TDG: Star Trek: Ascendancy

Hailing frequency open? No? Too bad, because I'm going to tell you all about Gale Force Nine's foray into the world(s) of Star Trek. Will phasers be set on fun? Or will it beam you away? Cody investigates.
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[@Lordjunon]

Funny story. I got to play this at gencon with the cardassians (Which are my favorite ST race) First planet I explore, BOOM Bajor. I had to colonize it. I laughed for a good five minutes at that.

[@TheDiscriminatingGamer]

The universe unfolds as it should...

[@aaronnatera3685]

Ha! I was in total suspense waiting for your reaction. Glad to see you liked it! We had a similar experience, a bit of a slow burn at first as we learned the rules and how the system worked, and by the end of it we thought it was GREAT! Totally loved it! Can't wait to get the expansions. Interesting thoughts on Fleet Captains as well. It's just a s fun, but in my opinion Ascendancy seems less fiddly and has fewer rules. But then FC has more theme baked into it... It's settled, I'll keep them both!

[@TheDiscriminatingGamer]

It's a great game, and I do love Fleet Captains as well.

[@Demiarioch]

Thanks for the review. I have been wanting a Star TREK (not TRACK) game for a long time. Your review really excited me. Looking forward to watching your reviews of the expansions for this as well as your review for Star Fleet Captains. Oh... and how about that Power Girl card? Man.

[@TheDiscriminatingGamer]

Ha! I really love this game quite a bit. I love Fleet Captains, too, but haven’t played it in a while. I haven’t done a video review id that one. Maybe some day.

[@Lordborg909]

A few years on, with all the expansions, are your feelings the same? Does this still blow you away?

[@TheDiscriminatingGamer]

Still love it. Played it again the other day.

[@dustbustus27]

You had me fooled! I was getting that sinking feeling he is going to not like it... I was all "Awh..." Not to say that I need Cody to like the games I do but we like a lot of same titles and get a kick out of that. Ascendancy will have a happy space next to Fleet Captains. I think the sweet spot will be with 3-4 players but I really look forward to seeing how fluid NPC faction like the Borg are added in. I like how the game gives you tools to gently want to play as the Romulan or Klingon faction would play. Also the ability to, on rare occasion, go FULL TREK and play 5-6 on a massive board gets me pretty excited. Thanks for the review pal! Board Game Review Entertainment at its finest to be sure!

[@TheDiscriminatingGamer]

Thank you, sir. I like to keep the audience guessing. I have to make the reviews interesting for me...

[@Mailed-Knight]

Does it have the Gorn?

[@TheDiscriminatingGamer]

No. But Gorn spelled backward is Norg. Weird.

[@Mailed-Knight]

Oh I thought they would at least show up as an event on one of those cards. Also wouldn't the Gorn spelt backwards be Nrog not Norg?

[@TheDiscriminatingGamer]

Technically, yes, but Norg sounds better.

[@noeldillabough2153]

After your review really looking forward to Star Track Ascendancy!

[@TheDiscriminatingGamer]

It's a great game! I think you'll really like it!

[@noeldillabough2153]

Heh you didn't bite, but seriously this game looks great (is it worth 3 really's I'll have to find out!)

[@TheDiscriminatingGamer]

Really, really, really... really...

[@randybelaire8439]

Just bought this game and the Ferengi expansion based on this review. Looking forward to playing it with the family. :)

[@TheDiscriminatingGamer]

Thanks. I still haven't played with any of the expansions.

[@riddick729]

Just made my purchase and I am also getting the ferengi expansion. Got to ask, what is the name of the song you played?

[@TheDiscriminatingGamer]

Fantastic. As far as the song, did you watch the entire video?

[@riddick729]

@@TheDiscriminatingGamer found it!!! Such a fun song. Great video

[@paulorego9334]

lol love the reaction at 10:36

[@TheDiscriminatingGamer]

Paulo Rego Thanks!

[@blesswitskills]

I'm so excited for this game now! Just bought the base and the 2 new expansions with a player mat!

[@TheDiscriminatingGamer]

I haven't played with any of the expansions yet, but they look great.

[@IceNiner199]

A Star Trek game where the JJ Abrams universe isn't included? Count me in! You managed to sell me on it with the 'creating something' comparison to the Civilization games. Thanks Cody.

[@TheDiscriminatingGamer]

Thank you, sir! I'll think you'll enjoy it!

[@SEdwards2881]

I can't wait for the different factions.

[@TheDiscriminatingGamer]

Skylor Edwards Indeed.

[@mikec64]

Cody! Big question. In theory I love 4X games, but in reality I hate the 4th X when everyone just blows up everything on the board. In Eclipse, you spend hours building your civ, tech tree, and economy like a perfect sand sculpture. I love that. Then everyone realizes "there is no next turn", abandons their system, and kicks everyone's careful work into the ocean. What's the end of Ascendancy like? The Doomsday Machine?

[@mikec64]

I mean... I don't mind a fight, I like Small World. But it hurts to see something carefully built only to be smashed on the last turn.

[@TheDiscriminatingGamer]

That hasn’t been my experience with STA. In eclipse, Everyone knows it’s the last round, so that’s gonna happen. Here, endgame feels a little more organic. Just going guns blazing is not necessarily going to get you that last point or two. Also, you may want to check out Space Empires 4X - more of a war game so the fighting is baked in.

[@mikec64]

@@TheDiscriminatingGamer Thanks! I absolutely need to play this one. Also, keep up the great work on your reviews. I appreciate your POV.

[@TheDiscriminatingGamer]

@@mikec64 Thanks! Will do.

[@douglaspearson1647]

I really enjoy Star Fleet Captain. I know it doesn't get a lot of love but I can relive my youth by revisiting old TV episodes in the this game

[@TheDiscriminatingGamer]

Indeed. Very thematic. Probably more thematic than Ascendancy in a lot of ways.

[@nickvandam1214]

If someone is looking for a Star Trek game, which one would you recommend? This one, Star Trek Frontiers, Star Trek Fleet Captains?

[@TheDiscriminatingGamer]

It would be between Star Trek Ascendancy and Fleet Captains. Ascendancy is a Civilization building game that does a great job with the Star Trek theme, but Fleet Captains feels more like episodes or movies from Star Trek. Gun to my head, Ascendancy is the better game - though I have not played with any of the expansions.

[@nickvandam1214]

@@TheDiscriminatingGamer Thanks, Fleet Captains has been on my wish list for a while and I think it would stand a better chance of getting played at my house. Frontiers has been tempting because it can be played solo, given none of them are short games that may be the only way any of them gets played for a while. I really appreciate your reviews and your response thanks!

[@TheDiscriminatingGamer]

@@nickvandam1214 Thank you. Frontiers is a good game, but it's more complicated than it needs to be, IMHO.

[@paulorego9334]

I think I'm going to buy this game - I'm this close..... I would just like to know from your point of view whether the randomness of events and dice rolls affects the gameplay in a negative way as what I've been seeing in other reviews. As someone who also really likes BSG your opinion would mean a lot - thanks!

[@TheDiscriminatingGamer]

There is some randomness in the game, but not so much that it mitigates strategy and decisions. I really liked it.

[@paulorego9334]

Great thank you! I think I need to buy the Borg expansion to go with it :D

[@TheDiscriminatingGamer]

I haven't yet played with any of the expansions, but I hear they are fun.

[@paulorego9334]

I originally thought they only included the new faction ships and stations etc. but the fact that they include more planets is a big win! :) thanks for the review!

[@TorIverWilhelmsen]

First time I played it, we made plenty of errors, like not enforcing the "table edge" rules, and I forgot to mention that you got a command chit for building a starbase, and that ships in star lanes block warp. So we ended up with each faction building their own little mini-galaxy with no interaction until late in the game, even managing to use up all the planetary disks. Finally we called it since the Romulans were producing the most culture so they would churn out the necessary Ascendancy tokens first and win, sitting with a pile of ships at the one point where they connected to the Federation. Pro tip: Don't play it wrong, or it ends up a bit boring.

[@TheDiscriminatingGamer]

Indeed. Thanks for the tip!

[@john-paulmacdonagh1014]

Hey Cody. Are you seeing the expansions? No other major reviewer is giving them coverage and two more, being Vulcan and Andorian, were going through beta testing at gen on 2018...

[@TheDiscriminatingGamer]

I haven't played any of the expansions. I'd like to, I just haven't had the opportunity.

[@john-paulmacdonagh1014]

The Discriminating Gamer Seems to be a polarising game. Makes me want to play for myself or live in hope that reviewers revisit the game or review expansions. Keep up the good work :)

[@TheDiscriminatingGamer]

Thanks, I really do like this game, just haven't got it to the table as much as I'd like.

[@john-paulmacdonagh1014]

The Discriminating Gamer my pleasure. Your reviews Rock!

[@TheDiscriminatingGamer]

Thanks!

[@RollMoveReviews]

Is it worth picking up if you're only/mostly going to play two players?

[@TheDiscriminatingGamer]

I haven't played it as a two player, but I get the feeling this is a "more the merrier" game.

[@TorIverWilhelmsen]

Box says 3 players. They don't even try to hack in a two-player mode.

[@TylerDeLisle]

7 months later, but if you're still interested, Borg expansion should enable 2 players by creating an ai faction.

[@LeeroyPorkins]

Even with the imbalance between Factions, is this a fun game worth getting?

[@TheDiscriminatingGamer]

recently played it again with some friends. I really like it. I want to get some of the expansions at some point. Super Mega Fun Game!!!!

[@LeeroyPorkins]

@@TheDiscriminatingGamer Thanks. Does it hold it's own as a good substitute for Twilight Imperium? I'm looking for a space epic game and can't decide between these two.

[@TheDiscriminatingGamer]

@@LeeroyPorkins Nothing beats TI4. That game is in a league by its own. However, at six players (which is the best player count) it can take around 6 hours. STA is not nearly as long so you'll probably get it to the table more often.

[@LeeroyPorkins]

@@TheDiscriminatingGamer Thanks. I've had other people saying that ST: A was imbalanced and as long as TI 4.

[@TheDiscriminatingGamer]

@@LeeroyPorkins I haven't found that to be the case.

[@KonradKaisermühlner]

Could you try the Expansions already? I think 5 players could elevate this game, on the other hand I am a bit scared of downtime issues with 5.

[@TheDiscriminatingGamer]

Probably not anytime soon. I'm working on my PhD now. Not a lot of time for games :(

[@falconiusazurius5572]

Thanks for this review. I would normally not look twice at any spandex brigade themed game (StarTrek) but the look of this game caught my eye. I'll keep a careful eye on Gale Force Nine. Maybe they could in future release a similar title but with a better theme. It could have been much worse though. It could have been starwars.

[@falconiusazurius5572]

Semantics: the word trek is a rare example of Afrikaans words making it into English. Some other examples being bushveldt, commando, laager, spoor, rooibos ect. And I can assure you the right pronunciation is exactly like the English word track. And if you can manage to roll your "r" like in shakespearean english you'll be spot on.

[@TheDiscriminatingGamer]

Falconius, this is indeed a great game and I hope you get a chance to play it at some point. I must confess, however, than I am deeply concerned about your health. I would advise you to seek out a mental health professional as soon as possible, so that you can get back on the road to recovery and embrace all things "star" in the future. Give my love to your mother.

[@falconiusazurius5572]

Friendly banter aside, I'm being very, no, extremely serious here. Ever since I've been sucked into a certain sci-fi universe I've found it difficult to enjoy the mainstream stuff. Too little dakka-dakka, too much heresy. I'll risk exterminatus to admit though that I would love to see a board game version of Homeworld.

[@TheDiscriminatingGamer]

With all of the IPs being brought to the tabletop, it could yet happen.

[@wannabkain4400]

I played fire fly and own time of the daleks so gale force 9 is on my radar so I may pick this up :)

[@TheDiscriminatingGamer]

If you like Firefly, I think you'll get a kick out of this.

[@MegaBearsFan]

How are you able to finish games in 2-3 hours? I've played like 3 sessions of Ascendancy (all with 3 players), and have yet to have a game clock in at under 4 hours.

[@TheDiscriminatingGamer]

We used the Force. That's a Star Trek thing, right?

[@GuiltySpark1817]

I love how the game feels like Trek and the little ships are great, but the downtime between turns destroyed the great early-game momentum for us after three turns, and that is only with 3 players. Imagine expanding that 10 minutes between turns to 15-20 because now, it's 4-5 players. Play time wasn't an issue but the downtime was and killed it for me.

[@TheDiscriminatingGamer]

Mitchlav There is some downtime, for sure, but it never bogged down for us. I felt like, generally speaking, it had a good flow. I imagine it would be a bigger problem for players with AP issues.

[@georgee4810]

Should I get Space Empires or this? Ungh -- Can't... make up... my mind! Damn it, Jim, I'm a doctor, not a professional board game evaluator.

[@TheDiscriminatingGamer]

They are both great games. I probably like Space Empires 4x a hair more, but if you REALLY like the Star Trek IP, then maybe you should go for this.

[@deanofgames4661]

The Discriminating Gamer IF you like the Star Trek IP? ** IF ** you like the Star Trek IP??? Sacrilege.

[@TheDiscriminatingGamer]

And yet, there are some people that don't care for it....

[@deanofgames4661]

The Discriminating Gamer You're surely mistaken. Anyone not liking at least some aspect of Star Trek must be from another galaxy, or possibly a cabinet member of our current president.

[@TheDiscriminatingGamer]

I have heard legends....

[@sherizaahd]

"Hyperspace lanes"? What are these things sir? What is Hyperspace anyway? I don't think that Star Trek has any "Hyperspace"... Isn't that from some strange fictional Wars in the Stars?

[@TheDiscriminatingGamer]

And yet, they merge is this beautiful canvas of a tabletop experience...

[@TorIverWilhelmsen]

Star lanes, it's where the impulse movement is at.

[@paulbrown5937]

Man I can't disagree with you more! I LOVE star trek and 4x games, but this one just drags on and is way too random. The planets you discover can be really lousy or really good but nearly impossible to take, and the events or hazards can simply destroy your ships all the time for no reason. When building a production node requires 2 production etc, you have to wait a long time to get a return on that investment, which just slows the game way down. The first 2 hours at least is everyone turtling on their own corner of the map. When you finally do connect to other players, if you have a trade agreement it helps you a LOT over other players. I've played twice and won both times as Romulans because I can drop a huge fleet, move it all the way across the galaxy, and 1 shot most enemies on a single turn (first strike OP). Each game I came close to losing because one player happened to have 1 more culture node than I and so they would just win by time limit essentially. I really wanted to love this game but it is just not that good for its length.

[@TheDiscriminatingGamer]

I can understand how there is some downtime, but overall I really enjoyed this 4x game quite a bit. I can also understand how the first few games might be slower, but I think once you appreciate the flow of the game, it really comes alive. IMHO.