What do you get if you mix Monopoly, Connect 4, Comedic Sci-Fi and a load of the seven times-table? The answer, as the title suggests, is Zillionaires on Mars.
Zillionaires on Mars represents the latest addition to our home gaming library and comes from the amazing Big Potato Games. So, does it live up to the expectations you have when playing a game from the same creators as Herd Mentality, Scrawl, Don’t Get Got and Obama Llama?
Opening the Box
The cover of the game reveals the surface of a fun looking Mars that sports illustrations of some of the locations that you can purchase in game. The game needs only a few items that you’ll find inside. The board, consisting of a seven by seven square numbered 1 to 49 in a spiral towards the middle. Player counters that are used to claim squares. Money in denominations of 1, 5, 20 and 50 zillion dollars to keep track of your current level of wealth and make payments. The deck of location and pay day cards that are used during play. You’ll also see the For Sale Sign and the “pièce de resistance” a rather fantastic gavel!
Artwork
There is a quirky awesomeness to the artwork in this game. With comedic locations like the “E-Tee” golf course, a “Planet of the Grapes” vineyard and a personal favourite “Red Wharf” the space port that have been rendered in a sci-fi yet retro style. Think “The Jetson’s” meets 1950s advertising images and you’re getting towards the vibe. I like to think that the silver outer-space style gavel is a piece of art in itself too!
Playing the Game
The cards are shuffled and players are given $49 zillion dollars to start off. The top card is turned and the first player marks its location, if not a Pay Day card that references multiple locations, on the board with the for-sale sign. They then get to place the first bid, the next player can raise, then the next round and round. I got super into this mechanic, though I think my fast auctioneer voice made it difficult for others to concentrate on bids but I had a great time. If a location has already been claimed as part of a pay day card, it is ignored and another drawn. The exception being location 49 (Olympus Mons, the most desirable pad on Mars), this can be re-purchased multiple times. If you win the bid whilst owning this location grants the ability to claim any empty square too!
Cards marked “Pay Day” signals that all players gain income. $7 zillion for every location you own up to a maximum of seven ($49 zillion).
You can bid up hoping that another player will outbid you. You can even bid more than you have. However, this is penalised by losing a counter already won and then the bidding restarts without them. The penalty seemed so steep that no players seemed keen to try this.
The game continues in this way until you have four locations in an uninterrupted line horizontally, vertically or diagonally.
Thoughts
As a maths teacher, I was impressed with the continual reinforcement of the seven-times table.
The locations are cleverly named, which is entertaining. Unsure how long the appeal will last, but it does add to the fun of playing the game.
The instructions were really easy to interpret and, after a quick read through, we were quickly playing without any need to reference the booklet at all.
Unfortunately, the end of the game does seem to unfold outside of the control of the players. The $49 zillion pay day limit means that there is a point where all players are earning the same quantity each pay day. As it is always $49 zillion, for all players, every time. As a result, wealth is pretty equal. You end up needing to hope that you are the player that has the most money when a chance to win occurs. Otherwise, you’ll blow it all preventing someone else from doing so and praying that another pay day comes around (when everyone will earn the same amount).
Overall, Zillionaires On Mars is a nice simple game. Easy to grasp and fun to play. There is enough strategy to keep you thinking during play and this keeps you engaged. It is just a shame that there is so little agency as the game comes to a close.
I can imagine this being a game that you can get out and enjoy as a stop-gap rather than being something you dedicate an evening to enjoying.
