This article is a 3-in-1 of sorts as we explore the current Ascension suite of games. Gary Games currently offers a core set, Chronicle of the Godslayer, and expansions Return of the Fallen and Storm of Souls.

Ascension: Chronicle of the Godslayer debuted in 2010 and is a deck building game designed by former Magic: The Gathering champions Justin Gary, Rob Dougherty, and Brian Kibler. The basic storyline takes place in a world called Vigil in which a corrupt God, Samael the Fallen, has re-opened an ancient portal from which all kinds of wicked monsters are trying to escape. The core game is designed for 2 to 4 players but can accommodate up to 6 with an expansion. Each player starts with the same 10 card deck and they proceed to acquire additional cards or defeat monster from a pool in the center of the playing area all the while gaining honor points and/or honor tokens for the cards. There are 4 different factions of cards, each with its own theme and abilities, that players can utilize. The 2 types of cards players will use are Heroes and Constructs. Heroes can provide honor points, Runes (money to purchase more cards) or Power (strength to defeat monsters). Constructs are artifact cards that can remain in play and usually help generate the resources mentioned previously. The play starts with a set number of honor tokens available, which is dependant on the number of players. Once all the honor tokens are gone, the game’s over. Count up the honor points on your cards and add them to the amount of honor tokens acquired. The one with the most points wins.

Ascension: Return of the Fallen pits players against Samael himself as he and his minions continue to come through the portal. This expansion can be played as a stand-alone (for 1-2 players only) or added to the core set for up to 6 players. New faction Hero and Construct cards are introduced as well as the new Fate mechanic. Fate cards have text that instructs users to complete a particular function or task, immediately after the card comes in to play, that may or may not affect 1 or more players.

Ascension: Storm of Souls picks up after the defeat of Samael. However, there are, of course, plenty of more monsters to defeat. This is a large expansion and is playable with 1 to 4 players, like the core set, or up to 6 in combination with any other set. In addition to new Fate cards, Storm of Souls introduces Event cards that typically have text that gives a boost to one of the 4 factions while it is in play. Another new card type is the Trophy Monster. After these are defeated, a player can hang on to it and later sacrifice it to gain something extra as dictated by the text on the card.

Bottom line: These games are quick to set up, easy to learn and can be played in less than an hour. There’s plenty of room to devise your own strategy and the ongoing development by Gary Games to bring new cards and mechanics to the table leaves us anxious to see what comes next....

Oh, and for iOS device users, there is a fantastic version of the game, and first expansion, available in the app store.

The Elder Elemental Eye

D&D Encounters is a weekly Wednesday ongoing in-store campaign, playable in one encounter per week (approximately 1-2 hours play time). Players earn experience and treasure for their characters as they participate in a compelling ongoing story arc that lasts for a few months.

Running from February 22nd to May 9th, 2012.

Adventure Background

The Elder Elemental Eye introduces an ancient evil threat in the dark god Tharizdun to the
Forgotten Realms® for the first time. Players explore the maddening depths of a secret temple
devoted to one of the most feared entities across the planes.


Pre-register on our website now to guarantee your spot!

The contest begins for the greatest prize of them all! The Infinity Gauntlet has been found and now heroes and villains from all over the galaxy have arrived to do battle for nothing less than control of all they survey! Can you be the first to obtain all six Infinity Gems and assemble the full might of the Infinity Gauntlet?

Sunday February 19^th registration starts at noon and play begins at 1 PM. Cost is $12

Format for the Month Two Event is a 600 point, Modern-Constructed event utilizing at least 300 points of figures from Hulk and/or Superman.

· Soul Gem 3D Objects are Participation Prizes to be awarded upon completion of the event.

· The In-Betweener LE Figures are to be awarded to First, Second, Third players. The remaining In-Betweener figure is random player.

For every participant we will add one booster to the prize pool, in addition there are OP Figures, maps, and objects to be awarded.

The booster's added to the prize pool will be opened at the event's end. In order from first to last, back up to first, each player will pick one miniature from the prize pool, until all the miniatures have been selected. For example, if there were 4 players, four boosters would be opened. In order of picks 1-2-3-4-4-3-2-1-1-2-3-4-4-3 etc. etc.

· The “Nexus of Reality” map will be used.

Players who missed month one can purchase the Infinity Gauntlet LE Figure for $6 additional fee with tournament registration.

Infinity Gauntlet Score Instructions

For Infinity Gauntlet events One through Seven, all Players receive:

· One (1) Point for Attending event

· One (1) Point per Loss

· Two (2) Points per Win

· Three (3) Points per Event Win

To qualify for the Month 8 Event, each player must have at least 12 points to participate!

On January 9th, Wizards surprised us with the announcement (covered in NY times) of a 5th edition of D&D in the works.

On January 28th and 29th, Wizards hosted their first playtest for DnD Next in Fort Wayne, IN. I was so upset that I heard about it after the fact... I mean Indiana is next door. The problem? The playtest is protected by NDA.

You can read the official Wizards summary of the event here. Hopefully this article will save you lot of time and cut straight to what is known and what is not known at this point.

Wizards assembled a dream team of D&D designers. Their design goal is to create a quintessential D&D (no pun intended), capturing the feel of all editions. The hope is that players who were alienated by radical design choices in 4th edition will return. Wizards is setting out on a great experiment to involve the community in the design of the game over the next year. The D&D Experience late January was the first such event.

Using the D&D Next group on the Wizard's site, you can participate in the feedback. There are blog posts about mechanics, seeking player input. And, of course, a whole forum for what have so far been extremely civilized and intelligent discussions. Here, your game design suggestions will become the property of Wizards.

So I have been mulling over the forums and various websites, trying to glean fact from fiction. Since I spend pretty much a whole day reading, I thought I might share.