Star Trek: Ascendancy

Msample wrote: If only there was a trap door we could have BGGers go over and stand on top of.

That would be way too much excitement and unpredictability for them.

A recent Simpsons episode had Mr. Burns try to trapdoor the entire Simpsons family, only for them to point out that they'd already been trapdoored and were in the room underneath his office.

Retailer preorders are not GF9's responsibility. They are under no obligation to send their convention inventory to specific retailers that can not fulfill their preorders. Retailers work through distribution most of the time to get their product, so the fault lies further down the line.

What's the deal with the 50th Anniversary promos? I've seen them listed as pre-order only and as first print run only. Is the first print run sold out? Any way to still get the game with these?

I'm finding it a bit confusing myself. Is the online sellout that is so widespread pretty much all the 1st printing?

It's first print run and the first print run is not sold out yet. If you buy a copy now you should get them. They're in the box and not taped to the outside or anything.

I've heard that part of the first printing got held up on the shipping end ( the container ship company filed bankruptcy last month and ships were/are in limbo ). So I don't THINK the first print run has even fully delivered yet, much less sold out. GF9 have been pretty quiet on the matter.

Those promo cards are included in the component list printed on the back of the box (not separately, but lumped into the total number of Explorarion cards). Are they going to rework the box art after the 1st printing?

This went back in stock today at CSI, btw. Too bad I'd already sent out my christmas wishlist and don't want to step on any toes... but it does keep me from spending money on a premium shelf toad, which is good.

I played my first game of Ascendancy a couple of weekends ago and forgot to write it up until now. My overall impression is that the game is--how do you Americans say it?--the real deal. Here are some design elements that stood out after this first session:

1. The stellar cartography aspect of the game is wayyyyy more important and interesting than I thought it would be. I was playing the Federation, and while I had a weaker draw than my rivals did in terms of discovered systems I was quite fortunate in the space lanes that I rolled and in the systems that I discovered near my frontier. That meant that I was able to create just two ways of entering my territory, and those citadel systems contained hazardous phenomena. Between my improved shields, an advancement that helped against hazards, and a quick jump to Ascendancy 2 I was able to post two fleets in those phenomena to protect my entire area while generating accelerated research. I don't think that the game promotes turtling up, but this combination of factors let me get away with it. And the space lanes were a big part of it. In fact, I was able to set up the "front door" to my territory so that the aggressive Klingons (sporting huge Research capabilities and an early lead in Production) would have to go through a prize Romulan system to get to it. That led to point #2...

2. This game's balance naturally leads to negotiation, temporary alliances, and shifting loyalties. I don't know if it will still be that way with more than three players, but in this game the diplomacy was fluid without requiring actual diplomacy mechanics. The Klingons got lucky with their initial draws of systems and exploration cards, but of course that just put the target on them. As a result I decided to make contact with the Romulans earlier than I would have otherwise, and the Klingon threat did keep the Romulans from rushing in through my front door. Meanwhile we were able to establish trade agreements with each other, and that was valuable since the Klingons appeared to be on a war footing early. Just a few rounds later, though, and the Klingons were able to make the case to the Romulans that my Culture engine was going to leave them in the dust if they didn't team up. However, the Romulan was being asked to allow a huge Klingon fleet to pass through his territory to get to me and it was unclear how that would work out. We had to end the game early, but it was shaping up to be very interesting mid-late game.

3. My group has a couple of folks who are particularly prone to analysis paralysis, and one of them was in this game. Despite the fact that he kept things going at a relatively brisk pace it still took a long time to play. I don't mind at all! First, this was a learning game anyway, and the first few sessions are bound to take longer. Second, we always socialize and "waste" time in conversation during our games. Finally, I like long games if they're good. This shift toward preferring shorter and simpler games in our hobby is understandable given the hobby's changing demographics, but sometimes you just want a solid experience that takes a while. Anyway, I do think that "it takes too long" is going to be one of the main knocks on Ascendancy.

4. It's amazing how faithful the three factions are to the source material given how few mechanical differences between them are immediately apparent. But those differences really start to emerge as advancements are researched, different approaches to discovered civilizations are pursued, battle is sought or avoided, etc. The Romulans felt like a sneaky, sleeping giant, the Klingons were aggressive and yet no slouches in tech, and the Federation were only too happy to have everyone stay friendly. That is a great bit of design work.

I can't wait to play this again.

Finally got to the UK a couple of weeks back and to my usual online shop a couple of days ago so hopefully will be able to table it next week.

Southernman wrote: Finally got to the UK a couple of weeks back and to my usual online shop a couple of days ago so hopefully will be able to table it next week.

Finally arrived and first game on Sunday but tell me, how do you make those sliders stick on the command consoles ?!! Lovely game components but a fail on these sliders as I can see them slipping out and people having to remember - couldn't they have tried a bit harder and produced something like the two part dials in X-Wing or Runewars, hopefully the game play will completely distract.

No issue with them slipping out, but mine don't slide at all. We just take it out and put it back in the correct place after an upgrade.

Yeah, mine are too snug to really slide very well.

Disgustipater wrote: Yeah, mine are too snug to really slide very well.

Just like Federation uniforms. GF9 really went all the way with production here.

Da Bid Dabid wrote: No issue with them slipping out, but mine don't slide at all. We just take it out and put it back in the correct place after an upgrade.

OK, just mine that are a bit loose then, not a biggie and acceptable for a mass produced game - now to play it ! I just put a 3x3 map I had made for X-Wing and it doesn't leave much room on my table for play materials so we'll be encroaching in the galaxy a bit (small UK house syndrome strikes again).