WizKids Revamps Flickingly Good Board Game, Ascending Empires

July 25, 2022 by brennon

Ascending Empires was previously released in 2011 by Z-Man games and had you dominating the galaxy by flicking your gaming pieces across the tabletop. Well, WizKids has reinvented Ascending Empires with the new Zenith Edition featuring new components and more. Do you like dexterity games?

Ascending Empires: Zenith Edition // WizKids

Designed by Ian Cooper and Jan Gonzalez and now featuring new illustrations by Sergi Marcet, Ascending Empires offers up a different take on your classic galaxy-spanning space opera. You play as the last survivors of the human race who have discovered the ruins of four long-dead civilisations and are looking to develop technology based on their work so you can claim the stars.

Ascending Empires Discs // WizKids

During the game, you will explore new planets by flicking your ships into deep space. You will then expand your colonies by heading deeper into the black and then exploiting planets for the resources. This also means everyone else is going to be flicking their ships into space too! So, you'll need to balance your expansion alongside defending your system against aggressive invaders.

Starship Discs & Plastic Miniatures // WizKids

I like that everything seems to have been getting an upgrade with this new edition of the game. New, high-quality plastic discs and components have been added alongside an upgrade neoprene gaming mat which should make the dexterity element so, so satisfying!

Neoprene Mats // WizKids

This seems like a solid update for a classic board game. I'm not the biggest fan of dexterity games like this but I do like a good space opera-styled 4x-adjacent game. With WizKids' updated components, this might be one to try out at the local board game cafe. It also plays in ninety minutes which means it could fit into an evening!

Could you be tempted to dive in? Did you play the original game?