The Games Journal
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ISSUE 454 -AUGUST 2013 ISSN 0257-361X Volume 37 THE GAMES JOURNAL www.gamesjournal.at INTERNATIONAL EDITION: IN THIS ISSUE WE PRESENT 55 GAMES OUR REVIEW u ASCENSION turned with an army of Monsters and only DECK BUILDING TO SAVE VIGIL we players can face the threat and defend Vigil against evil. For this we summon mighty warriors and ASCENSION constructs of four different mythical frac- CHRONIKEN DES GOTTBEZWINGERS tions with different powers and advantages, who not only support players in their fight against the fallen god, but also help to get Since Donald X. Vaccarino has begun the their own variation of the genre with „As- nearer to their personal goal which is to ac- era of family-friendly deck building games cension – Chroniken des Gottbezwingers“ cumulate the highest honor and to claim with “Dominion”, many players have tried - Chronicles of the Godslayer. the title of Godslayer for themselves. their hand at the new game mechanic to Contrary to the “Game of the Year 2009” as- grab a piece of the cake. And so the team cension takes two to four players, ages 13+, For that purpose, each player receives an of Stoneblade Entertainment, comprising into a fantasy world called Vigil, which has identical starting deck of ten cards at the the “Magic: The Gathering” Pro Tour Cham- been isolated and protected from other start of the game, and draws five cards from pions Justin Gary, Rob Dougherty and Brian worlds since millennia by a barrier between it. In his turn he can then play cards from Kibler, seems to have come up with the idea dimensions. his hand to use their abilities and thus col- to join the bandwagon and have created But now Samuel, the Fallen God, has re- lects valuable runes to acquire new cards Color codes, target groups, features, icons and GABIS are 2 ISSUE 454 / AUGUST 2013 explained on page 5 and at the bottom of pages 34 and 35 www.gamesjournal.at ASCENSION / 40 LINES FOR MEEPLES t OUR REVIEW from the display, much-needed strength the one hand, the very simple rules, which to defeat Samuel’s monsters, and honor in can be explained in about five minutes the guise of victory point stones. The cards and therefore can be taught easily to new played for those purposes and newly ac- players of all age groups, and, on the other quired cards are placed on a player’s per- hand, the very short time necessary to pre- sonal discard pile. pare the game. If a player cannot or doesn’t want to play I know very few other “games in a big box” additional cards or use abilities, his remain- with a fantasy topic that can be set up as ing cards in hand are discarded and he quickly and non-complicatedly and still draws five new cards from his deck. With prove an interesting gameplay for different this drawing his turn ends and passes to the kinds of players. Due to this quick access next player. When a player cannot draw five and an average playing time of 30-60 min- cards his discard pile is shuffled and forms utes, depending on the number of players, the new draw pile. the game is equally suitable for a “filler” in between games for expert player and for In this manner the game continues until a very good choice for a spontaneous eve- the prepared stock of victory point stones is ning among casual players and families, used up. Then each player adds the victory provided they are not opposed to fantasy points from constructs and hero cards he topics. Dennis Rappel So, should you be able to accept the card Ascension: Chroniken des Gottesbezwingers offers fans of design and graphics and the background 40 Lines for Meeples deck building games an amusing and entertaining fantasy story behind those cards, or should they Dagmar de Cassan, Editor-in-Chief adventure with lots of tactical considerations, despite be, as is the case with me, be exactly what Maybe we are at the threshold of a new era, simple rules. The marked chance element allows for a quick and fluent play, which unfortunately lacks possibilities for you like, Ascension will offer you a felicitous like the one when Gutenberg destroyed the interaction among players. variation, not least due to a design that pro- monopoly of monasteries on knowledge and vides flair to the background story, geared culture. Thanks to Gutenberg everybody, also to friends of deck building games and card someone who was not religious, print his games in general. theses and spread them, which was nearly acquired in the course of the game to the Dennis Rappel impossible before. amount of victory point stones and wins This is also the situation between game de- with most points, and is given the glorious INFORMATION signers and game publishers. Due to the ap- title of Godslayer. PLAYERS: pearance of Kickstarter every designer can Designer: Justin Gary + Team 2-4 produce his heart’s desire, his favorite game, Featuring more than 100 cards, of which Artist: Eric Sabee AGE: the new best game in all the world, without only a part is displayed randomly for each Price: ca. 35 Euro 13+ hearing admonishing buts from a an editor game, Ascension provides enough varia- Publisher: Stone Blade Ent. 2010 TIME: “Listen, this game will not sell!” And this really tion. Despite the fact that some cards are www.stoneblade.com 30+ seems to happen, a real flood of new games, available more often than others, you never an incredible amount of games is published know when or if certain cards come into and jostles for the market’s notice. How will play. This provides a high replay value and EVALUATION traditional game companies react? We will demonstrates the strong tactical character Deck building, Hand Management see at Essen! of the game, which distinguishes it from its Users: With friends Where you can play with us you can see in our Version: de predecessors, “Dominion” and “Thunder- Rules: cn de en fr it jp event calendar on http://www.spieleclub.at! stone”. In-game text: yes Games can be checked in our games data- Comments: base: LUDORIUM: http://www.ludorium.at. While in those two games all possibilities Fast access * Attractive topic and WIN The Games Journal is available now design * High chance element * Little also as an eBook and as Kindle in German are revealed with the start of the game and planning possible * Very little interac- players choose their winning strategies, tion and English and so can be even more easily the card display in Ascension features six read then a PDF on the respective modern Compares to: randomly chosen cards. When a player ac- Tactical deck building games: DC Comics Deck devices. When you like our WIN, please be- quires one or several of those cards, the free building Game, Legendary, Thunderstone come a subscriber! We have a PayPal account, places are instantly filled with new cards so the payment of € 6,00 for an annual sub- Other editions: which allows somewhat restricted planning Marabunta, Italien, Asmodee scription can be made easily and safely, see and control in accumulating a deck, but re- Deutschland also http://www.gamesjournal.at sults in very different games. In Essen we will have our booth and there are The chance element at the core of the game 2 new games available for a donation of 5 € is felt clearly, but results in little interaction each: SISSI - Die Bohnenkaiserin by Uwe between players and in continuing new Rosenberg and HÄNDLER DER KARIBIK by decisions which, combined with new cards Alex Pfister, winner of the Austrian Game De- from expansions, provide the long-term re- signers Competition. Our Games Handbook play value. / Games Companion SPIEL FÜR SPIEL 2014 is new and available at Essen: More reasons for good replay value are, on My rating: Info: http://www.gamescompanion.at WIN The Games Journal now also available as eBook! www.gamesjournal.at For all information on that check our website. ISSUE 454 / AUGUST 2013 3 OUR REVIEW u RIVER DRAGONS painted man in his village and has been ONCE AGAIN, WITH EMOTION! given his six planks, made from real wood, and his own set of action cards. A double page, generously splattered with RIVER DRAGONS pictures, is sufficient to present all the rules A FAMILY CLASSIC, FONDLY RE-ISSUED including several examples clearly and eas- ily understandable, so that access to the game comes easy and can be reproduced They are really cute, those paunchy little That works like RoboRally succinctly. wooden figurines which we use as our play- Well, that comparison might originate Your aim is to reach the village exactly op- ing pieces in River Dragons. At the start of from the face-down deploying of five ac- posite to your own. The path to this goal is the game we place them on the banks of tion cards, which determine what players really a bit remindful of RoboRally. With the the Mekong River and intend to reach the have to do; but the feeling of the game is full complement of players (how nice: You other side of the river with them. A very completely different, because - despite of can play River Dragons with up to six play- wobbly enterprise, especially when you no- the pre-determined actions in the given or- ers) each player holds up to 13 action cards, tice that we have only a few stones that we der - you still have the impression that you which allow him to place one or two stones can chuck into the water and a few planks have choice of their implementation.