Timing is Everything in Leder Games’ New Quick Playing Space Opera ‘Arcs’
Take the initiative in Arcs, a dark but silly new competitive space opera board game from the makers of Root.
Imagine if Warhammer 40,000 stopped pretending it wasn’t as goofy and silly as it is. You might have a universe similar to Arcs. In Arcs, you create your own spacefaring empire. Will you be a ruthless warlord set on conquering the galaxy? Or a sly and smooth talking diplomat who isn’t quite as friendly as they might seem. Or maybe a cunning inventor designing physics breaking engines to bend reality as you see fit? It’s all up to you!
Arcs Overview
Arcs revolves around gaining Power (victory points), which is gained by completing objectives called Ambitions. Players get to choose their Ambitions each round. This means players can always try a new strategy if one isn’t working out.
The main mechanic of a turn is Action Cards. These are multi-purpose cards which allow players to build, tax, secure systems, or fight depending on the situation. But equally important to Power is Initiative. Which ever player has the initiative dictates the flow of the round and grants more options for different actions.
The player with the initiative will get to play more action cards than the other players. But on top of that, players without the initiative can be forced into copying the chosen action. Meaning a strategic player who gains the initiative might be able to force another player to choose less favorable actions on their turns.
What would a space opera be without space battles?! In Arcs, battles are done with three types of dice: attack, defense, and maneuver. Attack and defense are fairly obvious, but maneuver dice are used for special effects like rerolls for yourself or your opponent.
Players build their dice pools and roll simultaneously. Defense dice negate attack dice, then manuever dice are applied. So deciding what balance of attack, defense, and maneuver works best for you is crutial.
Arcs comes from Leder Games, makers of Root, which I still can’t stop playing. The art is by Kyle Ferrin, the same artist as well. He’s got a very distinctive style which always stands out in the crowd. The game is currently available for pre-order, and is expected to ship in September 2024.
