Arcs

OBJECTIVE OF ARCS: Gain more Power than every other player by declaring and fulfilling ambitions across a series of chapters.

NUMBER OF PLAYERS: 2–4

TYPE OF GAME: Trick-taking strategy board game

AUDIENCE: Ages 14+

PLAY TIME: 60–120 minutes (roughly 30 minutes per player once familiar)

Overview of Arcs Board Game

Arcs rules blend trick-taking card play with galactic conflict, producing a strategy game unlike anything else on the table right now. 🚀

A full game spans up to five chapters. Each chapter consists of several rounds, and in every round each player takes one turn by playing an action card. When all players run out of cards, the chapter ends and ambitions are scored. The game finishes once any player reaches a Power threshold or after the fifth chapter. That threshold shifts with the player count: 27 Power for four players, 30 for three, and 33 for two. Whoever holds the most Power at that point wins.

Components

Each player controls pieces in their chosen colour:

• 15 ships that move across the map and fight battles
• 5 starports built on planets to produce new ships
• 5 cities built on planets, taxed to gain resources, and opening extra resource slots on the player board
• 10 agents placed onto Court cards to secure political influence

Shared components include 28 action cards, 25 Guild cards, 6 Vox cards, 18 battle dice (6 each of Assault, Skirmish, and Raid), 25 resource tokens, ambition markers, and the map board. The map consists of six clusters, each containing three planets and one gate. Gates connect neighbouring clusters and allow ships to travel across the Reach.

Setup

Place the map centrally and shuffle the 20 action cards numbered 2 through 6 into a deck. In a four-player game, shuffle the eight cards numbered 1 and 7 into that deck as well. Draw a setup card matching your player count, then cover the indicated clusters with out-of-play markers. Path markers placed during setup link the gates of clusters adjacent to the covered ones, keeping movement flowing across a smaller map.

Each player then places their starting pieces:

• 3 ships and 1 city in their A system
• 3 ships and 1 starport in their B system
• 2 ships in their C system

Gain the 2 resource tokens matching the planet types of the A and B systems, then draw six action cards into your hand. Discard all remaining action cards face down to form the action discard pile. With two players, the player without initiative may discard the entire hand and draw six fresh cards as a mulligan.

How Does the Trick-Taking Action System Work?

The player holding the initiative marker plays the first card face up as the lead. That card sets the suit for the round and allows one action per pip printed on it. Four suits exist: Administration (Tax, Repair, Influence), Aggression (Battle, Move, Secure), Construction (Build, Repair), and Mobilization (Move, Influence).

Clockwise from the lead, every other player responds in one of three ways. A Surpass plays a card of the same suit with a higher number than the lead card, granting actions equal to its pips. A Copy plays any card face down, granting only one action of the lead card. A Pivot plays a card of a different suit face up, granting only one action from that card’s own suit. Pivoting does not change the lead suit for other players.

After all turns, the player who Surpassed with the highest card number claims initiative for the next round, unless someone seized it. Seizing costs either an extra action card played face down alongside the main card, or a Surpass with a 7 card in four-player games. Once seized, no other player can take initiative that round.

Declaring and Scoring Ambitions in Arcs Board Game

Only the player with initiative can declare an ambition, and only before taking any actions that turn. Cards numbered 2 through 6 each correspond to a specific ambition, while the 7 cards can declare any of the five. When declaring, the player places the highest available ambition marker into the matching ambition box on the map and covers their card’s number with the zero marker. The card keeps its action pips, so declaring costs nothing in terms of actions.

At chapter end, the player who leads a declared ambition earns first-place Power from all markers in that box. Second place earns a smaller amount. Ties for first drop all tied players to second-place rewards instead. The same ambition can be declared again in a later round, stacking additional markers and raising the Power stakes. Building cities uncovers bonus slots on the player board, adding 2 or 5 extra Power each time a player wins first outright.

How Does Battle Work in Arcs Game?

A player with ships in a system can attack any rival sharing that system. The attacker collects one die per attacking ship, choosing freely between Assault, Skirmish, and Raid dice. Assault dice damage the defender quickly but risk hitting your own ships. Skirmish dice damage the defender more slowly but keep you safe. Raid dice steal resources and Guild cards from the defender but carry the risk of an intercept. Raid dice can only be collected if the defender has buildings in the system or no buildings anywhere on the map.

All dice are rolled at once and resolved in strict order. First, the attacker takes self-damage from any skull results. Second, if any intercept symbol appears, the defender’s fresh ships each deal one hit to the attacker. Third, ship-hit results strike the defender’s ships. Fourth, building-hit results strike the defender’s buildings. Finally, the attacker spends raid results to steal resources and cards.

A fresh piece that takes a hit becomes damaged by tipping it over or flipping it. A damaged piece hit again is destroyed and placed in the relevant Trophies box. Destroying a city triggers Outrage: the attacker must discard all resources and Guild cards matching that city’s planet type and permanently cover that type’s Outrage icon on their player board, blocking its Prelude spending ability.

Leaders and Lore Mode

After a couple of introductory games, the rulebook recommends adding Leaders and Lore. This mode replaces the symmetric start with eight unique leader cards and fourteen lore cards. In reverse turn order, each player drafts one leader and one lore card from face-up rows.

Leaders dictate starting piece placement and grant special powers that shape strategy from the first round. The Mystic, for example, gains an extra Psionic resource when Copying or Pivoting to tax. Lore cards provide persistent abilities that cannot be stolen or raided. For a wilder experience, add a second lore card per player to the draft.

What Changes in a Two-Player Game?

Two-player games remove the 1 and 7 action cards, narrowing the deck to twenty cards. Six resource tokens matching the covered planets are placed onto ambition boxes during setup, acting as a phantom third player for scoring purposes. Weapons placed on the Warlord box count as Trophies. After each chapter’s card draw, the player without initiative may mulligan their entire hand once, discarding all six to draw six fresh cards.