Parents' Guide to Ascension

Card games have evolved quite a bit over time, many developing deep and complex mechanics with rich backstories that are a far cry from the days of a simple round of Go Fish or Gin Rummy. Ascension is one of these more complex, world building card games that tries to stand out from the crowd with gameplay that challenges players strategic skills. Between the smooth motion and the gorgeous collection of artwork on the cards, Ascension has a fantastic presentation. Unfortunately, while the game looks good, it all falls apart once the first cards are dealt.

Right from the start, Ascension is a confusing mess. The in-game tutorial doesn't do a good job of explaining the game's mechanics, mainly telling players to take certain actions without giving any understand of why. After a few turns, it leaves players to their own devices to finish the match, which can mostly be done by clicking the "Play All" button. This puts all of a player's available cards into play for a turn. Then it's just a matter of clicking highlighted cards, clicking on actions, and hoping for the best. Players may eventually pick up exactly how to play over time, but it's a head-scratching and frustrating climb up that particularly steep difficulty curve.