Back in the summer of 2011 – which, for those of you who don’t like to do math, was nearly thirteen years ago – I reviewed Z-Man Games’ “weird & wonderful cross between a dexterity game like Carabande or Catacombs and a space civilization game like Twilight Imperium or Starcraft: the Board Game.” (Yes, my exact words to describe the original edition of Ascending Empires.)

Unfortunately, the game went out of print pretty quickly – and it was relatively difficult to find. Meanwhile, I put Ascending Empires on my top 100 games list that I publish every couple of years… and it has sat somewhere between #23-#32 on every one of those lists – including the 2024 top 100 list which is coming later this spring. I really love the game.

So, when word began to spread that a new edition of Ascending Empires was on the way, I was, to say the least, a bit jazzed about it. Zev Shlasinger, the former head of the original publisher (Z-Man) moved from director of board games at WizKids to found his own company (Play to Z) – and the first thing out of their shop is Ascending Empires: Zenith Edition.

What follows is an odd blend of my original review and my personal examination of the new rulebook – because there is (in the words of Charlie Peacock) “a whole different, a whole lot the same.” *

To Flick or Not To Flick, That Is the Question

My description of Ascending Empires in the initial paragraph has a couple of problems with it – both in describing the original edition and the new Zenith Edition:

1. It’s really a space empire-building game with flicking rather than a flicking game with a space theme. (Flicking is used simply for movement – and unless you’ve managed to ramp up your tech, you don’t actually want to run into other people’s ships.)
2. Though it is a space empire-building game, it has a playing time of about 75 minutes… which is roughly 1/4 of a game of Twilight Imperium & 1/3 of a game of Starcraft: the Board Game.

Both movement and combat are dependent on flicking – but with an occasional exception, most of those flicks are short hops rather than attempts to cross the board in a single jump. While there are times when you want to ram the starship of another player (this can be a cost-effective way to get rid of some advanced enemy starships), losing your own ship is costly and so finesse is important. 

So, Exactly How Does This Thing Work?

Players begin with a warpgate to their home system (which, thanks to some kind of unexplained technological marvel and/or diplomatic agreements, can not be attacked by other players), a small army of soldiers/settlers and a couple of starships. In turn, players begin to explore the board, settle planets, build stuff (outposts, cities & research stations), advance their tech levels… and, as time goes on, attack other space empires. Various actions give you victory points (destroying starships, capturing planets, improving your tech & interacting with relics or mission cards) during the game, while building up your infrastructure & expanding your empire is worth points at the close of the game. The player with the most points wins.

OK, a gamer-y aside: I just typed the sentence: “The player with the most points wins” after describing how to get victory points & it has occurred to me that this is one of those moments that belongs in the Department of Redundancy Department. Who else is going to win? The guy who has the least points? Sheesh. Alrighty then, moving on…

Many space empire games have long player turns where you do all of the things listed above – but Ascending Empires limits players to one action per turn, which has a couple of neat effects on game play. First, the game moves along at a blistering clip (once you’ve got a game or two under your belt) – there is very little downtime. Second, players have the opportunity to react to the actions of other players (or the perceived plans of other players) quickly… while it’s not a real-time game, the quick turns & ability to react makes it feel that way.

As well, players are limited on their resources: to launch a ship, you have to return a soldier to your supply. To land on a planet, you have to do the same with a ship. To build a colony, city, research station or mine, once again your soldiers go marching off to your supply … and since you have only 2 starships & 4 soldiers to start with, the management of those finite resources is a key part of how your space empire develops. (Building cities and starbases gives you access to more soldiers & ships in supply… thus allowing you to expand at a greater rate.)

Just One Action?

Yep – that’s what I said. (Ahem, wrote.) But that simple choice between the four main actions leads to so many interesting possibilities!

• Move – You can flick your starships twice, attempting to move them into better positions to blockade enemy planets, outnumber enemy ships (and destroy them), and set yourself up to discover empty planets. In addition to the flicking, you may undertake any number of operations, which include
  • launching a starship *
  • landing on a planet *
  • discovering a planet *
  • repositioning your starship that is in orbit
  • using the power of an alien artifact to flick that starship again
  • Operations marked by an asterisk (*) cost movement points in the original game
• Deploy – You can deploy 1 or 2 troops or starships from your dashboard to your warpgate (ships) or to planets you currently occupy (troops).
• Build – You can build one structure per turn on a planet you control: outposts, cities, research facilities, and starbases.
• Interact – You can fulfill mission cards or interact with relics (found by discovering planets).

At the end of each turn, you resolve any attacks that you’ve set up (on purpose or accidentally – hey, stuff happens!), resolve any end-of-turn effects from your technology levels, and finally check to see if the game end has been triggered.

And then the next player is up!

Blinded Me With Science

The basic technology system from the classic game is unchanged – though many of the technology effects have changed. When you build a research facility on a planet, you gain a level in that color of tech. (Unlike the classic game, this happens immediately.) 

Component-wise, the new version uses tiles for technology rather than a larger dashboard, which allows for variant sets of technologies to be created.

Shiny New Stuff

There are a bunch of new elements in the Zenith Edition of Ascending Empires – I’m not sure I can do them justice, but I’m certainly going to try:

• Starbases & Advanced Starships
  • In the original game, you could pump up one of the tech lines in order to get a Battleship (which was the equivalent of two starships in battle). In the new edition, each tech line has its own starship – some are good at building structures, others have defensive capabilities.
  • Along with that change, you can now build a starbase which increases your defense of a planet and also frees up starships to be deployed. (Starbases are not destroyed by ramming, which makes them even more difficult to defeat.)
• Energy Tokens & Boosting
  • Empires begin the game with a single energy token… and receive another one each time they build a city or starbase. Energy tokens can be used to boost Move, Deploy, and Interact actions – allowing you more flicks or deployments or interactions. (Build cannot be boosted.) 
  • Energy is reset in a variety of ways – both through building cities/starbases and by certain tech functions.
• Discovery Tokens
  • Undiscovered planets host Discovery tokens, which can either be events or relics. Events are triggered immediately while relics wait until a player uses an Interact action to kick them into gear.
• Mission Cards
  • The first player to fulfill each mission card marks the cards with two cubes of their color and will receive two points at the end of the game. All other players who complete the mission receive a single point.
• Terraforming Relic Planets
  • Relic planets can be terraformed by building a research station on them… and they become the color chosen by the player. (And, yes, this does affect their technology level.)

Extra Shiny New Stuff

All of the “shiny new stuff” above is in every game of Ascending Empires: Zenith Edition… but there are also a number of modules/rules variants available that players can choose to use:

• Ancient Libraries
  • Located through Discovery tokens, these make planets more valuable – but they’re worthless for defense.
• Megastructures
  • Built using energy on Alien Artifact planets, these have powerful effects but can be stolen from you by marauding empires (aka other players).
• Guardian Warships
  • More things to attack, these alien vessels are worth points but are difficult to defeat.
• Sublight Movement
  • A variant rule that allows you to do movement without flicking – but reduces the things you can do with slow-moving starships.
• Empire Cards
  • Asymmetric starting powers that can be randomly given to players. 

Have Your Cake And Eat It, Too

The new edition of Ascending Empires also included the dashboard and the rules to play a slightly revised version of the classic game… albeit with the niftier pieces and the neoprene mats. I’m guessing some folks will like the original game better – but I deeply appreciate that Play to Z is making sure we have both options available.

And, since it’s like Play to Z knows me, there’s also a solo mode included in the box! (More details about the solo mode are coming soon – I can hardly wait!)

Final Thoughts

First, I’m not a stockholder or part owner in Play to Z. I didn’t receive a review copy or financial consideration. I’ll be backing this just like the rest of you.

Second, if you want to look at the Kickstarter (which opens today, February 27th), here’s the link.

Third, I’m really excited about the new edition and the changes Play to Z has made: the neoprene mats vs. the original puzzle-cut board, the expanded pool of pieces, the choices to streamline game action to make it even zippier, and the plethora of module options, including solo play. 

Fourth, I still love the base system of the game – and nothing I see in the rulebook makes me concerned that they’ve lost the pace or the joy of the original. 

May the flick be with you, always. Flick long & prosper. 

* ”A Whole Lot Different (Whole Lot the Same)” is an amazing song from Charlie Peacock’s first album back in 1984 (Lie Down In The Grass). The version I’ve linked to was recorded in 2020 with a plethora of Sacramento-based musicians as an homage to friends/bandmates who’d passed away… and it’s even better than the original.

Photos are from BGG with permission from Play To Z (except the photo of the original game, which I took)