Humanity has finally reached Mars — and now it's time to turn a hostile planet into a home. In On Mars, each player takes on the role of a chief astronaut from a private space exploration company. The mission? Build the most advanced and self-sustaining colony on the red planet, fulfilling the goals of D.O.M.E. (Department of Operations and Mars Exploration) while simultaneously pursuing the company's own hidden agenda.

The game starts with a small base already set up — an oxygen factory, shelters, a generator, a farm, and a water complex. From there, everything grows. Each round has two phases: during the Colonization Phase, players in orbit research technologies, grab blueprints, and resupply from the warehouse; players on the surface construct buildings with bots, upgrade structures, recruit scientists, and explore the terrain with their rover. During the Shuttle Phase, players can travel between the orbital station and the surface.

Here's the heart of the game: everything depends on everything. Building shelters requires oxygen, producing oxygen requires plants, plants need water, extracting water from ice requires power, generating power requires minerals, and mining minerals requires colonists. This chain of interdependencies forces you to plan several rounds ahead.

The game ends when three D.O.M.E. missions are completed. The player who accumulates the most Opportunity Points (OP) — earned by contributing to the colony's development — wins. With 1 to 4 players, lasting 90 to 150 minutes, it delivers a dense, immersive, and surprisingly rewarding experience for anyone who likes feeling like they're truly building something from scratch.