Tharsisis a turn-based strategy game that incorporates dice, cannibalism, and astronauts. Released in 2016,Tharsishas developed a strong community that enjoys regular updates on this unique game. However, a lot of gamers' have missedTharsis, so discovering it years later can feel a little overwhelming. The game isn’t particularly complex, but it has mechanics and features that are unique enough to throw beginners off. It is even a rare example of astrategy game on console, being available on PS4 as well as PC.
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By following community resources beginner players can get a headstart onTharsisand know what to expect from the game. After a few games,Tharsisis easy to pick up and fun to play, and may even be astrategy game worth playing based on your Zodiac.
7Aim for Lower-Cost Research Projects
It can be tempting for new players to go for high-cost research projects in order to gain beneficial abilities from them. In fact, this is a lackluster strategy, as it is more likely to waste dice than yield a worthy reward. Players should aim for low-cost research projects to ensure that no dice go to waste.
This may not be as effective in the short term but in the long term, it’s a better strategy to perform as many research projects as possible onTharsis. Research projects are featured on both the best andworst strategy games, so players with any prior experience of the genre will be familiar with this aspect of the game.
6Don’t Stress About Stress
Stressis a feature inTharsisthat is deterministic on how the game is going. Based on a score from 1-10, with 10 being mad,Stresscan have more influence on a game than beginner players might think. It is particularly noticeable in the harder modes, but players shouldn’t stress about it.
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WhileStressis worth keeping in mind when considering options during a turn, it is not the priority compared to other elements. Players should focus more onResearch, theirCrew, and managing resources. Managing stress is a conceptDMs in table-top RPGsare familiar with, andTharsismakes this a part of the actual gameplay
5Consider Your Crew
While experimenting with different crews is fun, beginners should try to pick strong crews to begin with as they get to grips with all of the game’s other mechanics. This can depend on playstyle or just situations players predict happening. For instance, the Specialist is very useful for Reroll, whereas the Mechanic is useful for adding to the hull.
Ultimately, there is no right or wrong way to assemble a crew, but inevitably some of the crews will give players a better chance of survival than others. It is worth checking community resources such as theTharsissubredditin order to see what more experienced players recommend. Crews of different characters are a feature on even thebest strategy games, so players with prior experience with the genre will be familiar with this.
4Don’t Waste Assists
It can be tempting for beginner players to use their assists for just about anything, however, this is not the greatest idea. Assists are most useful when players need to clear an injury hazard with a low-health crew member, as these injury hazards can be quite troublesome to deal with, and scary enough to be something straight out of asurvival horror game.
Assists can be really useful and greatly help a player through, especially when they’re a beginner. It is better to get them from research rather than wasting time getting to the lab. Assists can also be saved for void events, so it is definitely worth not wasting them on other events.
3Refresh Research
There are many different types of research projects featured inTharsisthat are useful in different situations. Beginners may be tempted to just go for whatever research project they are initially offered, but this is not the most effective strategy.
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Having more useful research over less useful is crucial, and players shouldn’t be afraid to refresh research if they feel they need to. As players become more experienced they’ll have a better idea of whether or not the research they’ve been given is useful for their specific situation.
2Don’t Worry About Food
Lots ofsurvival gamesuse food as a dynamic, andTharsisborrows from this brilliantly. While food is quite important in the early game, players shouldn’t be too concerned about food, particularly as the game gets towards the mid and end stages. It is more important to be focusing on maintaining dice with the captain, side projects, research, and life modules.
Cannibalism is an option for a reason; players can use it. It is obviously nicer to ensure all crew members survive without cannibalizing each other, but sometimes this can’t be avoided. It is better to lose crew through cannibalism rather than waste dice and prioritizing food needlessly.
1Use The Dice Hold
A lot of beginners toTharsiscompletely forget about the dice hold. The dice hold exists to let players store their dice until a later date, and it is really useful to prevent players with twitchy fingers from using up all their dice prematurely.
By mitigating bad rolls, players will be able to get the most bang for their buck from the dice available to them. Placing dice into the dice hold also allows players to get the most advantage out of their lucky rolls.
Tharsiswas released on June 24, 2025, and is available on PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and Wii U.
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