For future reference, if anyone has a really long video and then there's a second part and they want me to watch the second part, ending part one with "and it gets weirder" will 100% do the job every time.
Why did they choose to have meeple university do the official how to play video? I am hoping @WatchItPlayed is going to give this game their own how to play none the less. Rodney's teach is unmatched!
If I had a nickel for every 30+ min Leder Games review from Tom where he said their new game is his favourite of all time, I’d have two nickels, etc etc. In all seriousness though, I’m super happy to see this game deliver on its promises!
A vanishingly small number of American viewers will have the first idea what "a stick of rock" is, let alone what the hell Tom's use of it in a tortured metaphor could possibly mean. As a public service: Rock is a Britishism for a specific kind of hard candy similar to what Americans would call a peppermint stick. Originally called Blackpool Rock (or, for you Graham Greene fans, Brighton Rock) based on whatever resort town sold it. The difference between rock and peppermint sticks is twofold: first, rock is quite a bit thicker, maybe twice the diameter of a peppermint stick. Second, the candy is made so that in cross-section, it has a design - for instance, the letters BLACKPOOL ROCK. The design runs the length of the stick, so that wherever you break it, the design's visible. As with millefiori, which uses a very similar production technique, only for glass. (Millefiori: also a Reiner Knizia board game. Onward.) Hence: "dramatically lopsided games that have an asymmetry running through them like a stick of rock...though it would have to be a really _wide_ stick of rock to fit the word "asymmetry" through it, you know?"
I taught this game to someone who got a bit on edge that the attacker makes all the decisions in combat. At first, I didn't understand why it seemed to sit ill with him, but then he explained that it felt like some of the perceived gaming agency he had been accustomed to, trained to in most other board games had been taken from him. I wonder how particular that is, but if that's something that might bother you or your gamer pal, too, just a thing to put on radars: the attacker makes all combat decisions in base Arcs, including choosing which defending units were hit/destroyed when the dice rolls need to be doled out. In this and many ways (said video above), it turns the formula on its head.
Yeah I can see that, our miniature gaming group really miss rolling to save your models from harm when attacked. Which most games do so when there's no 'save' it feels kinda bad, like your agency to even have a chance (cube) to save your little plastic dudes is taken away :P
Arcs used to have defender agency, but then eventually evolved to just assume the defender “acts reasonably”. All the damage and intercepts on the dice represents the defender’s attempt at defending themselves
In a recent podcast interview with Dan Thurot, Cole touched on this a bit: "I've noticed that some of the people who hate our games the most are the most experienced game players. People who have played hundreds of Euros. And I think what's happening is, just because of the way I design and the way these games have turned out, it doesn't allow players to build on their preexisting ludic knowledge. So if someone's enjoyment of games is mostly, look at how their ludic knowledge is laddering from one euro to another, it can be very frustrating. Whereas people who have no touchstone do fine. I've gotten so many messages from people for whom Pax Pamir was their first modern board game. And they had a great time, they had no problems with the rulebook!"
Eclipse is also "attacker decides which target they are shooting at" and there is no defense roll. Every ship has an initiative which determines who rolls first and that can often decide the battle alone. It sounds like this system is similar?
IT IS SO GOOD! The designers learned everything they could from making Root and Oath and combined the best parts of both to create a Ti4 sized experience in half the rules and double the convenience. A masterstroke.
@@broganirwin864I think the Ti4 comparison to base Arcs is a bit apple to oranges. I can see the Ti4 comparison to Blighted Reach -- that's a different price range (and different video!), though, than base Arcs. It does matter what a person considers the core experience to a Ti4, though. But when it comes to creating an epic feeling space narrative in a game session, absolutely, Blighted Reach does that. And with fewer rules, ya.
The one thing I hate about kickstarter games, is hearing about them after the campaign has already ended. I look forward to getting this at retail though.
And I hate when it's absolutely silent AFTER a game's kickstarter when the game is done and released. Like there's a bunch of hype videos for the kickstarter and 0 reviews afterwards.
"It's like trying to wrestle an eel. An eel that hates you. Probably hates you because you're trying to wrestle it. Why are you trying to wrestle it? What's wrong with you?" ... "They're just questions, Leon... It's a test designed to provoke an emotional response."
I’ve had the game out on my kitchen table since it came in the mail. I just enjoy looking at it. I’m nearly to the point I’m going to put a sign in the yard telling strangers to come in and play with me.
Played through 2 acts of the campaign last weekend. After first game, we all said, "Well that was kind of interesting...but I can't quite see where this is going". After the second game where planets were being obliterated, space mushrooms were being befriended, and one player was desperately trying to hold together the crumbling empire while the rest of us gleefully pushed the metaphorical head of the drowning empire underwater while also somehow paying taxes into it we all realized, "Ah...this is not what I thought it was going to be at all." In the best way. Cole, Kyle, and Leder Games have done it again.
This is amazing, Tom! The atmosphere you create, the music, the beautiful shots of the game. I really like the sincere reviewing interspersed with silly bits to keep our attention. More sustainable for you to make but still informative and a joy to watch ❤
Tom is such a great barometer for games I should not purchase. This review really helped me understand what Arcs is and why I shouldn't get it. I genuinely appreciate that.
Care to elaborate? I pinky-swear I'm not planning to be confrontational regardless of what you end up replying. I'm just so far off on the other side of this take that I can't imagine how it must feel
The game seems like a big box, competitive, tactical, and with lots of parts to track. Tom seems to like that sort of thing. If that's not something your into then this review is a pretty good highlight on why you should on this.
I guess everyone’s game collections are different. I own Arcs - and if we are talking about the base game he is showing it’s not a big box. The box is probably closer to the size of Root. The expansion box on the other hand is enormous. I haven’t even opened it so I can’t speak to it. It setups up and tears down fast. The base game where everyone is symmetrical is easy to teach and play. The added complexity and parts to make the game asymmetrical is just cards given at the beginning to give special powers. My family all loves very different games but this has been good for most of us. It has strategic depth but the rules are simple enough the box did not have to include a “Law of Arcs” book like other Wehrle games do. So as far as big box with lots of parts this is one of the more accessible games I have that I wouldn’t call a family game. I’d probably put it around the complexity level of Dune Imperium, yet I find it a lot more interesting to play.
Yes, this review helped me realise I don’t really want to play this. I can recognise and appreciate the good design of the game, but I don’t find these intensely negotiating, super confrontational game that fun. I like to see game mechanics reflect the theme, and I don’t really get the sense that the theme really shines through in this.
I am (I guess similarly to Tom) Werhle pilled. John Company, Oath and now Arcs are absolutely in my top shelf games in the board gaming space. Just fantastic game design and development all around with a big ol' BUT - they take such a specific mindset to really engage with and appreciate, so it's very easy (and understandable) for folks to bounce off them if it's not the style of game they are looking for. I'm glad that Arcs is the most accessible as it has the core design foundations that interest me (unreliable planning, emergent narrative, some campaign elements that aren't permanently destroying game pieces). Anyway, looking forward to the 2nd part of this vid (I say, while still watching this'n).
Great review Tom. I feel I could tell from your description that it is not my group's cup of tea, despite having some interesting mechanisms. Which is important to convey, even in a review that's as glowingly positive as this one.
Arcs is brilliant. But it is NOT straightforward. Like many Leder games, it approaches a genre that is well trodden (such as space game) and turns everything on its head (by making action selection into a trick taking game). I think grokking the mechanics of the game takes a game at least for most people. This is mostly because not only is the shared rulespace between space game and trick taking game is basically 0 (knowing how to play the Crew is only half the battle!), but also that Arcs doesn't do almost anything else like other Space games either. Control is based on fully repaired ships, but damaged ships still have guns. Combat is based entirely on the aggressor, but can cause tremendous backlash for those who are not cautious enough. Victory points are based on who controls what resources (in a very limited pool of resources) at any given time. You might even run out of ships or agents if the relevant scoring hasn't happened in a few turns. Everything works together, but how it works together is absolutely unlike any other game you've played.
I don’t disagree it’ll take a play to feel comfortable with the action selection mechanism, but Arcs is definitely much more straightforward than Root or Oath. It was hands down the easiest teach of the three for me.
@@naturesfinest2408 I would say yes since you can on-ramp with just the base game, then add Leaders & Lore if you want some starting asymmetry, and finally go to the campaign if you want full blown Leder/Wehrle weirdness.
The asymmetry of the Leaders and Lore stuff reminds me a lot of Cosmic Encounter, which is a favourite in my family. Can't wait to get my hands on Arcs
I get that this game may be genius, but I can't shake the feeling that I, personally, would hate Arcs but adore Oath. Which I still need to get my grubby little hands on to try.
Sweet. Just my kind of game! Cant wait to buy a copy and look at it on my shelf as I wait 12 years to find someone who will play it with me! Great review. Got me.
It's about time. I've only been able to play three games… 1 2 player, 1 3 player, and 1 4 player, but it is captivating. I always leave the game thinking about each chapter, wondering what I could have done to be more efficient.
The lack of a solo mode saddens me. Yes, I get that it would be difficult to design one...but they just did one for Oath after saying they couldn't. Hopefully, we'll eventually get a clockwork Arcs.
The intro had me intrigued, and the card play looked very interesting, but the further the video went and added more and more...I think this is too much for my brain to deal with enjoyably.
I was not sure about buying Arcs once it got to retail...until this review. The thing that gets me most excited about Arcs is all of the absolutely beautiful reviews packed so full of emotion and narrative. And this is the best of those reviews by far. Can not wait for part 2!
Tom your point about games feeling temporary or disposable couldn't be more will timed for me. 3 minute board game reviews recently spoke about this feeling and it struck me, now here you are repeating it. Even though the games we own physically last a lifetime or longer they seem to expire in our awareness. Buy the new thing, maybe play it twice, put it on the shelf for 3 years and then sell or trade. Novelty is more valued than mastery when consumerism runs the hobby. I'm hoping that Arcs can challenge that, at least in my group.
THIS! Thanks for putting into writing what I feel everytime I look at my collection. Next to my own short attention span, I really blame the kickstarter fomo hype for my novelty addiction when it comes to boardgames. There is always the next best game (like arcs) in which "I really want to sink my teeth into" but ending up like exactly like you mentioned - playing it for 1-2 times and ending up on my shelf...
i skimmed this the other day and saw this in store yesterday and immediately invested. i was genuinely shocked at how affordable the box and the lore/legends addition was im so excited to play. coming back around to make sure i have the gameplay down before i host a game. i love yalls work, i got the vibes immediately and just know this will be a hit. Thank you for all this great work you do to help us sort out which games we want! the last few games i got were all susd recommended and theyve all been hits.
Arcs is the game that finally pushed me over the "the churn" line. I'm sick of not getting to replay favorite games because I feel guilty about the new game sitting on my shelf. I want to rip Arcs apart and know every nook and cranny of that box. I sold dozens of games in the last few weeks. I'm much happier now. Thanks Leder. You've made me a happier gamer.
Same!! I’m out of my dating period with board games. Used to date as much as I could, had one night stands, experimented as much as I could. Now I’m happy to settle down and keep a stable and faithful relationship only with my 15-20 preferred partners.
@@somerandomperson8282im glad to see this taking off in the hobby. My personality has always gravitated towards replayabilty rather than new and fresh. Which means the market might make a, maybe only slight, shift in that direction. I know some games have "replayability". But I mean over and over. Not just 20 times.
Having played a few games now, I agree with Tom's sentiment. I am interested to know what the rest of the SUSD crew thinks about it, given Tom is admittedly quite biased when it comes to Cole Wehrle.
Finally got to play - thanks for your bravery to take that stance, this game is incredible, whole family was so excited around the table, complexity / innovation / strategy / tension - this is a masterpiece, my top spot of all time
I'm gonna finish the video first but from that intro I'm very sold that I want this game. I haven't bought a board game in about a year because I'm pretty reserved about adding new things to my collection but this seems like the exception and it doesn't play like anything I have. I also really like this art style for a scifiish game. It almost feels like it could fall into any genre and is close to minimalist but still beautiful
And its relatievly inexspensive for what you get. Only 40 dollars u.s. Leder games doesnt dissapoint me, and like you i tend not to add things ti my collection. This will be the one game I will get this year.
@@ormhaxan Yes, he said its been a few months. But still, some of us who are not boardgame reviewers would be overjoyed to play 40 times (any game!) in a year ...
Awesome review Tomy can't wait for part 2! On a sidenotey what music did ya'll use in this one? I've definetly identified satisfactory, and maybe citizen sleeper so far....
@@ElTomTom87 If you're unsure you'll like the game mechanics, such as the cardplay and all that, it is very much recommended to get only the base game. Especially if you're in a position to just walk into a game store and buy the campaign whenever you decide to.
I actually prefer Cole’s Wehrlegig games (Pax Pamir, John Company, etc) to his Leder stuff. But Root is still a Top 10 game for me. I basically worship at the altar of Cole’s game designs.
I must admit I was very close to being put off when you described one of the key ingredients as being "trick taking", but thankfully it seems to only have a small amount of that DNA. I'm very intrigued by this one! I'll probably pick this up over TI as my first proper 'space game'.
Waited to watch until after I had played my copy and I agree with a lot! One thing I know - I am definitely putting the resource stacks in the center of the board going forward - our first game was decided by the hard limit of 5 resources come screaming into relevance in the final round.
There is a very big question that this review raises for me. Tom is saying this is a game that gives something for everyone, and suffers nothing from it. But everything that he is highlighting in the video seems to indicate that Arcs requires a careful attuning and learning how combos and strategies work, understanding how the context of interaction of other player action should affect your plans. This kind of game tends to review stable gaming groups where proficiency with a game develops roughly equally within the group. If you say a game "has something for everyone", and is the "best game of 2024", without specifying "for experienced gamers", the game should be one that allows a mix of older and newer players to sit down and have fun. However, I would imagine, and please correct me if I'm wrong, that an experienced player of Arcs will have a significant advantage over a new player, and it would be clear during the game. That said, if the gameplay itself is satisfying enough, a newer player might still feel relevant in the game, and enjoy the mechanics and interactions. I'm reminded of playing a cube draft in Magic: the Gathering, which could be said to be one of the most challenging puzzles in the game, as every draft, you need to create a functional deck based on the synergies and powers that come your way, and then be able to make use of them in an optimal way as you play. Knowing the cards well gives you an enormous advantage, but the puzzle of the cards themselves, and opportunities to mix and match cards you like can be fun even if you are less experienced (and end up losing each match anyway). I guess TL;DR, I would have wanted a bit more talk about how the game works when playing with players of various level of experience with the game, or even gaming in general. How accessible and clear is it? Does it meet the "easy to learn, hard to master" sweet spot?
I've only played the base game a couple times so far, but I think what it addressed in Cole's designs from Root and Oath (snappier turns, clear journey arcs -haha-) that you point out, particularly applied to grand strategy space games, is what I think I love MOST about this. I'm a play fast kind of board gamer and I think that --finally-- aligns well here
We played our first 3-player game (non-campaign) last week and it blew us away. I haven't been able to stop thinking about it since. My personal game of the year (at least until I get Earthborne Rangers in my hands - then we'll see)
Not a game I was expecting to want to play, but you make it sound intriguing. My best interpretation so far would be "Scythe meets Brian Boru, with dice". My main issue there is the "with dice" part...
Excellent B-roll framing and on point editing as always. Definitely a game I need to see if my friends who enjoy this kind of game would be interested in.
So, I had completely forgotten that Leder Games was working on this and, after Tom opening saying this was his current favourite new game, I had one of those chills-down-the-back moments when I saw the box art, so distinct from Kyle Ferren and Leder Games. I'm a huge fan of both Root and Oath, and hearing SUSD sing its praises is definitely exciting!
Somewhere in Minneapolis, Cole and the Leder team are watching this review and all of the great work making this masterpiece is being validated. Almost officially.
While I think the video came over well and how the game plays, looks and feels, I still think this might not be for me. This seems more like a tactical, strategic spacegame for people that like a large amount of randomness and the balancing act of spacing out your cards more than the gradual, effciency and planning we get from games like TI4. Now those games usually spiral out of control because they aren't really balanced incredibly well, but this also insures that all the politics can stabilize the situation and the game eventually ends within a reasonable time. This seems more like the YOLO version of a space 4-X, where you take a gamble more often than a carefully planned strategy. That is the exact opposite of what my gaming group prefers. Even in TI4, where there actually is a lot of gradual planning, the most feel bad moments are nearly always a horrible agenda card being revealed and voted through that totally wrecks 1 or 2 players completely, or a completely lobsided series of dicerolls that turns an almost unlosable combat in a disastrous loss. Maybe I shouldn't be comparing Arcs to TI4, which is a far grander, larger and (probably) lengthier game. But as the most prominent game we play that roughly fits in the same theme, it will still be the most logical competitor. The most important marker of a game I am going to like a lot, is that when watching a review, I immediately like it and my mind races as to how to play this game and getting really excited, maybe even getting to check out the rulebook if it is available. This just doesn't does that for me. The art doesn't entice me, the gameplay might be good, but it isn't convincing enough to pull me over. I'm willing to give it a try, but I think if we want a shorter spacegame, we will play Eclipse, or possible even Dune Imperium, as both games are excellent for their length and complexity and we barely have time to get those out enough anyway.
The campaign is a lot for sure, but if you start with only the base game, without any of the add-ons, it's remarkably straightforward. (Much easier to understand than Root for example)
It is actually not! If you're teaching a new player, you won't be playing the campaign and you won't be including Leaders & Lore, so the teach is 90% just describing the 7 or 8 actions on the cards and the flow of the trick-taking card play (the whole Lead, Surpass, Copy, Pivot thing). It's actually their easiest game to teach so far! After people have played one game, introducing Leaders and Lore is literally a 5 minute teach. And after both of these nice onramps, teaching the campaign-specific stuff takes about as long as the base game teach - at most.
The first versions of the map was almost enough to scare me from backing the game. The final map on the other hand is absolutely gorgeous in my opinion and I can't wait for my Kickstarter copy to arrive!
The 2 versions of Vast are still my favorite Leder games. I owned Root and Oath, kept Root for awhile, and Oath for a single game before selling them both. I had backed this but then pulled out as it was very uninspiring in its earlier stages of the campaign. Between your video here, and a local friend likely bringing it to a meetup, I'll have to give a try, and ascertain how well it works for us.
@@Shazirah_Kaur Mysterious Manor is easier to teach, and has been slightly more popular with the game group. I think it's easier to find as well. I do like Crystal Caverns as well, and prefer the cavern role over the manor role, but I do feel manor may be a better starting point.
Just played the base game the other night at a friends and have immediately ordered it the next day. A few notes: - rounds can be VERY slow if you have a player who wants to math everything out; you should set an early expectation that tactics are likely to be more relevant than strategy - the way that the card values combine with enabling win conditions is frikkin awesome As for the campaign... I'm not so sure. Realistically, i dont think i can get the regular group together. Maybe one day...
I was hoping it to be some sort of fusion between root and twilight imperium (my 2 favourite games), and although I'm a little disappointed for not being that, I'm also very intrigued
Empahis on tactics means snowballing, turtling to hoard and slowly advancing a tech tree gets replaced by more fast and conflict driven play. Reacting on your feet instead of researching grand strategy before the game even begins. Love it!
Good timing and glad to hear your take on Arcs. Heavy Cardboard is supposed to stream one entire Arcs campaign playthrough over the weekend. Will be exciting to see how weird and wonderful that one is :)
I own all Leder games (except Ahoy), AND I own both of Cole's non-Leder games, AND I have been loudly proclaiming for the past 3 or 4 years that Root is the best board game of all time, AND… I genuinely think Arcs is their best game yet.
@@patrynize I honestly have no idea which part of the game is better, if it's base or campaign. It's all so great, and for such different reasons. Base game scratches that Root itch for a competitive, cut-throat game you get really ecstatic when you win. Campaign game scratches an Oath itch that Oath itself failed to scratch.
Played it with friends on TTS, I love the mechanics of prelude actions and the outrage mechanic is so delicious. My friends were not sold on it. So now I am tempted to buy it and forcing it on unsuspecting aunts and uncles. Or maybe I should try my hand at the discord. They seem firendly.
