Arcs – Leder Games

With over 400 board games and counting, it's hard to make a big impression in our collection. Leder Games, however, has done that many times. We’ve loved and supported every one of their games from Root, to Oath, and even Vast! That’s why we were so excited to try out Arcs!

Arcs is a space themed strategy game for 2-4 players. You can expect the game to have a similar feel as root, just taking place in space rather than in a woodland forest.  The base game comes with wooden ships and characters, keeping on theme with other Leder Games board games. 

I have to add here that this game is a very interesting game, which also means that it takes a minute to learn. I heavily suggest watching a tutorial and play through before attempting the game for yourself as that is what helped me the most. When we first sat down to play the game, we were wildly unprepared, so don’t make the same mistake we made! I have always been a fan of root and to imagine this in space now is just so much fun! While there is a lot to learn, it is pretty straightforward.

Like any great game, Arcs has many expansions, which we’ll work to break down right now:

Arcs: Leaders & Lore Pack

While Leaders & Lore is a smaller expansion, it packs a big punch! As the name suggests, this small box expansion adds 8 new leaders, and new lore.

The biggest thing that the Arcs Leaders & Lore pack adds to the game is a larger sense of asymmetry. I have said it before, and I’ll say it again… Asymmetry is the single best way for a game in my collection to stay in my collection. This is widely due to the fact that if I complete the game with one leader, I still have 7 more in this pack alone to play through before I even get an inkling of repeat content. 

While I recommend trying the base game before Leaders & Lore, I really enjoyed this expansion, and would recommend it to anybody looking to expand their copy of Arcs!

Arcs: The Blighted Reach Campaign Expansion

Arcs The Blighted Reach Campaign, in my opinion, is where Arcs really shines! While my family and I love the base game, The Blighted Reach Campaign is where we spend most of our time when Arcs is on the table! 

Before we get into the gameplay that this expansion adds, I have to mention the box. The box to this expansion holds all of the current content for Arcs in one big box! This to me was a huge reason as to why I decided to give it a try. The box has an amazing storage system that helps us keep the game half broken down in between sessions of the campaign, helping to lessen the set up and tear down time! The best part… they left enough room for all of the cards after being sleeved!

Onto the game itself, this expansion is all about turning the Arcs base game into a campaign game, spanning over a three game trilogy, and I am totally here for it! Much like the Leaders & Lore expansion, the Blighted Reach Campaign Expansion adds even more replayability to the game in the form of asymmetry. I can play a three part session with one set up, and then immediately want to start the next session with a new one because the game will be completely different. And don’t even get me started on the fate cards, which are a huge part of the game.

While the game is not exactly cooperative, many people have mentioned the fact that the campaign is less cutthroat than the base game, but I still feel like it’s competitive since there can really only be one winner.

Arcs: Miniature Pack

The Arcs miniature pack adds over 100 detailed plastic miniatures to the game. Personally, this miniature pack seriously upgrades the table presence of the base game as well as its expansions. 

From the color wash to the detailed finish on the flagships, I love everything about this miniature pack! My favorite part would have to be the mini agents. While I love a good meeple takeover, I just feel a personal connection to these agent miniatures and I simply can’t explain why. 

While the Arcs miniature pack doesn’t particularly add any content to the game, I think this upgrade is a luxury that would definitely be worth it if you enjoy playing the base game of Arcs!

Overall, Leder Games did NOT disappoint on Arcs! My family and I are still exploring new content from the box, and I have no doubt that this is a game that will always be in our collection. If you’re interested in Arcs, make sure to check out the Leder Games website, and their new expansion for Root coming out soon!

* While these games were gifted by Leder Games, all opinions remain my own.