Stone Blade Entertainment and Ultra PRO have announced Ascension:  Curse of the Golden Isles, the latest in Justin Gary’s 10-year Ascension series, with release set for July.

Set in the Severed Seas, Curse of the Golden Isles lures players to the haunted archipelago, home to skulking monsters, immense treasures, and the undead crew of the Crimson Askara, cursed to eternally seek the lost treasures of those islands.  This installment in the Ascension series introduces the Cursed Treasure mechanic:  Players can try to collect pairs of Cursed Treasure tokens which can be exchanged for Runes, Power, and other benefits.

Ascension:  Curse of the Golden Isles can be played on its own with 2 to 4 players or combined with the earlier Skulls & Sails set for games up to 6 players (see “Pirates Raid ‘Ascension’ in ‘Skulls & Sails’”).  It includes 180 cards, 4 ships, 1 game board, 36 cursed treasure tokens, 50 honor tokens, and 1 ghost pirate standee.  Intended for ages 13 and up, it plays in about half an hour.  MSRP is $40.00.

Celebrating the game’s 10th year, Ultra PRO has also announced an anniversary edition of the game (see “Ultra PRO unveils ‘Ascension:  10 Year Anniversary Edition’”) along with the Year Six Collection and a new carrying case, all for release this summer (see “Ultra PRO Reveals a Summer Full of ‘Ascension’ Releases”) alongside the new miniatures-based Ascension Tactics (see “Stone Blade Entertainment Teams up with Ultra PRO for ‘Ascension Tactics’”).