Arcs: Conflict & Collapse in The Reach (2026 Edition)

In Arcs, 3-4 players guide their factions through a fast-playing space opera that unfolds over a trio of 60-90 minute sessions. The game opens in the final days of a decaying empire. Players take the role of the last regents of a once proud state that stretched to the farthest worlds of the Reach. Faced with an encroaching blight that threatens the outer planets, players must balance the integrity of their homelands with their own ambitions.

Arcs uses an innovative card-driven action system that is easy-to-learn and highly interactive. Players are given hands of action cards each turn and must balance their desire to control the game's tempo against their other interests. Should you use the initiative to seize control of a critical new technology or reposition your fleets for a coming engagement? When players do trade blows, the battles are resolved in a snap using a simple dice system. However, combat's interaction with the larger action system offers players a wide range of tactical options, from multi-turn sieges to daring raids and dramatic escapes.

Players begin the game in roughly symmetrical positions, which helps new players learn the core systems quickly. However, their choices will soon cause their paths to diverge. Unearthing an ancient technology might make the restoration of the empire possible. A chance discovery on a blighted world might lead a player to abandon their wealth and begin a voyage across the Reach to right an ancient wrong. Every choice will advance the game's story and form part of an emergent, 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 capabilities and objectives. Despite their similar starting points, by the end of a campaign, players might control factions as varied as any in Root or Vast. Players will also use the intermission to spend their hard-earned power to maintain their fleets and wealth, as well as invest in new improvements that may aid them in the coming game.

Long ago, the Reach thrived. But our ancestors failed us, and I fear we’re no better. As we wrestle over earth and void, can we break the cycle?

Arcs is a dynamic science fiction game from Cole Wehrle and Kyle Ferrin featuring sharp competitive play that rewards skillful planning and daring maneuvers. It takes about two hours to play and supports two to four players.

Intrepid players can also explore an expansive and replayable campaign mode with the Blighted Reach Expansion. With it, Arcs transforms into a three-session space opera filled with intrigue, mystery, and betrayal. A fearsome blight has overwhelmed the outer systems. As the last regents of a decaying empire, you must balance your duty to an ancient order against your own ambitions. Will you exploit this crisis to further your own ends? Or will you find a way to create a new era of peace and prosperity?

Arcs uses an innovative action system where players must juggle their priorities against the opportunities of the moment. Each chapter, you'll be dealt a hand of action cards. These cards can be used many ways: copy the leader, pivot to new tactics, or seize the initiative for next round. Timing is everything. 

As the game progresses, players will declare ambitions, determining how everyone at the table scores victory points. However, activating victory conditions may provide openings for your enemies. Risk and reward are intertwined, and fortune favors the bold...mostly.

With fleets at the ready when the game begins, you can fly into battle within minutes. When you clash with the enemy, you’ll plan your strategy by mixing and matching three kinds of dice, then roll them all to resolve the battle in a flash. Want to soften them up first with some well-timed skirmishes, or raid them immediately to steal precious resources? It's your decision.

The base game of Arcs holds plenty to explore right out of the box. The game includes a number of variable setups, and over the course of the game, players will gain special powers by securing guild cards from the Court. Terrorize the Court with your enforcers or announce your ambitions with a troupe of galactic bards.

Players hungry for more asymmetry will find a feast of new abilities with the leader cards. Each card introduces a special starting position and powerful ability. But be careful: each leader also has a drawback. The proud Noble may be adept at courtly intrigues, but will refuse to ever take second place when scoring ambitions.

A card spread showing many leaders and lore cards.

These leaders can be further combined with a set of powerful lore cards that allow players to warp core rules of the game. Use Living Structures to shift your buildings freely from cities to starports, or dash across the Reach with your Sprinter Drives. Each lore card can be paired with any leader, offering players a huge number of unique factions. Still want more? Pick up the Leaders & Lore Pack to double the number of leader and lore cards in your game!

Ambitious players can explore a three-game epic in the Blighted Reach Expansion. In this campaign, each player chooses a starting Fate, which provides a unique set of goals and abilities. As the campaign progresses, you might hold to your Fate or decide to abandon it for other opportunities. Perhaps you began as a fringe religious figure, dreaming of spreading the good word. However, frustrated by the imperial police, you turned away from the holy path and toward a life of piracy. Then, some time later, your spirit was reawakened but you directed it toward revolution, fighting that same empire that had clipped the wings of your earliest ambitions.

The full Arcs Blighted Reach spread, showing new pieces such as purple Imperial ships and green Blight tokens, along with colored player trays to hold their piece supplies.

Each success and failure alters your position and abilities going forward. When you marshal your forces against the empire in the final game of the trilogy, you won’t just be a revolutionary. You’ll be an ex-space pirate, with a ship full of true believers, the last bastion of a failed dream.

Unlike other campaign games, a full campaign of Arcs can be played in a single long session or easily divided over multiple days. The campaign box features seamless storage that can save your campaign’s progress with minimal bookkeeping. And, once the campaign is completed, you can easily reset the game and play again.