Star Trek: Ascendancy – Vulcan High Command

My highlight of the month was a four-player game of Star Trek: Ascendancy with the two new factions, the Vulcans and the Andorians. It is one of those occasions where the game spreads across the table and, with all the extra material involved, really starts selling its Star Trek universe. I am not crazy about it as a whole, but it is now easily my favourite 4X.

At its core, Ascendancy does what I want from a proper 4X: exploration, expansion, and conflicts that do not remain theoretical. The game runs long, even more so when new players are involved, but the journey has an honest Trek feeling and enough fighting that you never feel as though you are simply building by yourself in a corner of the galaxy.

With the expansions, the new factions do not feel like decorative additions; they genuinely refresh the game. The Vulcans stand out through gameplay and victory conditions that are quite different from those of the other factions, while the Andorians arrive as a clear hard counter to the Science/Military combo that usually makes the Romulans the favourite.

So yes, it demands time and a little patience, especially at a first table. But when four players gather and the Vulcans and Andorians enter the galactic dessert, Star Trek: Ascendancy delivers honest fun and a freshness that suits it extremely well.