Gamehelpfirstascent

Goal & Game Overview

Goal

Establish the best route up the mountain to gain the most points. Points are gained in 4 ways:

• Climbing pitches
• Completing objectives
• Matching technique symbols
• Reaching a summit

Rules Summary

These are a concise set of rules tailored for gameplay on Board Game Arena. The full rules can be found in the First Ascent Rulebook. The "?" icon in the bottom left of the screen opens the Reference Cards with helpful reminders about gameplay.

The Mountain Layout

Overview

The mountain is made up of individual hex tiles called Pitches. Players climb these pitches to establish their route.

The Apron

The lower half of the mountain, visible to all players at the start of the game.

The Ledge

Runs horizontally across the middle of the mountain between rows 3-4.

The Headwall

The upper half of the mountain. This region starts face-down and is revealed when any player ends The Climb Phase positioned on a pitch in the 3rd row.

Pitch Requirements and Assets

Each Pitch requires a certain combination of Assets from a player in order to climb it. There are six types of assets:

1. Gear
2. Water
3. Psych
4. Face climbing skills
5. Crack climbing skills
6. Slab climbing skills

The required Assets are indicated by the icons on each Pitch. The Wildcard Skill symbol can be fulfilled by any of the 3 Skill types (Slab, Crack, or Face).

This is an example of a pitch that requires 1 Gear, 2 Face Skills, 1 Crack Skill, and 1 Water.

The Trifecta - a special pitch

Some Shared Objectives are determined by the type of a Pitch (Arete, Slab, Roof, Crack, Flake, or Corner) or its exposure (sunny or shaded). When a player climbs The Trifecta, they must choose the type and exposure of the route climbed there. The Trifecta does not count towards any Personal Objectives.

It may be defined as a different exposure and type for each player that climbs it. Once climbed, a drop down button becomes available to show which Exposure and Type were defined for each player that climbed The Trifecta.

Gameplay overview

The game is played over a series of rounds. Each round consists of 3 distinct phases:

1. Climb Phase
2. Follow Phase
3. Rerack Phase

The end of the game is triggered when a player climbs their eighth pitch and lays their final rope down on the board. When this happens, the Climbing and Follow phases are completed and final scores are tallied.

Setup

The game begins with character selection and the Rack Up Phase.

Character Selection

First a random assortment of characters is chosen equaling the number of players plus one. Then in reverse turn order, players select their characters. The unchosen character is then discarded.

Selecting a character will reveal their Asset Board. Upon confirming their character, a player will be dealt two random personal objective cards.

Rack up!

In turn order, players draw a number of cards from The Spread and/or Asset Deck based on their starting position:

1st player: 5 2nd player: 5 3rd player: 6 4th player: 7 5th player: 8

Example: