What do I think about Ascension?
First, there a couple of base games and a few expansions; all combinable and interchangeable.
Second, I was unaware I had 2 deck-builders side-by-side on the shelves.
OK. Well? It's a deck-builder. I like deck builders; although I should clarify I am not a fan of Dominion (another deck-builder).
You use runes and power to gain honour which you need to win.
I feel like I am going to get into a rut of repetition when I write about 'like' games.
Ascension has the "race-for-the goal" feel to it. There is a certain number of honour for all players to collect and when it's gone the game ends so you're always trying to make things happen with your drawn cards to get honour as fast as possible.
Unlike Arctic Scavengers, though, you're not directly combating each other. Some cards may allow you to interfere, but direct conflict is non-existent. You're merely fighting/buying from a row of heroes/items/monsters from a common row.
You definitely don't want your toddlers around most games, but this game has tiny, candy-looking pieces. As for older children, there is a lot of reading and matching card abilities each turn.
Let's learn the game.
Ascension: Storm of Souls
"The shadow of Deofol still looms over vigil. Samael has fallen, but his actions have forever scarred the foundation of the realms. His surviving minions are scattered and hidden, plotting evil. Yet, even as the Vigil gathers itself against this remaining enemy, it is beset by a new darkness. Specters now haunt the people of the land, their arrival hinting at a greater threat.
The visitors from Arha say that the afterlife itself is in turmoil. Gatekeeper Kythis, who since Time's Dawn had admitted the damned to their final resting place, stands watch no more. Now, a restless and tormented mass of wills churns beneath all existence, welling up between the worlds.
Where is the Gatekeeper? It was Samael that freed Krythis of his duty. Now he is missing, a rebel godling hidden even from his creators, and not eager to return to his eternal task. In the skies, the constellations twist and turn, protesting his absence.
The children of the capital dream restlessly of an endless beast, outpouring from the clouds, large enough to cast a shadow over all the land. They describe a sky serpent that bellows in a million voices, an extinguisher of realms. Cultists and fanatics are again making sacrifice, foretelling that a reckoning will come. They call it the Storm of Souls.
Vigil is overrun by the first winds of this coming storm of undeath. The call again rises for a hero to unite the realms against the many forces that seek to bury everything in despair. The cult must be put down. Samael's remnants must be destroyed before they encroach. The ghostly tide must be quelled, and the forces of all the worlds must form a coalition, before the reckoning arrives.
The storm looms, Who among you will stand before it?" -Intro from Rules-
The game can be played with 1-4 players (5 or 6 when combined with previous sets), over the course of (according to the box) 30+ minutes, and is age rated for 13+.
Setup
Each player receives a deck of ten (10) cards: eight (8) Apprentice and two (2) Militia cards.
Set the "Heavy Infantry", "Mystic", "Fanatic", and"Cultist" cards to the left of the board.
Shuffle the rest of the cards and place then in the marked space on the board; reveal 6 cards to the Center Row.
Place thirty (30) honour tokens per player at the bottom of the board.
Randomly determine who goes first.
Terms to note:
Runes are noted in a white triangle on certain cards.
Combat is noted as red circles with swords on certain cards.
During their turn each player will:
-Draw five (5) cards
-Use Runes to purchase Heroes and Constructs
-Use Combat to defeat Monsters.
--Some Monsters have a "Trophy" reward. You gain the honour immediately and you may choose to use the Trophy reward immediately or during a future turn.
-At the end of the player's turn they lose all unspent/unused Runes and Combat and discard all cards held, used, or attained this turn.
Repeat these steps until all Honour tokens are gone. The person with most Honour tokens and 'scoring' Honour marked on certain cards wins. If there are any ties, the player who played latest in the round wins.
Team play and Solitaire options for playing are listed on page 10.
A Glossary and FAQ can be found on pages 11-13.
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