Arcs

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In Arcs , 2-4 players lead their factions in a fast-paced space opera that plays out over three 60-90 minute sessions. Opening in the final days of a crumbling empire, players take on the roles of the last regents of a once-proud state that stretched to the farthest worlds of the Reach. Faced with a looming plague that threatens the outer planets, players must balance the integrity of their homelands with their own ambitions.

Arcs uses an innovative card-based action system that is easy to learn and highly interactive. Players are dealt a hand of action cards each turn and must use initiative to seize control of a critical new technology or reposition their fleets for an upcoming engagement. When players clash, battles are resolved in an instant using a simple dice system. However, the interaction of combat with the broader action system gives players a wide range of tactical options, from multi-turn sieges to daring raids and dramatic escapes.
Players start the game in roughly symmetrical positions, which helps new players quickly learn the core systems. However, their choices will soon cause their paths to diverge. The discovery of an ancient technology could make the restoration of the empire possible. A chance discovery on a ruined world might lead a player to abandon their riches and embark on a journey across the Reach to right an ancient wrong. Each choice will advance the game's story and become part of a new player-driven campaign.

Many of these choices are resolved in a special "intermission" between games. During this phase, new rules modules are activated and players are introduced to new abilities and objectives. Despite similar starting points, by the end of the campaign players may control factions as different as Root or Vast. Players will also use the intermission to spend hard-earned power to maintain their fleets and wealth, as well as invest in new improvements that may help them in the next game.

The Arcs campaign system offers players a huge number of game situations and hundreds of possible campaigns. Arcs also includes a shortened two-session campaign and a single-session mode.