Yottaquest

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.