Arcs · Board game rules
How do you play
Quick answer
Players take turns playing action cards to move, build, battle, tax, and influence the Court, declaring ambitions to score Power, until someone reaches the Power threshold after up to 5 chapters.
Details
Overall structure: A game of Arcs lasts up to 5 chapters, each made of several rounds [p.8 — Playing a Chapter]. In a round, each player takes one turn in turn order starting with whoever holds the initiative marker, and a chapter ends once everyone runs out of action cards [p.6 — Core Concepts].
Taking a turn: The player with initiative plays a lead action card face-up and may take one action per action pip on the card (Tax, Build, Move, Repair, Influence, Secure, or Battle, depending on the card's suit) [p.8 — Playing a Chapter][p.12 — Standard Actions]. Before acting, they may also declare the ambition shown on their card for later scoring [p.9 — Declaring an Ambition]. Other players then take turns in clockwise order, either Surpassing (higher card, same suit, multiple actions), Copying (face-down, one action), or Pivoting (different suit, one action) [p.10 — Step 2: Other Players Take Turns]. Players can also seize the initiative during their turn [p.10 — Seizing the Initiative].
Ending the round/chapter: After everyone has acted, initiative may pass to whoever Surpassed highest (or stays if seized) [p.11 — Step 3: Check Initiative]. Play continues in rounds until all players are out of cards, at which point the chapter ends: ambitions are scored for Power, pieces are cleaned up, and everyone draws a new hand [p.18 — Ending a Chapter].
Winning: You score Power primarily by fulfilling ambitions (Tycoon, Tyrant, Warlord, Keeper, Empath) better than your rivals [p.6 — Core Concepts][p.18 — Ending a Chapter]. The game ends once a player reaches the Power threshold for your player count (27/30/33 for 4/3/2 players) or after Chapter 5, and the highest Power total wins [p.2 — Introduction][p.18 — Ending a Chapter].
Watch out: This is only a high-level overview — for the full procedure (building, moving, battling, taxing, Court interactions, etc.) you'll want to ask about each specific action, since each has its own rules and exceptions [p.12 — Standard Actions].