Game night snacks don’t have to be rocket science, here’s a simple treat you can make to terraform your table and your tastebuds. While Mars Bar Slice comes in various forms, this version is a sweet chocolatey twist on Rice Krispie treats, based on my Grandmother’s recipe. Simply melt down some Mars Bars (or other candy bar of your choice), mix it in with rice krispies and top with more melted chocolate. You can further customize your creation and celebrate Mars’ newfound greenery, with sprinkles or mint chips on top.

If you’re living in America, Mars Bars might be as alien as a Martian. Similar to studying their namesakes, it seemingly requires an astrophysics degree to understand the differences in Candy Bar nomenclature. My scientific research suggests that the Mars Bar is very similar to the American Milky Way, nougat and caramel covered in chocolate. However In Australia, a Milky Way is just chocolate and nougat, sans caramel.

Many games have played with the collective imagination of terraforming Mars or other more fantastical planets. Inevitably the goal in creating a more familiar and hospitable home turns to food production, colonists no doubt hungry for a taste of home, hopefully something other than potatoes.

I originally cooked up a batch of these for Vital Lacerda’s expansive On Mars, a challenging game that sees you balancing your colonists on a precarious seesaw between orbit and Mars’ surface. It’s longer run time is sure to challenge players’ hunger as well as their minds.

Of course these treats would be right at home in a game of Terraforming Mars, a similarly hefty game that sees you drafting cards to collectively mold the planet to you needs. But my personal favorite is it’s streamlined sister game Terraforming Mars: Ares Expedition, a more snack-sized snapshot of the experience. You can hear my review of the latter on The Omnigamers’ Club Podcast

Video tutorial coming soon!

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