At work, my boss gave me the book Strength Finder 2.0 and challenged me take the quiz to discover my true strengths and to develop ways to utilize those strengths in my job.

My results were not surprising to me at all, and the names the book gives to those strengths are all almost intuitive enough to guess at what they represent. My results were, in order:

Intellection, Maximizer, Ideation, Strategy, and Adaptability.

Basically, I love to think things out, maximize the potential for things and people around me, love to generate ideas and am flexible, love to strategize, and can adapt to things that come my way. That really does sounds like me.

Note: Under Intellection, which was my #1, the book says, “Because of your strengths, you usually give good advice.” Just in case anyone was on the fence on this particular issue.

This whole process got me thinking. As I was contemplating my results, one thing that dawned on me is that these 5 areas are everything that I love in a board game. If a board game challenges me in these specific ways, chances are I will love it!

Let’s extrapolate. Terraforming Mars by Stronghold Games and Fryx Games is one of the best new games (if not the best) of the last few years. Also, it is a personal favorite of mine. So, let’s see how it aligns with my 5 strengths.

Intellection

Terraforming Mars is a science based game, using terms, ideas, speculation, locations, and perceived processes of actually terraforming the planet Mars. Each card is based on one of these ideas. The thought that went into the design of this game is amazing. Each card resonates with me on an intellectual level. Take for instance the card “Deimos Down.”

The goal in the game is to make Mars habitable for human life. This card represents crashing Deimos, one of Mars’ moons, into the planet. Why would anyone want to do that? To raise the temperature on Mars closer to the goal temperature that will sustain human life. The effects of this card start with that. After playing, we raise the heat three times. Also, we gain four steel from the mineral content contained within the moon that we can now harvest easily from the crater left behind when the moon impacted the surface. Also, the card says we get to remove eight plants from another player. Why? Because we had to crash the moon somewhere. It landed on your trees. Oops.

The whipped cream on top of this awesome card is the flavor text at the bottom. “We don’t use that moon anyway.” Fabulous. This whole card is thought provoking. The theme resonates through all of the mechanics. Superb design. Also, when I draw this card, I get to think about how and when to best use it.

Maximizer

Terraforming Mars is won by making the most of every resource and card available to you. The player who can maximise the effects of all the options available is going to win. The only luck involved in this game is the cards you draw. This is also mitigated by drafting the cards you get every turn. The luck of the draw can help or hinder, but the game is about maximizing the potential of the cards you do draw or draft. There are a few points during the game where timing of plays matters, but that is minimal and there are always other things to do on your turn. So, as a maximizer, this game is fantastic.

Ideation

To quote the book, “People who are especially talented in the Ideation theme are fascinated by ideas. They are able to find connections between seemingly disparate phenomena.” Connecting cards, options, board placement, mechanics, and board position is what makes this game shine. You have to set up certain cards to maximize the play. Take for instance the card “Capital.”

This card places a city tile on Mars, like many other cards, but this city is worth points for each water tile next to it in addition to any greenery tiles. In order to make the best use of this card, I should consider several factors in addition to just placing it near water. I also cannot play the card until there are four water tiles on Mars, which is the prerequisite for playing the card. Also, I need to figure out how to pay for the card, and when the best time is to play it. I may have other cards I need to play first, and need to balance my spending on other cards in order to make the plan come together. How I play the cards is determined by my board position, my other cards in hand, other actions I have in play, the speed other people are playing and actions they are taking, and my own personality. You got to come up with a plan.

Strategic

“By nature, you are innovative, inventive, original, and resourceful.”

Terraforming Mars can give you a direction to travel, restrictions on how to proceed, and a roadmap to victory, but each player needs to be innovative with the cards they have access to. Players take the role of a corporation with a unique starting position and ability, which hints at a direction, but ultimately, each player needs to use the resources better than the other players in order to win. You have to blaze a new trail each game and find an original path to victory, using the resources you gain throughout the game.

Adaptability

Each generation or round of play, you get access to new cards, which may play into your current plan, or you might end up changing everything in favor of a new one based on the new cards. A spot on the board you had your eye can get taken, so you have to find the next best spot, or perhaps abandon that plan and form a new one. Adapting to the ever-changing board state can be challenging, but also rewarding. Each new card is a potential for maximizing your play if you can adapt your plan to fit that card in.

TL, DR

I may have over thought this a bit. It was fun though, and I’ve enjoyed every time I have gotten to play Terraforming Mars. There are many other games that hit all of these strengths which I love, Magic: The Gathering and Firefly: The Board Game, for example. Other games hit some of my five and are still great and fun. Others may hit some of these, but perhaps include areas that I have a weakness in. The Strength Finder team choose deliberately to focus on people strengths, but I would be interested in learning what the five areas I’m weakest in. I don’t think I would try to strengthen them so much as try to avoid situations that I have to use them. Hey, I probably do that anyway without thinking about it.