Root creator's next board game, Arcs, gets a Kickstarter launch date

The Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign for the next board game from the designer of Root, Cole Wehrle, is set to launch soon.

In a tweet from the artist behind Root and the upcoming board game Arcs: Conflict and Collapse in the Void, Kyle Ferrin, it was revealed that the Kickstarter campaign for Arcs would be going live in less than three weeks. Details regarding pledge amounts and estimated delivery dates are yet to be made available, with players able to sign up for notifications when the campaign finally launches.

Arcs: Conflict and Collapse in the Void was originally revealed in October as a space-themed board game that initially grew out of Wehrle’s previous release – Oath: Chronicles of Empire and Exile. In an interview with Dicebreaker, Wehrle confirmed that Arcs would be a game that has players exploring a galaxy with their own secret objectives that they must fulfill in order to succeed. Unlike Root or Oath, players won’t have set roles or factions in Arcs, rather they will have a starting identity that will determine their relationships with the other players and their goals for the coming game.

Throughout the game, players will travel across space looking for whatever resources or requirements they’ll need for their objectives. As the game progresses, players will have the opportunity to unlock new resources or gameplay mechanics, depending upon their actions. Arcs can be split into up to three chapters, with players having the chance to carry over certain advantages between chapters and getting to grips with any new gameplay mechanics that might need to be introduced. According to Wehrle, the world of story in each game of Arcs has the potential to change dramatically and can even end in total destruction.

Each new playthrough of Arcs will see the world and game mechanics being reset to their standard states – unlike in the legacy-style game Oath – with players being able to have a completely different experience every time. Wehrle claims that Arcs can be played “thousands of times” and still feel fresh to players, with “40 to 50” different objective cards featured within the base game. The designer also said that “there are more narrative combinations in Arcs than there are combinations of Root factions.”

Besides Arcs, Root and Oath, Wehrle has also created the historically themed board games Pax Pamir: Second Edition – a board game about Afghanistan during the 19th century - and John Company: Second Edition, which concerns the history and corruption of the East India Trading company.

Arcs is set to be released by Leder Games, the studio responsible for publishing the aforementioned Root and Oath as well as titles such as the asymmetrical board games Vast: The Crystal Cavens and The Mysterious Manor.

The Kickstarter campaign for Arcs: Conflict and Collapse in the Void will launch on May 24th.