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Move a builder, then raise a tower. First to stand on a three-level tower wins — but the tower you build is the one your opponent might climb.
Tap one of your blue builders, then tap a highlighted square to move there. You may step to any of the eight neighbouring squares, but you can only climb one level at a time (you may drop any distance).
After moving, tap an amber square next to your builder to add one level to it. A square at level 4 is capped with a dome and nobody can enter it again.
Stand on a level-3 tower and you win the match. Trap the red AI so it has no legal move and you also win. Each win extends your streak; the streak is your score, and it resets when you lose.
The core tension of Ascend is that building is not just progress, it is also an offer. Every level you add is a step your opponent may use next turn. Before you place a block, ask where the red builder can reach: adding a second level next to a piece already standing on level 1 hands it a free climb to the top on its very next move.
The strongest defensive tool is the dome. A square at level 3 that neither side can safely occupy should be sealed — build it to 4 and it disappears from the board for good. Doming is also how you win by entrapment: workers pinned in a corner by domes and level gaps run out of legal moves, and running out of moves loses the match outright.
Keep your two builders within reach of each other rather than sending one on a solo climb. A lone builder can be walled in by a single well-placed level, while a pair covers twice the ground and forces the AI to answer two threats at once. When you cannot make progress, the best move is often a quiet build that lowers your opponent's options rather than raising your own.
The AI here searches with a time budget instead of a fixed depth, so it plays with the same strength on a slow phone as on a fast one. It always takes an immediate winning climb, so never leave a level-3 square adjacent to a red builder standing on level 2.