Hey, everyone! It’s Fan Friday and this week I’m talking about a fantasy themed card game called Ascension: Chronicle of the Godslayer. For those of you unfamiliar, Ascension is a deck building card game. If you don’t quite know what I’m talking about, don’t worry. Two months ago, I was also unfamiliar with the term but now I can explain the premise.

It’s 2-4 players, so a few of your friends can enjoy it as well.

With Ascension, each player begins with ten cards shuffle into a deck. You then draw five cards from your deck and that’s your hand.

In the middle of the board (yes, there’s a pretty cool looking board and it keeps everything super organized) is the main deck. This deck has things like monsters and heroes. Six cards are drawn from the top of that deck and put into the center.

Next, you use your hand to defeat monsters or acquire heroes. Heroes and other similar card go into your deck and can be used as the game progresses. For monsters killed, heroes acquired, and so on, you gain honor in the form of gems. At the end of the game (when the gems run out), whoever has acquired the most honor wins. If you think Zuko would love this game and scream “honor!” all the time, you’re right. If you didn’t catch that reference, don’t worry about it.

That’s the best and simplest explanation I can give without actually showing you the cards and playing the game. Believe me, this game is worth playing.

Why do I love it?

Art: I mentioned that it’s a fantasy themes game, right? Well the art is really great on these cards. I love card art. Honestly, I just love art. In card games or board games, I think art can make or break you. Monster, heroes, and other cards have themes attached to them. You can tell because the art is different. Color choices are different. The whole game is great and the art makes it even better.

Competition: I’ve played various tabletop and card games but this one is probably the most enjoyable one because you’re not in direct “combat” with one another. I enjoy going head to head with someone, I enjoy attacking their characters, cards, and other stuff, it can be a fun experience. However, such games usually lose their casual and fun tone. Ascension is different. You’re vanquishing monsters, acquiring cards, and gaining honor. You’re seeing who can acquire the most honor, so the game is less about the other player and more about how well you can do. At the end, you find out if you’ve done a better job than the other player. To me, it’s a casual and fun way to play.

Fair: Here’s the deal. Players start with the same cards, see all the same cards in the center area, and have equal opportunities. It’s extremely fair and even a new player can beat an experienced player if they get the hang of the game.

Price: This is debatable with anyone but I think the game is reasonably priced and the expansions are a great value for what they cost. Here’s what I really love, they’re closed sets. You can play wit just an expansion. You can add the expansion to your game. Or, you can play an expansion (2p) when you have less people and the main game when you have more (2-4p). HEre’s the other thing I love. Unlike trading card game (where card rarity is a factor), you’ll never find yourself spending big money to have the rare card that gives you an edge. It’s fair, you pay once (or more if you’re interested in expansions), but you never need to buy more. You don’t need to keep up with new sets if you enjoy the original.

Close games: I’ve had a ton of close games. Rarely have I seen someone lose by a substantial amount, maybe just once. Otherwise, I’ve seen and taken part in many close games. While you may still lose, it’s always nice to know that the game was close. On that same note, when playing multiple games, I’ve never seen someone dominate the field. The title of winner gets passed back and forth pretty regularly because the game is incredibly balanced.

Mystery: The cards you acquire are worth a certain amount of honor as well. You combine the honor you’ve acquired in gems with the honor you’ve acquired from your deck. This means that someone can have a ton of gems, but their cards aren’t worth much. If the opposing player has acquired cards with higher honor and focused less on gems, they can still win the game. You may think your winning or losing, but it’s truly a mystery until the end of the game.

Apps: That’s right, they have apps for this. Want to try it out but don’t want to make the big investment? Buy the app and see what you think. The app even teaches you how to play and then lets you play with people from around the world. It’s great, it’s reasonable, and you don’t have to shuffle a thing. Timed matches are perfect for when you only have fifteen minutes to spare.

Expansions: I love the expansions for this game! Each expansion has added something new. Buy the original, play it for a while, it’s great. Then, if you want to mix it up, check out the expansions. Each one brings something unique. Here’s something awesome, you can play expansions on their own or shuffle them into a main set. I love it, the whole game is great and the designers are truly brilliant.

Where can you find Ascension? Let me give you some links…

Main site- www.ascensiongame.com

Retailer- www.miniaturemarket.com/ascension-chronicle-of-the-godslayer.html

(and it looks like they might have a special running this week)

Actually, I’m going to stop there. Ascension’s home page has a link to Facebook, Twitter and the app store.