In ‘Arcs’, You’ll Fight For Control of the Entire Galaxy From Your Board Game Table
Arcs is a space-opera board game that will have you building cities and space ports, waging space battles, and vying for control of the galaxy.
Arcs is a tactical space opera board game that takes place in a galaxy that’s dark, but also silly. Players take on the roles of officials of a distant and decaying empire who are now vying for dominance. They’ll gather resources, battle, and sometimes engage in diplomacy to become the biggest name in sometimes-silly space.
| Quick Guide | |
|---|---|
| Mechanics | Area Influence & Movement , Strategy |
| Players | 2 – 4 Players, Ages 14+ |
| Playing Time | 60 – 120 Minutes |
| Similar Games | Kemet, Inis, El Grande |
| Publisher | Leder Games |
Arcs Overview
“Long ago, the Reach thrived. But our ancestors failed us, and I fear we’re not better. As we wrestle over the galaxy’s edge, can we break the cycle? Can we build something new?”
Arcs is a space opera board game full of battles for power, aliens, and a hundred of tiny wooden space ship pieces to move around the board. It’s a highly tactical game with a lot going on at all times. But many aspects of it also fall well within the realms of other games you’ve played and loved. At its core, Arcs has you collecting resources, claiming space (in space… space-space), and blowing stuff up.
This is also a somewhat complex game. The rules are clean and make sense, but there are many of them and games can take a little longer than a more casual board game player may want to commit to. This isn’t a quick space visit, it’s an entire space opera.
How to Play Arcs
To play Arcs, players take turns playing cards and performing actions based on the kind of card they play. For example, you may move, or engage in battle, spread your influence throughout the galaxy, or trigger a one-time event.
As cards are played, players will spend resources—fuel, material, psionic, relic, and weapons. These resources will give you extra abilities for your turn, such as moving, or performing free actions. And these resources are acquired through taxing the cities that you’ve built on various planets.
Points are scored through Ambitions and there are five different Ambitions—Empath, Keeper, Tycoon, Tyrant, and Warlord. They all provide points for different accomplishments and aspects of gameplay. For example, the Warlord rewards how many enemy ships you’ve destroyed in battle, while the Tycoon rewards how much fuel and material you’ve stocked up on. When the game is over and players have run out of cards, Ambition is scored and a winner is decided.
Should I Buy This Game?
Arcs is a thoughtful game full of fun touches and rules that keep things exciting. It’s the kind of game where everything can change on a dime, and a city you rely on for resources may dry up between turns or one of the other players may make a surprising jump in points at the last minute. Is this exciting or infuriating? You tell me.
Realistically, this is a game that you would either love or not. If my very fast description has piqued your interest, watch a full breakdown of how to play. If you’re still interested after that, I think you should absolutely check out Arcs for yourself.
