Every month across our sites we host an evening called Heavy Hitters. Chunky, tough and rewarding games are the order of the evening and this month all our sites have decided to go for ARCS, the most recent four-letter beast by Leder Games, (now does the title make sense? Four letter words! Heh, always better when you explain how amusing you are…)
Leder Games formed in 2014 and soon carved out a place for themselves using KickStarter to fund a range of asymmetric strategy games. From the original VAST through to the hugely popular ROOT and the more recent additions to their stunning catalogue, OATH and obviously ARCS, the focus of our evenings!
Most of the output of Leder Games are 2-4 player affairs and since VAST they have all been illustrated by Kyle Ferrin who has their own unique style that has become intertwined with the brand of the company… and yes, they are all 4 letter words too although a lot of them have a tagline to give clarity to what the game is actually all about.
So ARCS, what’s it all about and is it any good?
The Galactic Empire is dying and you are the Regents in one of the Outer Reaches. Now is the time to act, who will seize power, and how?
Everything about ARCS is beautifully thematic. Most games that deal with an Epic Galactic stage give you perfect control over your actions. Not so with ARCS. The old empire has a certain momentum to it and although you may have plans, the impetus of society may not allow you to take the actions you wish. To simulate this, ARCS main action selection mechanic is trick-taking. The four suits give you access to different actions on your turn, if you don’t get the suits you need, there are ways to mitigate this but you’ll likely be having inefficient turns as you push against the weight of a society that stops for no person.
This makes ARCS a game that is more about making the best of a bad hand and changing your plans on the fly. First games can feel like you are railroaded by the cards you draw but a clever Regent can turn on a dime and perhaps, turn defeat in one theatre to victory in another.
There are so many clever mechanisms in this game, it’s hard to keep a post short. We could talk about the short and sweet combat that is fast but can be cruel…
Or the asymmetry of the Guild Deck, a series of corporations and groups left over from the heady days of glory that can assist you or be stolen from you by your opponents…
Or the simple yet beautiful map of The Reaches that seems open, until a clever placement of ships closes that route you required…
Or how resources let you score ambitions for power but can also be used to mitigate actions and turn the tide in your favour…
Or just the use of some of the terminology in the game that brings out the narrative… ‘You pivot from Mobilization to Aggression? Well, I shall surpass those feeble attempts at Mobilization! You dare seize the initiative from me?’…
Let’s instead talk about how you win. I mean, you want to win, don’t you?
Foiled Ambitions…
Every budding Despot has ambitions… These are the main ways that you gather power each Chapter. There are five ambitions that can be declared and to do so you must first of all have the initiative. If you play the correctly numbered card then you may declare an ambition of the particular type but be warned, to do so weakens the card you play to zero strength so anyone else may now take the initiative from you. You have shown your hand, after all!
Once ambitions are declared then it’s a mad scramble for all players to make the most of the particular ambitions active for that Chapter. Here’s a quick run-through of the different ambitions and how they work.
Tycoon: Stuff. Tycoons like stuff. Fuel and Material make the worlds go round, if you have the most (including guild cards with the respective icons on too) then you’re going to be RICH! Money is Power, even in the outer reaches!
Tyrant: A Tyrant likes to capture an opponent’s agents and do despicable things to them, you know like, tickle them mercilessly… shocking! If you hold the most Captives then you’re clearly a Tyrant of great renown.
Warlord: Classic. Smash things up and bring home the pieces as trophies… hang them on your wall… nobody messes with you. Nice and plentiful decor is key to a good Warlord’s trophy room.
Keeper: Everyone likes to remember the past fondly, the Keeper takes Relics from the old Empire and by pointing out how much better it used to be in the good ol’ days, gains power that way.
Empath: Psionic power is a thing in the distant future. Control their hearts and minds, control their destiny!
There you have it! Five paths to power (in the base game), and the glory that you gain can be heavily increased by populating this corner of the Reach with your people… don’t overstretch though!
As for ‘is it any good?’ Well, we wouldn’t be having an evening showing it off if we didn’t think it was all kinds of awesome. The quality of mechanics and material is top notch, as always, and it’s worth a session or two to get your head around it.
We’ve now realised that we’ve not even mentioned the mini-expansion Leaders and Lore that comes with the base game and adds that asymmetry that Leder Games is so well known for, or the expansion of the sprawling three game campaign mode that is where all kinds of crazy take place! Oh my!