategic landscape shifts enough to keep every session sharp and unpredictable. From a logistics standpoint, this is as streamlined as expansions get. The board swaps directly into the original box, so there’s no extra wrangling or storage headaches. Setup and teardown are unchanged from the base game, and the session still clocks in at around two hours. This makes it a reliable main event for a dedicated game night—no need to budget extra time or table space, and you won’t be chasing stray components at the end of the night. Teaching with Hellas & Elysium is straightforward. The core rules don’t change, so the teach focuses on the new map’s hex bonuses and the altered milestones/awards. Most players are comfortable by the second round, and the competitive, indirect interaction keeps the table engaged without requiring constant oversight. Once the opening turns are underway, you can step away to check on other tables—players will be busy recalibrating their strategies to the new objectives. The energy stays high as everyone races for the new achievements, and the expansion’s variety keeps the room invested without dragging out the runtime.