Two ways to play!
We’ve created two play modes so that people new to First Ascent can choose a complexity level that’s right for them.
If you’re new to board games or looking for lighter game play, we recommend starting with Guide Mode. Once you have that down, level up to the Standard Rules!
If you have experience playing medium-complexity board games, we recommend diving right into the Standard Rules!
Overview
All players are climbers competing to establish the best route up the mountain and become the most skilled climber! This will be measured by how many points each player gains throughout the game—the player with the most points wins. Points are gained in 4 ways:
Climbing pitches
Achieving objectives
Matching technique symbols
Reaching a Summit
Climbing characters
At the beginning of the game, every player chooses a climbing character to play as. Each of the 12 characters has a unique ability, and are asymmetrically designed so that more experienced players can choose a more challenging character.
How to Climb
The board is made up of hex tiles, called "pitches." Every pitch shows a unique combination of skills, gear, water and psych. You draw asset cards throughout the game to collect these assets.
You can advance onto a new pitch when you have all the assets shown on the tile. You’ll earn the points listed on the top.
Playing Asset Cards strategically and matching Technique symbols on each turn can earn you bonus points.
The Asset Cards you play can build up and become Permanent Assets, helping you climb more difficult pitches higher up the mountain.
Climbing cards
Each time you advance onto a new pitch, you’ll draw a Climbing Card. Climbing cards show what happened on the climb—like a big scary roof, rockfall, or heinous rope drag—and you must choose how to respond to the situation.
Depending on the choice you make, you may have to manage your resources, manipulate the board, give assets to other players, or take a chance by rolling the Risk Die!
Plotting your route
As you advance up the mountain, you’ll try to climb a route up the mountain worth a lot of points and helps you achieve objectives. Each player can try to achieve shared objectives, and they also have a personal objective that is kept secret until the end of the game.
Ending the game
The game ends when a player has used all of their rope and has climbed their eighth pitch—so it’s not a race to the top, it’s about using your turns and resources strategically to maximize how many points you can rack up!
