How to Play Arcs in 27 Minutes

Introduction

This tutorial is designed to help you quickly learn how to play Arcs, the engaging board game that involves strategy, card play, and tactical decisions. By following these steps, you will understand the game mechanics and be ready to jump into playing with your friends.

Step 1: Important Game Info

• Familiarize yourself with the game components, including cards, tokens, and the game board.
• Understand the player roles and how many players can participate.
• Review the game setup instructions to ensure everything is in place before starting.

Step 2: Basic Overview and Setup

1. Arrange the game board according to the setup instructions.
2. Distribute the starting cards and tokens to each player.
3. Select a starting player and determine the play order.

Step 3: Cardplay Basics

• Learn how to play cards from your hand during your turn.
• Understand the significance of different card types and their effects on gameplay.

Step 4: Surpassing, Copying, and Pivoting

• Surpassing: Know how to exceed the requirements of a card action.
• Copying: Learn how to mimic another player's action using your cards.
• Pivoting: Understand how to change your strategy based on the game state and card play.

Step 5: Changing Initiative and Ending the Chapter

• Initiative changes affect the order of turns; learn how to manage this strategically.
• Understand how to properly end a chapter of the game and transition to the next phase.

Step 6: Declaring Ambition

• Learn how to declare your ambition at the start of your turn.
• Understand the benefits and consequences of declaring ambitions.

Step 7: Influence and Secure Actions

• Influence: Explore how to gain influence over other players or game elements.
• Secure Actions: Understand the steps to secure your actions and ensure they are not countered.

Step 8: Build and Repair Actions

1. Identify the resources required for building or repairing.
2. Learn how to control a system on the game board effectively.

Step 9: Tax Action

• Understand how to perform tax actions and the implications they have on the game economy.

Step 10: Move Action

• Familiarize yourself with the rules for moving your pieces on the board.
• Learn about strategic positioning and how it affects gameplay.

Step 11: Prelude

• Explore the prelude phase of the game, which sets the stage for the action to come.

Step 12: Guild Card Advanced Rules

• Review the advanced rules associated with guild cards and how they affect gameplay.

Step 13: Battle Action Basics

1. Understand how to initiate battle actions.
2. Learn the mechanics of resolving battles and the outcomes that can occur.

Step 14: Provoking Outrage

• Discover how to provoke outrage among players and the strategic benefits of doing so.

Step 15: Raid Dice

• Familiarize yourself with how to use raid dice and the conditions under which you can steal from opponents.
• Important note: You can only steal if you have at least one remaining ship in the system after damage is dealt.

Step 16: Misc Combat Rules

• Review additional combat rules that may affect your strategy during battles.

Step 17: Ending a Chapter and Scoring Ambitions

• Learn how to conclude a chapter, scoring ambitions and determining victory points.

Step 18: End of Chapter Cleanup and Endgame Triggers

• Understand the cleanup process at the end of each chapter.
• Familiarize yourself with the endgame triggers and how they affect gameplay.

Step 19: Leaders and Lore

• Explore the lore behind the game and the role of leaders in shaping your strategy.

Conclusion

By following these steps, you should now have a solid grasp of how to play Arcs. Remember to practice with friends to refine your understanding of the game mechanics. Enjoy your gaming experience, and don’t forget to explore additional resources for advanced strategies!