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Tharsis reviews

Shouldn't a Game be Fun at some point? One dice around the Fate of four Astronauts in a Spacecraft en route to Mars. Yes, dice. Literally. Any Break in the Shell in any Section. Dice... Bam, dead. Some other Stuff in the other Section. Dice.. Yeah, done. Dice Again. Sops up. Something somewhere else. Dice.. Bäm, one more dead. ... Dice even more ... ... And dice more ... ... Too bad, Mission lost. .. And all this then 20 Times in a row ... No Idea who this is supposed to be Fun for. Presumably any People who go to Casinos. It doesn't bring me anything. But the Graphics, the Setting and are really great for a Dice Game. Presumably I would have played it only 3 Minutes ... I would then like to have 90 Minutes of my Life back. Thank you

So what do you have to expect when buying this? The game is about a crew of 4 astronauts being on their way to mars and experiencing different hazards to the ship. The game is turn-based so you have 4 Turns with each astronaut before each of the hazards resolve and do something bad to you ship or the crew. Each of the astronauts is a specialized team-member and may achieve some bonuses for the crew that may be helpful in surviving the actual turn. In order to repair the hazards you have to achieve a number with a dice-roll... and if you don't you must live with the consequences or send in another crew-member. It takes 10 turns (aka Weeks) to get the ship to his final destination... but most of the time the unexperienced player won't survive week 2. In order to survive another week you may have to make such decisions like leaving the flight-control burning, using the remains of a deceased crewmember as a source of nutrition or even kill a crew-member. I won't go any further into detail, since it are these decisions that make the game fun to play. The graphics are simple and a bit disappointing (don't expect too much of it, if you look at the trailers or a letsplay-vid you have seen it all), but effective. The music is okay and supports the atmosphere. My final conclusion: Great game. When you follow the reviews one of the main complaints is that it is far too difficult to actually win it. Though I agree that there are situations when your crew might die to a bad dice roll it is also true that you acquire more experience while playing it. Its more trial-and-error and finding about the right strategic decisions than actually winning the game. I had great moment so far and ridiculous last-minute-rescues/defeats. The dice-rolls add up to the RNG of the game but are a central part of this game and make it fun. Don't be dissappointed when your first crew doesn't even survive week 2- just start again. I promise you'll do better within the first 10 games and after that it becomes a funny nightmare to best be enjoyed with a friend by your side. Discussing possible moves with a friend and then watching all your finetuned plans to be washed away by a horrible roll and coping with it is absolutely fun. Thumbs up!