The Wilds of Mars

From Looney Pyramid Games Wiki


The Wilds of Mars
Shane Tilton
A simple little photo safari game.
:Players Players: 2 - 4
:Time Length: Long
:Complexity Complexity: Medium
Trios per color: 2
Number of colors: 5
Pyramid trios:
Monochr. stashes:
Five-color sets: 2
- - - - - - Other equipment - - - - - -
A deck of playing cards
Setup time: 5 min
Playing time: 30 min - 60 min
Strategy depth: Medium
Random chance: Medium
Game mechanics: Movement, Hand management
Theme: Safari
BGG Link:
Status: Complete (v3.0), Year released: 2011
This game is based on "Safari Jack" by Cheapass Games. Released June 2011


Status[edit | edit source]

Revision Notes:

  • 3.0: (April 22, 2012) New pyramid rules.
  • 2.0: (September 11th, 2011) Out of playtesting, right for normal play.
  • 1.2: (June 30th, 2011) Adjusted bump/jump rules. Created the teleporter.
  • 1.1: (June 28st, 2011) Correct errors in original listing. Posted on pyramidgames.wiki
  • 1.0: (June 21st, 2011) Finish Alpha version of game, ready for playtesting.

The Gameplay[edit | edit source]

The object of the Wilds of Mars is to travel to "the grounds" where animals native to the red planet are bound to be and photograph them.

Setup: Each player selects one of the colors from the sets. Two cards are placed face-down next to each other in the middle of the table; these are the homes. Each player places one of their small pyramids on one of the two base camps pointed straight up. In addition, each player gets an initial hand of 6 cards.

Order of Play: Each turn a player takes, in order, the following actions:

  • Draw
  • Resize
  • Play
  • Move

Draw[edit | edit source]

The player draws a new card.

Resize[edit | edit source]

The player may chose to resize their piece at the cost of one card from their hand. To go from a small piece to a large piece, the player will need to discard two cards from their hand. If the player wishes to go from large to small, the player will need to discard two cards from their hand.

Play[edit | edit source]

The player plays one of his cards from his hand. This may be movement, land, home or "the grounds."

Movement[edit | edit source]

These are special cards which affect movement. The 2, 3 and 4 cards regardless of suit in the deck allow players to move 2, 3 and 4 spaces rather than the regular 1. Aces and jokers act as a teleporter, allowing a player to teleport any pyramid not on the grounds to any other card on the board that is not the grounds. Teleporters also allows the player to reorient their pyramid. These cards are discarded after use.

Land[edit | edit source]

Each of the suits in the deck depict a different terrain. They must be played either adjacent to a base camp or adjacent to the same terrain.

The Grounds[edit | edit source]

Face cards depict one of the three prime areas to find animals in each of the terrains. The jack scores 1 point. The queen scores 2 points. The king scores 3 points. They must be played adjacent to the same terrain (but not next to a home).

Home[edit | edit source]

Any card may be placed as home by flipping it upside down and playing it to the board. The clear advantage of playing as home is that you can then connect up other types of terrain.

Move[edit | edit source]

If a player played an ace or joker, their move is over. Otherwise, he or she may now move one space on the map (or 2-4 if he played a movement card), to an adjacent card. There's one exception: a player can't move on to a card he just played. The player must move in the direction that their pyramid is pointing. A player may reorient their pyramid at the cost of one movement space.

Bumping an Opponent[edit | edit source]

If a player ends up on the same space as an opponent, she or he may bump that player's pyramid to any space on the board.

Scoring at "The Grounds"[edit | edit source]

In order to score on the grounds, the player must be the first player on the grounds with the correct size piece. To score on a Jack, a player must have a small piece pointed up on the Jack. To score on a Queen, a player must have a medium piece pointed up on the Queen. To score on a King, a player must have a large piece pointed up on the King. They keep their pyramid in that space and earn the number of points shown. They place another of their pyramids (any size they wish) on that card, pointing up.

Winning the Game[edit | edit source]

The game ends when one player has scored at least 7 points of the grounds. That player is the winner.

Credits and Copyright[edit | edit source]

Thanks to brilk for his playtesting and advice.

This game is licensed under a Creative_Commons License and is copyrighted © 2011 by me, Shane Tilton