It Came From the Tabletop! - Star Trek: Ascendancy and Civilization: A New Dawn

New Dawn is also interesting in that it pushes you in a sort of Knizian way of having to develop a well rounded civ. You can't just hammer science or military over and over, and even if you don't want to care about sending out trade caravans, eventually your card will be in slot 5 and you'll want it out of there. In order for that to not be a wasted action, you want to use it in *some* way to improve your position. This appeals to me because, thematically, I want a civilization that actually provides things for its people instead of just pumping out archers or monuments over and over.

Sagrilarus wrote: You're the only guys on the Internet talking about the spirit of games. That shouldn't be the case. Everyone else focuses on mechanical aspects or the pretty parts. To your credit you make this look easy, but apparently it's not because no one else has caught on.

I've looked in on other gaming communities and they mostly make me think of this:



Just rattling off stats, checking the "played" box, and then moving on. At most you get "I had fun" or "tough decisions". Very few actually make me think it makes any difference what they're playing and that this could easily have been anything else.

This podcast is a godsend for that.

We've just had a 4-player game of FFG's Sid Meiers Civ with both expansions, it took about 6 hours with a few breaks but was enjoyed by all. I couldn't imagine doing a Civ in a couple of hours - but horses for courses,

Found a like new copy of Star Trek:A for 25. Going to pick it up tomorrow.Expansions, do I need any particular ones?

You don't NEED any of the expansions unless you plan to play with more than 3 people. I don't mind the higher player count but some do due to increased down time and a much tighter playing area/map.

That being said, both Ferngi and Cardassians are really well done and well thought out factions and if you like the game you won't be sorry that you bought them. The Borg I have not played with. I don't think the game needs an NPC "jam car" but that's an opinion formed by reading not playing.

WadeMonnig wrote: Found a like new copy of Star Trek:A for 25. Going to pick it up tomorrow.Expansions, do I need any particular ones?

Its only 3 players without an expansion so you'll need one if you want to play with 4.

The Ferengi and the Cardassians are 100% worth it, even if you don’t want to play with more than 3.

Also, don’t go out of your way to play with more than 3. 4 at the most, but only once you’re pretty experienced with the game. Never 5. NEVER FIVE.

The Borg are cool but they’re better once you’ve played a bunch. You have a few options on how you use them and it’s kind of preference on what kind of game you want, so again, something you’ll only want once you know the game. I find them to be best when they aren’t the focus of the game. If your go for the option where they start out on the table, the whole game is about the Borg. On the other hand, the threat of potentially running into them is amazing and everyone putting aside differences to deal with them is a really interesting thing that can happen.

I was...er...drinking last night and misread that Vulcan High Command was out. I was like, Damn, they didn't mention this one, I wonder how good it is. You guys did a great job of describing the other races in the pod cast. I'd love a 4th player and was looking at the "escalation packs" about adding moar stuff to the base. Don't drink and shop kiddos.

I did the escalation packs because we've actually run out of Klingon ships before, so I figured I'd just cover my bases with the other four races, too. And, because I had the money, I went on the dice, too. It's pretty cool to be able to roll your Cardassian or Romulan dice against your opponents. The only thing I haven't gone for is the space stations, which are VERY cool, but a number of people on BGG have complained about poor resin casts, so I'm holding off for a while. Just waiting on Vulcans and Andorians...

So, extra starting resources.

Yay or Nay?

I don't think extra starting resources are needed. In some games, which take a much longer time, I get that you want a "fast start" which cuts out 3 or 4 turns of what is essentially solitaire exploration or where the first turn or two is pretty scripted. I think Star Trek Ascendancy is fast enough that it's not needed.

The extra ship packs, I'm philosophically opposed to. I think the hard limit on ships sort of forces players to act rather than to turtle and build enormous amounts of ships. Like "free parking" rewards in Monopoly they would prolong the game rather than enhance it. That being said, playing as Cardassians, it's a big drag to run out of ships because you've got yoru slave masters watching over your lazy subjects.

WadeMonnig wrote: Found a like new copy of Star Trek:A for 25. Going to pick it up tomorrow.Expansions, do I need any particular ones?

Turns out it is NIS...box is huugge

WadeMonnig wrote:

WadeMonnig wrote: Found a like new copy of Star Trek:A for 25. Going to pick it up tomorrow.Expansions, do I need any particular ones?

Turns out it is NIS...box is huugge

I hate the box. Both its size and quality.

Disgustipater wrote: So, extra starting resources.

Yay or Nay?

Huge nay. Extra starting resources are for the weak.

EDIT-Unless you’re playing with the Borg starting on the board. The game is pretty much impossible in that case without the extra resources.

Another great episode. I like the two game per episode format