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Ascension board game comic1/7/2024 ![]() ![]() In did I realize that I was lying on my side in bed, staring at a wall But it won priority in the wee hours earlier this week when Iĭiscovered myself hallucinating my way through a game. Version by Incinerator Studios), and planned to write about itĪnyway. I’ve been playing an awful lot ofĪscension ( originally designed and published for the tabletop by Gary Games, iOS Must defer it to address instead recent iOS adaptation of Ascension:Ĭhronicle of the Godslayer. Tired: Inherent randomness doesn't allow for strategic planning.ĭisclosure: GeekDad received a review copy of this game.While I have a half-written post about my Origins 2011 adventures, I Wired: Better artwork, new Event cards and Trophy Monsters add a fun twist. However, I prefer the more limited amount of randomness that comes from shuffling the deck you built yourself, rather than the more complete randomness of the cards that will even be available to you at all. The single combined deck makes it a cinch to set up and start playing, and gameplay is pretty fast and furious. I know there are players who really love Ascension, and I think it's a fine deck-building game if you like the mythos they've created and you don't mind the heavily luck-dependent nature of the game. You may (like I did in one game) cycle through more than one Event card in a single turn. They might be evenly spaced throughout the deck. Another example is with the Event cards - they're pretty cool, but there's just five of them shuffled into a deck of 101 cards (not counting combinations with other sets). If you decide to try going for Lifebound heroes and constructs early on, but then they just happen to be at the bottom of the deck, that can really screw up your strategy. Unlike most deck-building games, where you'll have some stacks of cards out on the table to be acquired, this one has just a few "always available" cards, and the bulk of it will depend on what six cards are in the center row when your turn comes. ![]() The single combined deck means that it's easy to set up, but also that there is no guarantee that certain cards will show up in the game. That said, Ascension is still a little too random for me. I like the idea of the Event cards and Trophies, as well as the more stylized artwork on the cards. The Fanatic's Trophy effect depends on what Event is currently in play, but you can only have one Fanatic Trophy at a time. At any time you can banish the monster for the Trophy effect, which might be drawing cards, getting more Runes or Power, and so on. When you kill a monster that has Trophy text, you place the monster in front of you (like a construct). Some monsters have a "Trophy" effect listed on them. The Rise of the Cult event makes Cultists and Fanatics a little harder to kill, but also gives more Honor points when killing them.Įach Event also has an "Event Trophy," which brings us to the second change: trophies. The Event gives that particular faction a bonus of some sort - for instance, the Hedron Rising lets you consider all constructs to be Mechana (which typically will give you various bonuses when using Mechana heroes and constructs). When the Event card is drawn from the center deck, it goes to the side of the center row, replacing any event cards that were already there. There are only five in the entire deck, one representing each of the four factions, and then a fifth one for the monsters. After that, they have whatever effect is below when they are played. Cards with a black band (like the "Nook Hound" pictured above) have an effect which takes place once immediately when they appear in the center row. The Return of the Fallen expansion added "Fate" cards, which are present here as well. In short, you draw 5 cards from your own deck, use them to purchase new cards and battle monsters from the center row or the "always available" piles, and then discard everything at the end. ![]() The basic rules are the same as in the original - again, you can read that here. But, again, you'll use the board the first couple times you play, but then you'll probably just play without it. Noticeably absent is the turn summary which was on the original board - it does make the board cleaner, but with the size of the board there was certainly room for it. The board is like the old one, but with a few new areas outlined - a spot for the new Event cards, one for the new Fanatic monster, and an area to place your Honor tokens. ![]()
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