Arcs: Discussion
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- Опубліковано 27 сер 2024
- Seize the initiative. Declare ambitions. Crush your foes. A space war game and here are our thoughts on this one.
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The players didn't play to the level the game requires to be understood. Though, being fair, it is quite ok to just not like it, and/or not like it enough, to try to understand it more!
Ha the old adage "you need to understand the game". Issue is some people like to fiddle with systems, others like to get rid of complication and focus on gameplay. You can perfection the art of taking a dump whilst doing a handstand and I am sure it can be quite fulfilling, but squatting and just doing it will still be the better option for most people.
@@michelecarbone2896 would you say you just need to play one game of chess to reach your "fullest potential ever" at the game? Probably not yet there are billions of people playing chess and studying how to play chess. this isn't different.
@l-Citr0n-l no but after one game know how pieces move. Then it's about studying the strategy. ARCS has restrictive rules and experience teaches you how to break them to achieve your goals but contrary to chess, once you master the system, the actions you take are quite boring.
I’m not sure how many games y’all have played, but based off your comments it seems like resources and court cards were under utilized. They give players so many advantages or extra actions.
My experience: My 1st game was a struggle, and I didn’t love it. It was the feeling of being limited by the random hand I was dealt. My 2nd game less so, but by the end of it I started to grasp the broader scope. I saw the potential, despite the frustrations.
3rd game it clicked. This game is fluid. You can’t focus on the micro. You have to fold the different aspect of the game (action cards, resources, and guild cards) into each other. I still lost horribly, but I knew why. I saw my mistakes.
Don’t hoard. Use resources and guild cards with preludes to gain that leverage, especially the Union cards. If you don’t have certain actions in your hand -> tax those planets for the preludes. The strength of prelude combinations are staggering.
This game is built to force players to be proactive, not reactive. Hoarding only slows you down and makes you a target for raids. Control the gates. Don’t wait for initiative to come to you.
Not sure if you’ll continue to play, but I’m glad I did. I felt the frustrations you mentioned in my early games, but it’s definitely a game that’s much deeper than the random cards your dealt makes it seem.
Regarding actions: People get distracted by the x pips on tbe card. It's better to think of the cards mostly giving you 1 action - and sometimes more.
Want to move and attack? Play fuel as a Prelude action. Or invest into guild cards and use the aggression to secure one. The game gives you options.
And yes, the game is aggressive. It's not like Scythe and that's a good thing. Scythe tends towards multiplayer solitaire.
I'm curious if "losing a turn" because you played a 2nd card to gain Initiative would give you More "Actions" in the long run. If you have mostly Low cards, that means you have more Pips Actions for the next round, giving you more actions than you would have had if you did not play that second card? Which would only give you 1 Copy or 1 Pivot Pip Action the next turn. I think the thought of "Losing a Turn" obscures the actual benefits of getting inactive, along with the Pip Actions, and calling the Ambitions you want. Just curious.
Controlling initiative to maximize your action pips is absolutely worth losing a card over. They didn't do the game justice
Arcs definitely isnt for everyone, no shame in not liking it. That being said, a lot of y'all's points sound more like they come from a place of not properly understanding/learning the game and its systems.
Its 100% not a wargame. Its an opportunistic strategy game. If you treat it like a wargame it's gonna feel very frustrating because it can't work in that mold.
It's also seems that you guys almost never interacted with the court deck, which is a huge part of the game. That should a third of your gameplay at least, as it provides an answer to so many of the "issues" with randomness that were brought up.
I don't wanna ramble on cause again, it's not for everyone, but it definitely feels like a lot of these points were half-baked. At first, I also found the fame frustrating because I treated it like a wargame. However, after 5 base games and 4 campaigns, once you learn to treat it like the cutthroat, opportunistic strategy and negotiation game it is, you really start to see why the systems work the way they do. Just some food for thought
First of all, thank you for the constructive comment. Second, you’re definitely not wrong and it’s a game that I initially went in with a different set of expectations but even after multiple plays, it’s just not a system of mechanisms that I enjoy. Ah well, plenty of games to play!
I’d be interested to see how much y’all interacted with the court deck, because a lot of those are able to mitigate or outright ignore the limitations y’all seem to have issues with. I appreciate the round table, uncut kind of discussion!
Edit: got to the court section, I think y’all really discounted how useful the court is. The court is meant to allow players to overcome the rules that make you feel like things are impossible to plan out/do.
Thanks! The court definitely has abilities to do help mitigate some of the issues we brought up but they’re so few and far between that they hardly came up in our games. Maybe a house rule would be that the court gets cleared after a chapter so that more of these abilities come out?
@@BoardGamesUnLocked Court cards add to your count for the ambitions. They shouldn't just sit there basically ever.
I think the main issue to deal with the randomness of cards is that seizing initiative is actually a very power full action that I think should be done epically in 3 player at least twice a chapter by players especially when you have a low value high pip hand.
That’s true. My friend was saying that he did that when he had low value cards in his hand and nothing else to do with them
@@BoardGamesUnLocked I think you MASSIVELY unerestimated the power of the seize initiative action. Missing out on one turn where could do one action max instead of leading with up to 4 actions is the opposite of a penalty. This game is about making the best out of the dealt hand and not making a plan and than being mad because your hand won't allow you to do that. Adapt, stay flexible and use opportunities.
Of course you can tell people that you have an aggression card. You just can't show the card to prove it.
I'm surprised you didn't like it. I just thought it would be your type of game. I have yet to play a Cole Wehrle game I like so I'm not excited for it. But I keep hoping to find one. Every reviewer starts off by saying how they love Root, etc but I want to watch a review by someone who dislikes Root, but enjoyed Arcs. That's what it might take for me to try this game.
@@jacobjslee Interestingly enough, I thought so too when I read the rules but I guess competitive trick taking isn’t my thing. I’d say go check out 115 Gaming’s review but he used to hate Root but now loves it. Lol
Maybe post a forum on the Arcs BGG page asking if someone loves Arcs but dislikes Root? Could help you out!
Good ideas! Thanks!
there are people on reddit who have that sentiment (hated root but loved arcs)
Did y'all play Leders and Lore?
Yes and while it does improve the game cause we liked the fact that it gave you a positive and negative ability (like the Teotihuacan powers do), it didn’t sway my personal feelings towards the game, unfortunately.