Ascension: Card game for iPhone/iPad/paper

bigred wrote:
ChrisGwinn wrote:

Two other things that tie into early game play:

You don't need to play all of your cards. They'll be discarded, sure, but you don't have to put them down and show your opponent what they were. So, in the early game, where the second round's hand is completely determined by the first round's hand, holding on to any cards you're not directly using stops your opponent from knowing what your next hand is.

Because you're both drafting from the same pool of cards, who reveals the next card is important. It's especially important if you're not in a position to take what's coming up. Be careful about creating opportunities for your opponent.

This post plus a nice card run has had me winning frequently today. Thinking about every card I play down, the next steps, what my opponent will have access to, etc instead of hitting the play all button has had a huge impact on my game.

Yeah, but it had you winning against me!

Cragmyre wrote:

Just in case, I would like to apologize for not being as fast as others I tend to only take my turns at night, and sometimes I can only squeeze in a couple. I also don't tend to use my iPad a lot on the weekends because of other things I'm doing, but I still try. This is why a 14 day game works best with me ;)

There's enough other goodjers and random internet players to keep players occupied that I don't think you need to worry about this.

ChrisGwinn wrote:

Yeah, but it had you winning against me!

Funny how good advice can backfire!

So, I've got this now, anyone want to play? I'm ClockworkHouse on GameCenter.

ClockworkHouse wrote:

So, I've got this now, anyone want to play? I'm ClockworkHouse on GameCenter.

Gladly. Sending an invite!

I'll send you an invite. I'm MNGwinn

If anyone else wants to start any more 4 player matches I am up. Just please put at least 14 days on player times.

I thought the player clocks only ran during your turns. Does that include the time from when the previous player finishes to when you respond, or is it just the time you actually have the app open?

ClockworkHouse wrote:

I thought the player clocks only ran during your turns. Does that include the time from when the previous player finishes to when you respond, or is it just the time you actually have the app open?

Its like chess. Once the guy hits the button and switches to your turn the clock is running.

demonbox wrote:

If anyone else wants to start any more 4 player matches I am up. Just please put at least 14 days on player times.

Add me too. Bigred07

I accepted the four player game invite that came in. I don't actually like four player Ascension though - I think it messes with the drafting strategy.

Just got this, will probably hold off on the expansion until I get a few online games under my belt (been playing the AI thus far).

Add 'Slumberland' in gamecenter if you're looking for fodder.

I just invited all the friends I had. I'm up for any kind of game; 2, 3, or 4 players. There was just a mention a couple posts back about wanting another four-player game.

ChrisGwinn wrote:

I accepted the four player game invite that came in. I don't actually like four player Ascension though - I think it messes with the drafting strategy.

I'd actually go so far as to say that anything beyond 1v1 play cranks up the entropy in the game (and there's already a lot of entropy in the core mechanics) to such an extreme level that it removes any sort of direct interplay between the players; it truly becomes competitive solitaire at that point.

And while there are a few monster cards that carry a little extra sting in multiplayer, those cards actually lead to a constriction of the set of possible strategies for 3+ players. In my experience, you've got incredibly long odds ahead of you if you try to run, say, a Construct-heavy strategy in 3+, just because there are more opportunities for an opposing player to "steal" away constructs, more opportunities for anti-Construct monsters to land on the board, and more opportunities for players to exploit those monsters.

Slumberland wrote:

Just got this, will probably hold off on the expansion until I get a few online games under my belt (been playing the AI thus far).

Add 'Slumberland' in gamecenter if you're looking for fodder.

I think you need to open the "Play Online" bit at least once to connect to the server before anyone can send you invites. I tried just now and wasn't able to.

Slumberland wrote:

Just got this, will probably hold off on the expansion until I get a few online games under my belt (been playing the AI thus far).

Add 'Slumberland' in gamecenter if you're looking for fodder.

I would suggest not holding off on the expansion. The game's noticeably better with it, and you can turn it on and off on a per-game basis.

OzymandiasAV wrote:
ChrisGwinn wrote:

I accepted the four player game invite that came in. I don't actually like four player Ascension though - I think it messes with the drafting strategy.

I'd actually go so far as to say that anything beyond 1v1 play cranks up the entropy in the game (and there's already a lot of entropy in the core mechanics) to such an extreme level that it removes any sort of direct interplay between the players; it truly becomes competitive solitaire at that point.

And while there are a few monster cards that carry a little extra sting in multiplayer, those cards actually lead to a constriction of the set of possible strategies for 3+ players. In my experience, you've got incredibly long odds ahead of you if you try to run, say, a Construct-heavy strategy in 3+, just because there are more opportunities for an opposing player to "steal" away constructs, more opportunities for anti-Construct monsters to land on the board, and more opportunities for players to exploit those monsters.

There's definitely some truth to that. It's also really hard to be strategic about which cards you leave and which cards you reveal when there are three other players.

Add me too (ChumpyMcChump) - I'm curious to see if y'all are any good.

Slumberland wrote:

Just got this, will probably hold off on the expansion until I get a few online games under my belt (been playing the AI thus far).

Add 'Slumberland' in gamecenter if you're looking for fodder.

Sorry. I ignored your game center request. Please resend.

I am mudbunny74. Add me and challenge me if you desire!!

Like the others, 14-day timer is best. I have kids, and sometimes a pop-up gets sent when my kids are using my iPhone.

I hate that the game doesn't display whether the person you're inviting into a game has the expansion or not.

demonbox wrote:

I hate that the game doesn't display whether the person you're inviting into a game has the expansion or not.

Odd. I would have assumed that it stopped you from toggling the expansion on. What happens if you invite someone to an expansion game and they don't own it?

ChrisGwinn wrote:
demonbox wrote:

I hate that the game doesn't display whether the person you're inviting into a game has the expansion or not.

Odd. I would have assumed that it stopped you from toggling the expansion on. What happens if you invite someone to an expansion game and they don't own it?

When you accept an invite to an ROTF game it asks you if you want to buy the expansion. A clever ploy to get people to upgrade - it worked on me.

It's inelegant in a way that always perturbs me when I'm starting a game. I'd prefer to play with the expansion, but since I don't what the other person has I am hesitant to click the expansion.

The in-game UI is pretty good, but the interfaces of all aspects outside of a game are pretty horrible.

Agreed.

Unsolicited advice based on a game I'm currently playing:

Kill the Sordid Asp. Just kill it. Unless you're three points from killing the avatar, or have a really good reason to do something else, you should kill the Sordid Asp. It's a five point swing in the game if the person behind kills it, which absolutely means it's a game changer.

Very nice job pulling ahead at the end Clocky!

shoptroll wrote:

Very nice job pulling ahead at the end Clocky!

Thanks! I thought you had me when you got that extra turn right at the end.

Some Starbucks codes for an ios game called W.E.L.D.E.R. I know nothing about it except that it has the tagline "Crossword taken to a new plateau." Don't like crosswords, so just figured I'd pass along a few codes:

6N3PHELTLX6L
T7M43HEEAMLA
YFMKA9J6TNK4

Apologies to all waiting on my turn for the last 4 days. Went to a wedding in the Dominican Republic and left my phone and ipad locked in my room the whole time. Actually, the wedding was awesome...so I'm really not that sorry...SORRY I'M NOT SORRY

Also, I wish there was a way to create a custom game and alter the starting pool of honor points. I'd be interested in playing with a larger pool (say 120?) for two players.

I think it would substantially change the balance of the game - you're effectively prolonging the early phase, which shifts the value of a number of cards. It might be interesting, but I don't know that it would be a good kind of interesting.